On November 19–21, several hundred members will make their way to Reno, Nevada, for the 74th annual PORAC Conference of Members, where they will hear important updates from the Association’s leaders, trusts and partners, network with fellow members from across the state, and tour several vendor booths at the exhibitor expo. They will also have the opportunity to attend two training sessions that are eligible for both POST and STC credit: “Gilroy Garlic Festival Mass Shooting: Leadership, Response and Recovery” and “Workicide: Overcoming Burnout and Toxic Workplaces.”
“You might look at the schedule and think, ‘It’s just another training,’ but I really can’t stress enough how important continued learning is, not just for your job, but for you and your life outside of work,” says Training Program Manager Cathy Knape, who advocates for ongoing personal and professional development because of the ever-changing nature of the profession. “The issues officers and association leaders face today aren’t necessarily the same issues they faced five or 10 years ago. Training gives you an opportunity to hear from people who have actually experienced these situations, learn from what they’ve gone through and take something back with you that could make a difference when you need it.”
To that end, Knape is always taking note of what’s happening in the profession, listening to members’ experiences and talking with instructors about what they’re seeing in the field to update courses, add new topics and bring in instructors who are experts in the issues members are dealing with right now.
She also emphasizes that training doesn’t necessarily have to be focused solely on helping members do their jobs better. “Sometimes it’s about learning how to take better care of yourself, your co-workers and your family,” she explains. “That’s what I look for when I’m putting together our training. I want people to walk away thinking, ‘I’m glad I came to that.’ I want them to have learned something, thought about something differently or walked away with something they can actually use.”
This year’s Conference training aims to do just that. Here, we provide an overview of the presentations and introduce their instructors, with insights from Knape.
Gilroy Garlic Festival Mass Shooting: Leadership, Response and Recovery
On Friday, November 20, retired Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee will provide a firsthand account and debrief of the tragic 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival active shooter incident, during which three people were killed and 18 others were injured. He will focus on the critical decisions made during the response, the leadership challenges that followed, interagency coordination, community recovery and lessons learned, while also highlighting the professionalism, courage and decisive actions of the Gilroy police personnel who responded that day and, within minutes, stopped the shooter from taking any more lives.
“I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have our members hear directly from someone who was in charge when a mass shooting happened in his community,” Knape says. “I think there is tremendous value in hearing, cop to cop, what went right, what went wrong, what he learned and what he would do differently today. Unfortunately, we can’t predict when something like that will happen, but we can learn from those who have lived through it and better prepare ourselves and our agencies.”
For his presentation, Smithee will draw on his more than 35 years of service to the Gilroy Police Department, where he retired as chief in October 2020 before returning to serve as interim chief in 2025, as well as his more than 30 years as an instructor, teaching leadership, professionalism and ethics to law enforcement professionals. He holds a master’s degree in leadership and a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior, and is a graduate of the California Command College and a POST subject-matter expert who has helped shape Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) training programs in California. Throughout his law enforcement career, Smithee has been honored with numerous awards recognizing his extraordinary courage, including the U.S. Coast Guard Gold Lifesaving Medal and Carnegie Medal for Heroism.
Workicide: Overcoming Burnout and Toxic Workplaces
On Saturday, November 21, Stephanie Kiesow will draw from her best-selling book, Workicide, for her presentation, which explores how chronic stress, burnout, lack of support and toxic workplace cultures can gradually erode mental health. She will teach attendees to recognize signs of “workicide,” evaluate how their work environment may be affecting their well-being and understand why awareness is the first step toward meaningful change. She will also discuss how to establish healthy boundaries, shift your mindset and focus on the aspects of your career you can control.
“What I especially like about this presentation is that attendees won’t just hear about burnout and workplace culture,” Knape says. “They’ll leave with practical, actionable tools they can actually use.”
In addition to teaching PORAC’s Suicide by Cop partnership course, Kiesow is the chief wellness and impact officer for the national nonprofit First Responder Therapy Dogs and is a former police officer and dispatcher with 16 years of experience in public safety. She is also a POST- and STC-certified instructor, public safety advocate with First Responder Wellness/The Counseling Team International, national speaker and contributing writer, and is pursuing her Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology, where her research examines occupational and organizational contributors to psychological decline among first responders.
“I want members to hear from people who have been there, experienced it and have something practical to take back with them,” Knape says. “I think both Scot and Stephanie bring that perspective in very different ways.”
With all the productive meetings, association business and networking opportunities that come with attending Conference, Knape encourages members to make time in their schedules for both training sessions. “Don’t overlook the training. We put a lot of thought into what we offer, and I want members to take advantage of it. You never know when something you learn in a class will make a difference for you!”