Leadership Team

Will Manion

Founder | Investigative Interview Instructor

Will Manion

Will Manion is a retired Sergeant for the San Jose Police Department. Sgt. Manion started his police career in 1989 and in 27 years of service worked the Narcotic Enforcement Team, Merge (SWAT) Team, The DEA Task Force, Homicide Detective Sergeant and Airport Security Sergeant. Sgt. Manion received seven major police awards, including the California POST Investigator of the Year award for a homicide case in which a convicted person was exonerated of a murder he did not commit.

Nicole Decker

Office Manager

Nicole Decker

Nicole Decker assists in handling day-to-day communications with clients, processing registrations and payments. Nicole is also an Administrative Assistant and Graphic Designer for the San Jose Police Officers' Association

Helen Berman

Office Assistant | Scheduling

Helen Berman

Helen Berman handles day-to-day communications with clients, processing all registrations and payments. Helen graduated from UC Santa Barbara and has over 15 years of professional experience.

Instructors

Matthew Irvine

Matthew Irvine

Matt Irvine worked as a Detective with the Glendale, California Police Department, investigating sex crimes and family violence before transferring to Robbery/Homicide. He moved to the San Francisco District Attorney Bureau of Investigations, where he was assigned to public corruption investigations. Matt reached the rank of Lieutenant, overseeing the Public Corruption Task Force (with the FBI) and the investigation of officer-involved incidents. After retiring from sworn service, Matt joined the Portland Police Bureau as a background investigator. He currently works as a cold case sex crimes investigator. Matt is a graduate of Columbia University, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute, and the FBI National Academy.

Brian Spears

Brian Spears

Brian Spears has over 27 years of law enforcement experience with the San Jose Police Department, where he currently serves as Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Investigations. Throughout his career, Brian has served in key leadership positions, including Support Services Division Commander, Western Division Patrol Commander, and Special Investigations/Intelligence Commander. His investigative background includes assignments in Homicide, Assaults, Financial Crimes, and Organized Crime Investigations.

Rocky Zanotto

Rocky Zanotto

Rocky Zanotto is a retired San Jose Police Department investigator with more than 25 years in law enforcement, including 13 years of full-time investigative work — over 26,000 hours in the field. He served in specialized units including Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC), Robbery, and Gang Investigations, where his investigative and interview skills never took a day off. Rocky built a reputation for taking down high-level criminals through meticulous surveillance, search warrant execution, and the investigative interviews that followed. He has interviewed hundreds of suspects and victims of violent crime, giving him a rare depth of firsthand experience across some of the most demanding corners of police work. Rocky retired from SJPD in August 2025 after a career defined by relentless, results-driven investigative work.

Jeff Profio

Jeff Profio

Jeff Profio currently serves as Police Chief for the Prineville Police Department in Central Oregon. Jeff started his law enforcement career with the San Jose Police Department and served for 25 years, retiring as a Lieutenant. While at SJPD, he was assigned to Internal Affairs, the SJPD MERGE Team (SWAT), the Robbery Investigations Unit, the Vice Unit, the Covert Response Unit, and as a Field Training Officer. After retiring from SJPD, Jeff served as lieutenant for the West Valley Mission Community College Police Department for four years. Jeff is also a certified POST Master Instructor.‍

Mike Gaynor

Mike Gaynor

Michael Gaynor started his law enforcement career with the Daly City Police Department in 1979. In 1982 he transferred to the San Francisco Police Department, where he retired in 2010 as an Inspector assigned to homicide. Michael currently works at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office in the Cold Case unit. His past assignments include Crime Scene Investigation, Robbery Investigations, Domestic Violence Detail, General Works Detail (person crimes), and Homicide Investigations. Michael has lectured on Death Investigation, Homicide Investigation, Crime Scene Reconstruction, Crime Scene Investigation, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Crime Scene Photography, and Officer Involved Shooting Investigations. He holds Bachelor and Master degrees from San Jose State University in Administration of Justice.

Chris Sciba

Chris Sciba

Sergeant Chris Sciba has been with the San Jose Police Department since 1996 and is currently assigned to the Field Training Program. Chris graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Administration of Justice. He has been assigned to the Parks Enforcement Unit, Horse Mounted Unit, and the MERGE (SWAT) team. He is currently a collateral operator with the MERGE team as a sniper and explosive breacher, after serving 8 years on the team full time as a team leader and unit supervisor. Chris has provided firearms and tactical instruction for local agencies and the SJPD Academy and was awarded the SJPD Medal of Valor for his role in a hostage rescue crisis.

Nuno Tavares

Nuno Tavares

Nuno Tavares retired as a lieutenant from the Placer County District Attorney's Office after a 27-year career in law enforcement. During his tenure, he held various positions, including assignments to narcotics and auto theft task forces, crimes against persons, and cold-case homicides. Throughout his career, Nuno received multiple commendations, including Investigative Excellence awards from both the International Homicide Investigators Association and the California Robbery Investigators Association, as well as recognition for Excellence in Instruction from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Nuno currently serves as a POST instructor and frequently speaks at homicide conferences. He also works as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego and holds a Master's degree from Saint Mary's College.

Rhiannon Grotke

Rhiannon Grotke

Rhiannon Grotke is a District Attorney Investigator at the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office. She has worked in law enforcement since 2005 and has held positions as Sheriff's Dispatcher, Patrol Officer, Bailiff, Field Training Officer, Crisis Negotiation Team Leader, Detective, Child Forensic Interview Specialist, and Child Advocacy Center Coordinator. She holds specialty certificates in Child Abuse and Homicide Investigations. Rhiannon has been a practitioner of Science-Based Interviewing (SBI) since 2020 and has been coaching and instructing SBI courses with California POST's ICI SBI program while helping develop SBI curriculum throughout California.

Monty "Max" Maxwell

Monty "Max" Maxwell

Max has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, 28 of them with the Sacramento Police Department. The majority of his career was in investigations, with a focus on Narcotics, Felony Assaults, Gang Homicide, Firearms, Undercover Operations, and Surveillance. He instructs for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, California POST ICI, Los Rios College District, and CNOA. He retired as a Detective Sergeant from Sacramento P.D. in December 2023. In October 2024 he went to work for the El Dorado County DA's Office as a Criminal Investigator.

Tom Ropel

Tom Ropel

Dr. Thomas Ropel is a retired FBI Special Agent with 21 years of experience in counterterrorism, behavioral analysis, and science-based interviewing. A former Marine Corps officer, he served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force and was a lead interrogator with the U.S. High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. Dr. Ropel conducted investigations in over 35 countries and trained law enforcement worldwide. He holds a Ph.D. in International Psychology and is now a Criminal Justice Professor at Vanguard University, where he teaches courses on terrorism, interrogation, and cultural communication.‍

Daniel Perez

Daniel Perez

Daniel Perez has over 15 years of law enforcement experience and currently serves as Lieutenant at the Kern County District Attorney's Office, Bureau of Investigations. Daniel started his law enforcement career at the Kern County Sheriff's Office in 2005 and was assigned to Court Services, Uniformed Patrol, the Gang Unit, the Homicide Unit, the Internal Affairs Unit, and the Watch Lieutenant Section. In 2023, he joined the District Attorney's Office as a Senior Investigator and is now a Lieutenant leading the Criminal Division. Over his career, he has qualified as a gang, narcotics, and cellular phone expert, and has held leadership roles in the Gang Unit, Homicide Unit, and Internal Affairs Unit.‍ Daniel graduated from Cal State Bakersfield in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in History. He is passionate about teaching other peace officers and teaches several topics for POST/STC academy classes in Kern County and Advanced Officer School.

Jesse Harker

Jesse Harker

Jesse Harker has been with the Kern County Sheriff's Office since 2008. In 2016, Jesse promoted to Senior Deputy, where he began handling complex sexual assault investigations in the Bakersfield Metropolitan area. In 2018, he was assigned to the Investigations Division as a Homicide Detective. With Kern County consistently holding one of the highest homicide rates per capita in California, Jesse has led the investigations of numerous homicides of varying nature, as well as several officer-involved shootings. He has also served as an officer-involved shooting instructor for the Kern County Sheriff's Office. These assignments gave him substantial experience in authoring search warrants and deep knowledge of search and seizure law. His previous assignments include Patrol Deputy and Field Training Officer.

Johnna Watson

Johnna Watson

Officer Johnna Watson has been with the Oakland Police Department since 1992. She was a Reserve Officer for three years before being hired full time in 1995. She is currently assigned to the Office of the Chief of Police as a Public Information Officer in the Media Relations Office, a position she has held since 2011. She has worked assignments in the FTO Program, as an Internal Affairs In-Take Officer, Community Policing, Walking Beat, Bicycle Officer, Dual Purpose Motorcycle, Honor Guard, and as a Reserve boat operator in the Marine Unit. She has been an instructor for Firearms, Driving, and Patrol Procedures, both in-service and for the Oakland Police Department Academy. She was named Reserve of the Year in 1993 and received the Department's Medal of Merit in 2017 for her media management of the Ghost Ship Fire.

Michael Andraychak

Michael Andraychak

Michael Andraychak served in law enforcement for 35 years, retiring from the San Francisco Police Department as a Sergeant. During his time with SFPD, he worked patrol, narcotics/plain clothes investigations, field training officer, field training sergeant, and part-time academy instructor. He supervised the SFPD Media Relations Unit and served as Public Information Officer for ten years. He has prior experience in campus and transit law enforcement. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from the University of San Francisco and an Associate of Science degree in Criminology from City College of San Francisco.‍

Mike Rains

Mike Rains

Mike Rains holds a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in English Literature from California State University at Long Beach. While serving as a police officer in the City of Santa Monica, he received a scholarship to attend law school. He earned his Juris Doctorate summa cum laude at Golden West University School of Law and then entered private practice, leaving police work in 1980.‍ Mike worked for 18 years at the San Francisco-based law firm of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough and founded Rains Lucia Stern, PC in May 1999. The firm emphasizes representation of public safety personnel in administrative, disciplinary, civil, criminal and labor-related issues. Mike has over 30 years of experience representing police officers and other high-profile clients in civil and criminal litigation.

Jonathan Murphy

Jonathan Murphy

Partner, Collective Bargaining Group & Legal Defense Group, Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC. Extensive experience representing peace officers in discipline matters and criminal cases. On the Critical Incident Response Team; teaches POBRA, administrative investigations, critical incidents, and use-of-force law. JD from University of San Francisco; BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley.

Julia Fox

Julia Fox

Julia D. Fox is a partner in the Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC Legal Defense Practice Group, where she represents peace officers in administrative investigations and disciplinary matters. Julia has significant legal experience, including nearly eight years at the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney, spending much of her time in a felony trial unit. She is a highly experienced trial lawyer who comes from a police family: her father, brother, and husband are all cops. Julia graduated from Saint Mary's College of California with a degree in Government and earned her law degree from John F. Kennedy School of Law.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew Ganz

Andrew M. Ganz is an associate in the Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC Legal Defense Practice Group. Andrew defends public sector employees in criminal matters, administrative investigations, critical incident investigations, and disciplinary appeals. He also represents public sector employees in disciplinary actions and related litigation. Prior to joining RLS, Andrew worked as a prosecutor for over 13 years, handling virtually every type of criminal matter. He has the distinction of being named Solano County's first ever "Prosecutor of the Year." In San Francisco, Andrew spent most of his time in the homicide unit, handling several complex cases. He has conducted well over 100 jury trials individually, written and argued countless motions, conducted many hundreds of preliminary hearings, presented cases to grand juries, handled writs and appeals, represented the State in parole hearings, and delivered several trainings to lawyers, law enforcement, and criminalists.‍

Steven Schuback

Steven Schuback

Steven Schuback is a seasoned labor relations attorney with over 20 years of experience representing public sector employers in complex disciplinary matters, grievances, and arbitrations. Licensed in Oregon and Washington, he specializes in law enforcement labor relations and provides comprehensive training to government agencies on collective bargaining, employee discipline, and employment law compliance.‍

Advisor

Peter Poulos

Peter Poulos

Lead Investigator, Oregon DOJ Child Advocacy and Protection Division. 20+ years' investigative experience. U.S. Army Infantry veteran; former Reserve Deputy, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. MA in Criminal Justice, Western Oregon University; BS in Psychology, Corban University. Certified by Reid Institute, LSI, and Paul Ekman Group.