Speakers Bureau

The members of the Intellenet Education and Training Group, Speakers Bureau, are highly trained private investigation and security management professionals with many years of education and practical experience in their areas of expertise. Each speaker has made training and educational presentations to numerous professional associations and corporate entities. Additionally, many of the speakers are court qualified expert witnesses.

Whether you need one or several speakers for your conference or program, the seasoned professionals on this Speaker Bureau list can help. The speakers are listed by name, location, and subject matter. In support of these speakers, Intellenet can assist in developing a conference or seminar, simply email Intellenet@intellenet.org for collaboration assistance.

Each presenter on the list is an independent consultant with whom you should contact and negotiate the specifics of his/her unique presentation. With that being said, the education and training programs are the exclusive property of the author and may not be copied in any format without the prior written authorization of the author.

If a preferred subject matter does not appear in the list, please contact Intellenet for the development of a presentation to meet your needs.

While Intellenet makes the list of these highly trained professionals available to you, each presenter listed is an independent consultant to negotiate the specifics of all presentation opportunities.

William F. Blake is the President of Blake and Associates, Inc., in Highlands Ranch, CO, a suburb of Denver, specializing in private investigations and security consulting matters. He has over 65 years of experience in providing business services to private and government entities, including conducting comprehensive background investigation.

Mr. Blake was born in a small town in Vermont and graduated from Bellows Falls, VT, High School in 1954. While in high school he had an unofficial internship with the local Vermont State Police office which encouraged him to become involved with law enforcement. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Police Administration from Michigan State University, a Master of Science Degree in Fundamentals of Education (Adult Education) from Troy State University at Fort Rucker, AL, and additional credits in the Criminal Justice Master of Science program at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL.

He is a retired Chief Warrant Officer from the United States Army where he served as a Military Counterintelligence (CIC) Special Agent and later as a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Special Agent. He served as a CID field agent, operations officer, unit commander, staff officer, and criminal investigation instructor.

He also has experience as a corporate security manager with responsibility for physical security, security guard force operations, and disaster recovery management in various business environments. Currently, he specializes in risk assessment, investigation and security training, and premises liability issues. He was certified by examination in 1986 as a Certified Protection Professional by ASIS International and in 1990 as a Certified Fraud Examiner by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Mr. Blake has authored numerous articles relating to investigation and security for professional publications. He has also authored or edited several books on similar topics. He has also been a lecturer on investigations and corporate security at the college level and at several professional conferences.

Reginald J. Montgomery is President of R.J. Montgomery Associates in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, specializing in corporate asset protection and criminal defense investigations with over 50 years of related experience. Reginald has an extensive expertise in the security and investigations fields. He is a certified polygraphist, protection professional, physical security professional, legal investigator, fraud examiner, security trainer, international investigator, Board Certified Professional Investigator, Personal Protection Specialist, and Board Accredited Investigator. Reggie, a Life Member has served as vice-chair for ASIS International’s Standing Investigations Council and as the chairman of the Northern New Jersey Chapter. He is a life member and past assistant national director for the National Association of Legal Investigators, a life member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the World Association of Detectives, currently serves on the Board of Directors of Intellenet and 3rd Vice President of Florida Association of Private Investigators. He is a past Board Member and 3rd Vice President for the Council of International Investigators. Reggie also served as president of New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association from June 1996 to June 2000 and has been named to the Certification Board of The United States Association of Professional Investigators. Reggie is an adjunct professor at New Jersey City University. Reggie was named as the National Association of Investigative Specialists SPEAKER OF THE YEAR FOR 2006-2007. He has given hundreds of speeches to national and international associations on many investigative subjects ranging from product diversion and protecting intellectual property to workplace violence investigations. He is best known for his interview and polygraph workshops.

Reggie has been certified by numerous courts as an expert in virtually every aspect of criminal defense, corporate security, and investigative related matters. Reggie has appeared on dozens of network television programs as a polygraph and investigative expert. Mr. Montgomery is the Editor of (as well as contributing author, two chapters) “Corporate Investigations” and contributing author to Advanced Forensic Criminal Defense Investigations”,” Basic Private Investigations” and Advanced Private Investigations”. Reggie can be contacted at: reggie@njinvestigator.com.

Eric Douglas De Van has been a member of Intellenet since 1996. He has been a presenter and assisted with several of the Intellenet Conferences. Mr. De Van’s passion for learning and providing instruction gave birth to S. P. I. C. E. (School for Private Investigator Continuing Education). S. P. I. C. E. not only uses Intellenet members as presenters, speaks, and subject matter experts, but Eric De Van’s instruction includes Report Writing, PI Administration, Locating Witnesses, Accident Investigation, and Ethics. Mr. De Van provides half, whole, and two day, virtual and in-person conferences. These conferences are approved for continuing education credits in Minnesota, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Mr. Eric’s wit, energy, and presentation style is well-reviewed by attendees.

The flagship company, De Van & Associates, specializes in executive level background checks, criminal defense, liability and casualty claims, accident investigation, location witnesses and surveillance. The company’s mantra is, “We measure success by the clients we keep.” This creed has set a standard for client relations and satisfaction.

De Van & Associates’ sister company is Drone Pilot Carolina. DPC focuses on drone images and videos for reconnaissance, criminal investigations, accident investigation, search and rescue. Mr. De Van is an FAA licensed drone pilot and offers FAA Knowledge Exam test prep courses to help participants pass the aviation exam required for legal and safe flight operations. Eric De Van has started preliminary research in targeting policing using drone technology as a tool for crime prevention and enforcement.

Eric De Van has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from West Chester University and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Anderson University. Mr. De Van is published in PI Magazine as well as other newsletters in topics from Executive Protection to The Use of Drone for investigations. Eric De Van serves on the Board of Intellenet, the Intellenet Protective Services Committee, and also serves as the Speaker Bureau Chairman.

Catherine Torrez was a police officer for more than twenty years and served as a reserve police officer for the city of Grand Prairie, TX. She served as patrol officer in Everman, Texas, working in areas such as D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer, school resources, gang intelligence, community services, and criminal investigations. As the Captain at the White Settlement ISD Police Department she worked as School Resource Officer. She wrote all the Emergency Management Plans for all weather and active shooter type of contingencies training all staff & students. She served as the Chief of Police for Cockrell Hill, Texas, four years. Torrez attended the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas gaining her Management/Leadership certificate. She received her Police Instructor Certificate, Mental Health Officer Certificate, and Master Peace Officer Certification. Her Professional Profile can be found at http://www.catherinetorrez.com/cst-resume.pdf.

After leaving police work, Torrez worked for two years as a private investigator with Taurus Investigations. She owns Stiletto Spy and Company Investigations (www.StilettoSpyInvestigations.com). Catherine served on the Board of the TIexas Association of Licensed Investigators as Region Director, At Large Director, President Elect, President 2020-2022, and obtained the level of Texas Board Certified Investigator.

Torrez is the mother of five children and grandmother of twenty-one and great-grandmother of 2. She is a long time member of her church board and previous member of the School Board of the private school her children attended. She is the author of Tragedy to Triumph: Discover the Secret of Gaining Victory over Abuse (www.TragedyToTriumphBook.com) and newly released book Unburied Treasure: A Guide To Leaving Your Legacy. She is a public speaker and educator on many police/safety subjects and Christian faith topics listed at www.CatherineTorrez.com. She’s a regular contributor to Fox News Radio Affiliates and television programs in the U.S. on Police and Security topics.

Robert Rappaport is an expert witness in fire origin and cause investigations. He has over 30 years of experience in the fire service, 23 years as a Fire Investigator, and has investigated more than 2,500 fires.

Chief Rappaport was a Task Force Officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and is currently a California State Fire Marshal instructor for beginning and advanced arson courses. Moreover, he is a Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) through the International Association of Arson Investigators, California Conference of Arson Investigators, and the National Association of Fire Investigators.

He is also experienced in the insurance investigation field working as a Fire Investigator. Chief Rappaport often works for various fire agencies, as well as attorneys as a consultant on complex fire/arson cases. He has testified numerous times in both criminal and civil courts as an expert witness.

Ms. Stuart has over thirty years of investigative experience with twenty-five years operating her own company. Ms. Stuart’s area of expertise includes OSINT, counterintelligence, insurance fraud investigations, financial investigations, threat assessments, due diligence, organized retail crime, corporate and competitive intelligence.

Ms. Stuart consults and trains federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the military intelligence communities, fortune 500 companies as well as the financial and insurance industries in open source, social media, and threat assessments / mitigation. She has been an Instructor at Quantico (FBI Academy) for international training in the area of OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence).

In 2017, Ms. Stuart partnered with Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security creating a program “Keeping Kids Safe”, training administrators, principals, teachers, SRO’s, and parents on the dangers of online and social media activity, predator grooming as well as the dangers of applications / cellular security.