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Thank you to all who participated in the 2026 election!

The following members were elected to serve as IAPSC Officers:

• President: Vincent E. Vittatoe, CPP, CSC, CPTED Practitioner
• Vice President: Bill Durso, MBA, CPP
• Secretary: Lynda L. Buel, CPP, CFE, CSC, CPTED Practitioner
• Treasurer: Sean Ahrens, M.A, CPP, BSCP, CSC, FSyl

The following members were elected to serve as IAPSC Directors:

• Ken Trump, Ed.D
• Mark Schreiber, CPP
• Thomas J. McComas, PMP, PSP
• Salvatore Caccavale

Please join us in congratulating these members, supporting their efforts in the coming year, and thanking them for volunteering their time, energy and talents to the Association.

Please also join me in thanking our outgoing President, Michael D’Angelo as he moves into the Past President role. Michael, you have demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication in guiding the Board and helping the IAPSC grow more than ever. Your commitment, vision, and steady support have made a lasting impact on our Association and its future. 

Looking Ahead—Building on Our Foundation Together

I am deeply honored and grateful for the confidence you have placed in me by electing me as President of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC). This Association represents the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and expertise within our industry, and I am humbled by the opportunity to serve you in this role. I extend my sincere thanks to each of you for your trust, support, and continued commitment to advancing IAPSC and our shared practice of professional security consulting.

I would also like to offer my heartfelt appreciation to our outgoing President, Michael D’Angelo, now Immediate Past President, for his leadership and dedication during his term. Under his guidance, milestones were established: a new website, a new real-time communications portal (Chanty), a new Association management team (Redstone), real working partnerships with like-minded professional Associations (SIA, ASC, BEEP), and record-breaking membership growth, complete with a membership category overhaul to better ensure our future sustainability. We also saw two incredibly successful (and record-breaking) conferences. The foundation he has helped establish positions us well for continued growth and innovation, and I am thankful for his service and steady leadership.

I do not step into this role without the support and incredible leadership of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee with Immediate Past President Michael D’Angelo, Vice-President Bill Durso, Secretary Lynda Buel, Treasurer Sean Ahrens and our Board of Directors, Alan Zajic, Ron Heil, Stacey Porter, Billy Johnson, Mark Schreiber, Ken Trump, Thomas J. McComas, and Sal Caccavale. We will continue to collaborate fully in the best interests of our members and uphold the shared vision of continually increasing IAPSC’s presence in the security industry.

As we look to the rapidly approaching new year, my vision is focused on the continued growth of the Association through increased member engagement, collaboration, education, and visibility. Our collective expertise is one of our greatest strengths, and I believe we can do more to leverage that knowledge by continually sharing best practices and fostering mentorship among members. Additionally, we will continue to seek and further strengthen strategic partnerships with aligned professional organizations to expand our reach, enhance member value, and reinforce the image of our IAPSC members as trusted advisors across industries.

Member involvement will be critical to achieving these goals. I strongly encourage members to become active participants on committees, working groups, and initiatives that align with their interests and expertise, or to increase their knowledge to help move our Association forward. Our committees are the engine that drives progress within the Association, and increased participation will not only strengthen our programs but also provide meaningful opportunities for professional growth and leadership development among our members.

Finally, I want to reaffirm our commitment to promoting the Certified Security Consultant (CSC) designation as the gold standard for our organization and profession. The CSC certification distinguishes our members, reinforces our credibility, and demonstrates our collective commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. I look forward to working with all of you as we build upon our strong foundation and advance the mission of our Association together.

Here’s to an exciting 2026!

Vince

IAPSC Family:

What can I say? It is hard to believe that two years has flown by so quickly. That’s what time does. It gives you a very limited opportunity to accomplish something. How you choose to utilize that brief glimpse into time is what defines your efforts. 

As I close out my time as this Association’s President, I think the word that best summarizes what I tried to achieve is “collaboration”.  I used that as the basis for everything I wanted our organization to pursue. It started with a closely aligned Executive Committee. Nothing was planned, thought out, or achieved in a silo. I worked with Vice-President Vince Vittatoe, Immediate Past President Mike Silva, Secretary Sean Ahrens, and Treasurer Bill Durso openly and collectively on every initiative we undertook over the last two years. That is why the overwhelming majority of them were a tremendous success. We were not 5 leaders going in 5 directions. We were a team working together every step of the way on every project. Personally, I have always included our Executive Director, Adena Goldberg as part of this leadership team.

I can confidently state that over the course of my term, we had the support of our full Board every step of the way. Even when there were dissenting points of view, we would discuss them, and work through them, until we worked out a solution that truly was in the best interest of the IAPSC. Our success was only possible with the support of an effective and driven Board of Directors. 

I won’t take your time up reminding you of all we have accomplished. After all, you experience it everyday. New website, new real-time communications portal (Chanty), new and EXCEPTIONAL Association management team (Redstone), real working partnerships with like minded professional Associations (SIA, ASC, BEEP), and of course, record-breaking membership growth complete with a membership category overhaul to better ensure our future sustainability.  I cannot overlook two incredibly successful (and record-breaking) conferences. 

As I move into the role of Immediate Past President, I am excited to see where the new leadership of our Association takes us. I am confident we have made tremendous progress and I am comfortable handing over the steering wheel knowing we are in great shape. Vince Vittatoe is a dear friend and has been a close confidant throughout my tenure. We simply could not be in better hands.

None of this would have happened without the enthusiastic support and dedication of you, our members. Thank you for being by my side these past two years. I said when I got elected and repeated it several times; it has been the professional honor of my lifetime.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve!

Full Speed Ahead IAPSC!

Mike 

We are proud to honor the outstanding individuals whose contributions have shaped the success of our organization.

Inaugural President’s Award of Excellence: Al Zajic

A heartfelt congratulations goes to Al Zajic, the inaugural recipient of the President’s Award of Excellence—a new honor introduced to recognize extraordinary leadership and impact within IAPSC.

Since 2017, Al has served as the Chair of the IAPSC Conference Committee, dedicating himself to the planning and execution of our annual conferences with unwavering commitment and meticulous attention to detail. Under his guidance, the event has evolved into a benchmark of excellence—featuring thoughtfully selected venues, engaging and relevant programming, top-tier hospitality, and seamless accommodations.

Thanks to Al’s leadership, the conference has seen remarkable growth in both attendance and revenue, year after year exceeding the expectations of the Board of Directors and the President.

This award is not only a recognition of Al’s professional excellence but also a celebration of his long-standing dedication to our community. Congratulations, Al, on this well-deserved and long-overdue honor!

Charles Sennewald Award: Karim Vellani

It is With deep admiration and appreciation, we recognize Karim Vellani for over two decades of exceptional leadership and service to the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) and the broader security community.

Karim has played a pivotal role in advancing the field of security consulting through his development of the Certified Security Consultant (CSC) program, his long-standing leadership on the IAPSC Board—including service as President—and his involvement in multiple key committees, notably the Forensic Committee and the Evidence-Based Security Practices Committee.

His influence extends beyond IAPSC through his work with the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS), where he led efforts to establish national best practices for workplace violence prevention, now recognized by The Joint Commission.

A respected author and thought leader, Karim has published extensively and developed a widely adopted model for healthcare security staffing. His books and research continue to shape the standards of excellence in the field.

In recognition of his remarkable contributions and enduring impact, we are proud to award Karim Vellani with the Charles Sennewald Award—a fitting tribute to a leader whose work has elevated the profession for all.

Special Recognition Award: Bill Durso

The strength of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) lies in the dedication of its members. Among them, Bill Durso stands out for his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to advancing the association.

As Treasurer, Bill has overhauled IAPSC’s financial systems—delivering greater transparency and a clearer financial outlook. As Chair of the Communications Committee, he spearheaded the long-awaited launch of the new IAPSC website, achieving a professional, modern platform without the need for a member assessment—thanks to his strategic, fiscally responsible approach.

Beyond these roles, Bill contributes as a lead instructor in the Security Consulting (SSC) Program and is a consistent advocate for new initiatives. His work reflects a deep belief in giving back to the community—and the entire association has benefited from his dedication.

Thank you, Bill, for your vision, leadership, and tireless service to IAPSC.

Dear IAPSC family,

We have officially closed out 2024 and most of us are focused on our plans for a prosperous 2025. Rest assured, your leadership and management team are working hard on the same. Before we fully devote our attention on the year ahead, I’d like to take a moment to remind you of what we have accomplished this past year.

First and most significantly, I have to point out that we broke the IAPSC record for more new memberships issued in 2024 than any other year in the organization’s history. Much of this is attributed to our Membership Committee’s outstanding efforts. Under the guidance of Paul Manley, the committee has streamlined the membership process and together with our Executive Director, we have a much more responsive and efficient structure in place. During the year, we added 21 new members! Growing our association is not the result of one committee’s efforts, but the combined work of our entire membership. To date, our most effective recruiting tool remains member referrals. Your efforts with one-to-one contacts, social media, and other outreach, is the backbone of our growth plan. We have experienced sustainable growth without compromising any of our standards.

2024 represented our first full year with our new management firm, Redstone Agency. Under the guidance of our Executive Director, Adena Goldberg, we have made incredible strides with just about every aspect of the day-to-day operation of the IAPSC. Our Treasurer, Bill Durso, has worked closely with the finance team and we now have a better grasp of the IAPSC’s financial future, allowing us to create solid stability and growth plans. Our Events Coordinator Liana Cook has worked hand in hand with our Conference Chair Al Zajic and the results both behind the scenes and on the conference stage were apparent. I can confidently say that the relationship between our management and leadership teams is much more of an effective partnership than it is a business agreement.

Forgive me here for using the term “finally,” but the complete rebuild of the IAPSC website has begun and will continue in earnest until such time as a new, vibrant “face” of the association is fully active and lives up to the image we expect and deserve. As we all know from our own businesses, a website is only as effective as its reach. To wit, this project includes a component focused on increasing our site’s SEO. The evolution of our website, along with the SEO optimization, will yield a directory that is not just the listing of our members, but the first and only fully capable and searchable directory designed to help prospective clients and project partners find the consultant they need.

Continuing with the area of marketing and brand exposure, our newsletter is reaching new heights and literally reaching many more sets of eyes every month. As the newsletter grows in reach and notoriety, so too does its generous sponsorship opportunities. These opportunities are open to members and sponsors alike and provide a chance to support the newsletter while affordably expanding your company’s marketing reach.

Growth and expansion are hallmarks of any professional association. In these challenging times, attempting to do so in a silo is ineffective and inefficient. In a first ever for the association, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Security Industry Association. Within weeks of signing the MOU, we presented our first co-sponsored webinar. The webinar was a tremendous success and if it serves as a litmus test of the partnership, I foresee great things for our association and members as we continue to work together.

We have always had a special relationship with our “sister” organization in the United Kingdom, Association of Security Consultants. They are the only other professional association in the world dedicated to the profession of Independent Security Consulting. We have a continual dialogue with the leadership of the ASC on areas where we can work together to strengthen our bond while simultaneously increasing the professionalism of the security consulting industry. As a gesture of friendship and our commitment to partnering with them, we have granted honorary membership in the IAPSC to their President. I am extremely honored to say they have returned the gesture, and I am now a member of the ASC. I will do my best to proudly represent their organization in the same manner as I do the IAPSC. Great things will come from these partnerships and in the coming year, we are planning to explore similar partnerships with other like-minded professional associations.

We have simply accomplished so much together, as an association, this past year that there is truly little opportunity to edit. As I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2025, I ask one favor: make one of your resolutions revolve around your dedication as a member to the IAPSC. Our association’s continued success is impossible without you.

Happy New Year and full speed ahead!

Mike

Almost 80% of IAPSC members cast their ballots in this year’s election. Thank you for all who participated!

The following were elected to serve as IAPSC Officers.

• President
  • Michael D’Angelo, CPP, CSC, CHPA
• Vice President
  • Vincent E. Vittatoe, CPP, CSC, CPTED Practitioner
• Secretary
  • Sean Ahrens, M.A, CPP, BSCP, CSC, FSyl
• Treasurer
  • Bill Durso, MBA, CPP

Please note that Immediate Past President Mike Silva will participate on the Board of Directors as an ex officio member.

The following were elected to serve as IAPSC Directors.

• William S. Marcisz, JD, CPP, CHPA
• Ken Trump, Ed.D.
• TJ McComas, PSP, PMP
• Mark Schreiber, CPP, CPD

Please join us in congratulating these members, supporting their efforts in the coming year, and thanking them for volunteering their time, energy and talents to the Association.