Speakers

Brian R. Peete began serving the Manhattan and Riley County community on December 30, 2022, as the Director of the Riley County Police Department (RCPD) in Manhattan Kansas. RCPD is a CALEA-accredited agency that serves 74,000 residents with a staff of 110 Police Officers, 51 Corrections Officers, 24 Dispatchers, and 38 professional staff members. Prior to his time at RCPD, Director Peete served as the Chief of Police in Montpelier, the Capitol of Vermont. Prior to his role in Montpelier, he was the Chief of the Alamogordo Police Department in New Mexico.

Director Peete also served in the City of Chicago's Inspector General's Office as the Chief Forensic Audit Investigator for Public Safety (Police Accountability) and as a Chief Investigator before his service as a Chief of Police. He was also a Patrolman, Field Training Officer, and Fusion Center Analyst for the Chicago Police Department. Director Peete has also served in federal law enforcement in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations as the Assistant Special Agent-In-Charge (Operations Officer), Detachment 206 Las Vegas, NV, where he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and coordinated U.S. and Afghan forces in over 150 counterespionage, counterterrorism/counterintelligence, and force protection missions. He also was the Regional Manager for Operations Enhancement, 2nd Field Investigations Region at Langley Air Force Base responsible for the investigations and operations for over 400 Special Agents in 31 AFOSI offices worldwide including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prior to a career in law enforcement, Director Peete was an Air Force aircraft maintenance officer who commanded three separate maintenance flights. Director Peete has an Master of Arts in Police Psychology, and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with an emphasis on Employment Relations. Director Peete has collectively managed over 1000 people, 14 facilities, and over $1B of assets and operating budgets throughout his career. He is married to his wife Natalie, and they have one daughter Gabriella.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stand up the National Bio and Argo-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. This state-of-the-art facility is a national asset that will help protect the nation’s agriculture, farmers and citizens against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases.

The DHS Science and Technology Directorate built the facility to standards that fulfill the mission needs of the USDA. DHS S&T reported construction was completed in May 2022 and contractor commissioning was completed in December 2022. In accordance with a 2019 memorandum of agreement between DHS and USDA, NBAF ownership and operation will transfer to USDA.

NBAF will replace the 68-year-old Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) where USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) currently conduct foreign animal disease research, training and diagnostics. ARS and APHIS will transfer their research and diagnostic missions from PIADC to NBAF and will operate the facility jointly.

Eric Higgins (k-state.edu)

Professor
Von Waaden Chair of Investment Management
Faculty of Distinction
Champion for Integrated Investment Management Area
Department of Finance

Due copyright laws upcoming preformance can't be shown on zoom.