About Ron Ward

About Ron Ward

Ron Ward is the author of the Amazon best seller, The Dirty Side of Leadership, speaker, and founder and CEO of 4Ward Operations (Leadership Coaching). He previously served as the Academy Director of the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, South Carolina. Ron also oversaw the US Probation and Pretrial National Wellness Committee. As academy director, Ron was responsible for training all newly hired U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Officers, and the certification and recertification of the agency’s firearms, safety, and search team instructors.

Ron previously served as Chair of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation Board of Directors (FLETA) from August 2012 through September 2014, which included all major federal law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Ron began his law enforcement career as a deputy sheriff and later becoming a state probation and parole officer and, finally, a U.S. Probation Officer, where he served for 14 years. Prior to being named Academy Director, Ron was a section chief and taught defensive tactics, along with several other courses, at the academy.

Ron is a former USA/AAU East Coast Karate Silver Medalist and qualified for the US Karate Team. Ron holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia, and a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Mountain State University, Beckley, West Virginia

Our Team

About Ron Ward

Ron Ward

Founder & CEO

Ron is the founder of 4Ward Operations – Author of the Amazon best selling book, The Dirty Side of Leadership, Leadership Coach and Trainer. He is a former Federal Law Enforcement Academy Director and former chair of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation board of directors.

Ron is also a former USA/AAU East Coast Karate Silver Medalist and qualified for the US Karate Team.

Kristin Sok

Corporate Trainer / Podcast Co-Host

Kristin is a former Bank Leader, with 20 years’ experience in leading teams to deliver excellence within Retail Banking and Operations Management.

Campaign Manager for a local political candidate in the 2022 midterm elections and moderator of the Oregon Gubernatorial midterm election debate.

Host of a national talk show discussing current events, policy, health and leadership with highly accredited guests. Co-host of The Dirtyside of Leadership PODCAST with Ron Ward.

Gary Tucker

marketing director

Gary Tucker is an experienced entrepreneur and digital media professional based in Charleston, SC. He is the owner of Palmetto Media Company, a web development and digital marketing agency.  With a passion for technology and a keen eye for detail, Gary has spent over a decade honing his skills in web development, content creation, UGI content, and social media services.

He has built a reputation as a reliable and innovative digital marketing professional works closely with clients to create custom web development solutions that meet their unique needs. He also specializes in content creation, including UGI content, which is a highly effective way to engage audiences and drive conversions.

Ross Swope

Author

He has been published over 35 times in both practitioner and academic journals on police topics, nationally and internationally. Ross Swope has been an adjunct professor at both Johns Hopkins where he taught ethics and at the American University. He traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia at the request of the Department of Justice where he taught senior level management and command staff policing tactics and strategies. Among is many awards and commendations he received the Medal of Valor (MPD’s highest award for Courage) and the Medal of Merit. Following his retirement from the Metropolitan Police Department he was recruited and hired by the Supreme Court of the United States as their Chief of Police where he spent 14 years. At the Court he was responsible for the protection and security for the Chief Justice and Associate Justices, dignitaries, VIP’s, guests and over 300,000 visitors to the Court each year. During his tenure he virtually single handedly transformed a guard force into a top flight, professional, full service police department of over 160 sworn officers. Ross Swope’s 43 years of experience in policing included planning, administration, management, investigations, budgeting, human relations, with an emphasis on leadership. He has effectively applied his continuing education in improving those departments and has always been a forward thinking leader with a vision to constantly improve and progress. Ross Swope has always seen the importance of integrity and ethics in police work. From his earliest days as a sergeant in charge of a squad of police officers he has seen the good and the bad and began to develop a leadership mantra that effectively addressed ethical shortcomings, culminating in his common sense and practical approach to achieving ethical conduct in the performance of officers duties. By invitation, Ross Swope was invited to be the only police officer to give a keynote speech at the Department of Justice’s National Symposium on Police Integrity. This three day event drew 200 participants from a diverse background, including the Attorney General Janet Reno. Ross Swope spoke on his experiences and the application of his leadership style in achieving an ethical police culture. All of the keynote presentations were published in book form by the Department of Justice. Within a few years the Los Angles Police Department suffered a catastrophic scandal, that garnered national attention and was labeled the Rampart Area Corruption Incident. In there search for reasons and solutions to the ethical lapses that they experienced they drew on the book that was published by the Department of Justice. In there review of this book they singled out Ross Swope as the sole individual that identified the problems and had solutions to them that they adopted. Ross Swope knows the police culture as only one who has lived it for 43 years. He has been validated and tested in his approach to creating and improving an ethical police culture that results in a reduction or elimination of police misconduct and use of excessive force.

Lisa Muggeo

Special Projects

Lisa is a dynamic trainer, educator and coach who develops, implements, and facilitates educational programs that improve learning and professional development for students, teachers and clients.

Haley Ridley

Finance / Bookkeeper

Haley Ridley, Haley has an MBA in business and several years of experience in finance management.

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