Speakers Page

Hamby

David Hamby

National Coordinator
Speaker Bio

David Hamby was appointed National Coordinator, National Emerging Threats Initiative (NETI) in January 2017. Before his current appointment, he was the Deputy Coordinator of NETI, previously known as the National Methamphetamine and Pharmaceuticals Initiative (NMPI)/Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA. A member of the National HIDTA program since March 2008, Mr. Hamby serves as principle emerging threats advisor to the HIDTA program as well as State and local entities. He oversees specialized training, current trends, analytical support, best practices, innovative programs, and strategic planning for the program’s national approach to combat emerging drug threats. Mr. Hamby retired from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Chattanooga Tennessee as Captain after a distinguished 30-year career in law enforcement, serving 18 years in the field of narcotics enforcement. Mr. Hamby served five years as Director of the SE Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force. He has received numerous awards and citations, including the Appreciation Award as Project Coordinator in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing (CISD) for law enforcement officers in the State of Mississippi.

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Governor McMaster

Governor Henry McMaster

Governor
Speaker Bio

Governor Henry Dargan McMaster, a longtime public servant of South Carolina, was born May 27, 1947, in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969 and as an undergraduate was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature.

In 1973, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was on the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review. Later that year, he was admitted to the Richland County Bar Association. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves, receiving an honorable discharge in 1975.

Upon graduation from law school, he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C., and joined the law firm of Tompkins and McMaster in 1974. He was later admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Governor McMaster practiced law for over 40 years, as a federal and state prosecutor and in private practice in both state and federal courts...

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Goldsby

Sara Goldsby

Director
Speaker Bio

A native of Wyoming, Sara Goldsby was confirmed as Director of DAODAS by the South Carolina Senate on February 8, 2018, after being appointed Acting Director by Governor Nikki Haley in August 2016, then nominated as Director by Governor Henry McMaster in May 2017. As Director, she has led South Carolina’s response to the opioid crisis and currently serves as co-chair of the State Opioid Emergency Response Team. Under her leadership, DAODAS has been instrumental in helping local law enforcement agencies employ the use of the emergency overdose antidote naloxone.

With a passion around social determinants of health and access to care, Director Goldsby has worked in legal and dental practices, and hospital case management. She earned her Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health degrees – with an emphasis on health services, policy, and management – from the University of South Carolina in 2015. In 2019, she was named the recipient of the 12th Annual Ramstad/Kennedy Award for Outstanding Leadership in recognition of her support of localized prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.

In 2021, Director Goldsby was elected President of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors.

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Keel

Chief Mark Keel

Chief
Speaker Bio

Mark Keel has served as Chief of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) since July 1, 2011. He returned to SLED after serving as Director of the S. C. Department of Public Safety from June 17, 2008 - June 30, 2011, having previously served at SLED beginning August 31, 1979.

Chief Keel received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia Southern University in 1979. While at SLED, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995 and is a member of the S. C. Bar. He is a graduate of the S. C. Criminal Justice Academy, the FBI National Academy, and the FBI National Executive Institute.

A native of Barnwell, S.C., Chief Keel is a veteran law enforcement officer having more than 40 years of service. His interest in law enforcement and public service began at an early age when, as a teenager, he served as a volunteer firefighter for the Barnwell Fire Department and as a member of the volunteer rescue squad. He later served with the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Department and the Barnwell and Denmark Police Departments before joining SLED.

Chief Keel rose through the ranks at SLED, being named Chief of Staff in December 2001. Prior to assuming that position, he was a Captain for eight years in command of tactical operations. In that position he supervised SLED’s Aviation Unit, Bloodhound Tracking Team, SWAT Team and Fugitive Task Force. He also served in the agency’s Narcotics Unit, on the Lt. Governor’s Executive Protection detail, as a SWAT Team member, hostage negotiator, the Bloodhound Tracking Team, and SLED Aviation Unit. He is a commercial helicopter pilot and has served as a certified firearms instructor, driving instructor, and hostage negotiation instructor. Chief Keel has been a Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Assessor since 1994. He served as the Accreditation Manager of SLED from January 1996 through June 2008.

He is currently President of the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA); Co-Chairman of the state’s Commission on Advancement of Public Safety; past President of the S. C. Law Enforcement Officers’ Association (2015/2016 and 2003/2004); and former member of Lexington-Richland School District 5 School Security Committee. He serves on the Lexington-Richland School District 5 Superintendent Emergency Response Advisory Council, the Advisory Board at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies in Lexington-Richland School District 5, and Co-Chairman of the Opioid Emergency Response Team. He also serves as South Carolina’s Homeland Security Advisor and chairs South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Training Council, which is the governing body for the S. C. Criminal Justice Academy. The S. C. Baptist Convention’s Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee named him as the recipient of the 2017 Public Servant Award. Additionally, he was recipient of the S.C. Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award in 1990 and the Strom Thurmond Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement in 2000.

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Chuvallo Truesdell

Chuvalo Truesdell

Special Agent-Community Outreach Specialist

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Michelle Nienhuis

Michelle Nienhuis

Manager of Prevention and Intervention Services
Speaker Bio

Michelle Nienhius serves the state of South Carolina as Prevention and Intervention Manager for the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. This position includes planning and implementing statewide programs in the field of substance abuse prevention, as well as overseeing several state and federal grants awarded to South Carolina for substance abuse prevention. Ms. Nienhius manages the primary prevention set aside from the Substance Abuse Prevention Treatment Block Grant for the state and serves as the Project Director of the Preventing Opioid Overdose Death grant. She also manages the prevention portion of the State Opioid Response discretionary grants. Michelle is also the Project Director for the South Carolina Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) initiative. She serves as the state representative to the National Prevention Network (NPN) and most recently served in the role of Past President of the Network.

She has presented at numerous national meetings and conferences on prevention workforce development, underage drinking, youth tobacco prevention programs, retailer education and linking prevention and law enforcement together in addressing youth substance use to include alcohol and tobacco. In January 2021, she co-authored a study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, demonstrating the positive impact of the South Carolina AET program on the reduction of drinking and driving crashes among drivers under 21 years old with Michael George, Ph.D. and Steve Shamblen, Ph.D. of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Harold Holder, Ph.D. of the Prevention Research Center and Rachel Holder, M.P.A of CHESS Health Solutions.

Ms. Nienhius completed her M.P.H. at the University of South Carolina in 2000 and an undergraduate degree in Biology from the College of Charleston in 1998.  She has worked in various roles within the state prevention system in South Carolina since 2001.    

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Michael George

Michael George

Program Evaluator
Speaker Bio

Dr. George has worked full-time with law enforcement since 1981, either as a sworn officer or in non-sworn training, research, & consulting capacity in community groups with law enforcement partners. He has served in several positions with municipal, county, and state-level agencies. In each position, he maintained collaborations with stakeholders addressing public safety & public health issues. His research & expertise areas are in high visibility enforcement, traffic safety, media campaigns related to traffic safety issues, underage drinking enforcement & education, qualitative research, community assessment, data collection related to substance abuse & traffic safety issues, community policing, trend analysis, community & state collaboration, & occupant protection issues. He also has served as an adjunct professor at various institutions of higher education since 1992.

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Nigel

Nigel Wrangham

Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor
Speaker Bio

Nigel Wrangham has been active in the fields of substance abuse treatment, prevention, and youth empowerment for over 20 years.  He develops and delivers classes on principles of positivity, youth engagement and inspiration to educators, young people, grassroots activists, law enforcement and other groups.  He teaches in the Substance Abuse Prevention Program at the University of Oregon.

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Baxter

Mark Baxter

Detective
Speaker Bio

Mark Baxter is a sworn police officer in his 22nd year of service whose responsibilities include investigating counterfeit documents, alcohol-related violations, and alcohol-licensing enforcement. He instructs police officers and civilians nationwide– including various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies– and is considered a Subject Matter Expert by the Maryland Courts. He created the “Fake ID-Real Problem” initiative which has led to the seizure of several thousand fake IDs to date. Drawing on his years of expertise, he established SureScan in order to attain maximum nationwide impact combatting this problem. SureScan helps guide businesses, agencies, and organizations detect counterfeit ID documents by providing proven ID authentication solutions, thereby decreasing identity fraud and reducing youth access to alcohol and other regulated products.

Sessions:

Ed

Ed Shemelya

National Coordinator
Speaker Bio

Ed Shemelya is a 30-year veteran of the Kentucky State Police and is currently the National Coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative, an Initiative that is responsible for assisting and improving the capabilities of the 33 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas nationwide in carrying out the National Drug Control Strategy objectives of disrupting domestic trafficking and production of, and reducing demand for, marijuana and derivative products.

Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Eastern Region Marijuana Coordinator for the Appalachia HIDTA, and was responsible for the oversight of marijuana cultivation activities within the four state Appalachia HIDTA region.   Shemelya began his law enforcement career in 1979, where he worked patrol, general investigations and narcotics within the Pikeville Post of the KSP.  Promoted to Sergeant in 1985 and Lieutenant in 1988 he served the agency in many capacities from Internal Affairs, R&D, and as commander of the State Police first full – time Special Response Team. In 2003 he was appointed Commander of the Kentucky Governor’s Marijuana Strike Force and the Kentucky Eradication Initiative, within the AHIDTA.  This multi-agency task force comprised of Federal, State and Local agencies is tasked with fighting Kentucky’s outdoor and indoor marijuana problem.  During his six years as commander the Kentucky Eradication Task Force was recognized as the most outstanding eradication Task Force in the nation for four consecutive years by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

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