Who We Are

trainwithtec@gmail.com

Who We Are

Years Experience

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Our Mission

We are passionate about improving services to MH consumers, and developing collaborative community partnerships to provide care. Understanding needs in the area of mental health and providing education and training benefits all parts of the system and provides for the safety of both the officers and persons involved in the mental health encounter.

Our Team

ALYSE FERGUSON

A compassionate advocate for mental health, Alyse Ferguson has dedicated her career to protecting the rights of some of the community’s most vulnerable citizens. Her work as Chief Attorney of the Managed Counsel in Collin County included responsibilities overseeing mental health cases and providing resources to lawyers, the courts and clients. She enhances services through coordination with police agencies, local jails, state hospitals, and other organizations to ensure that persons living with mental illness are properly treated by all sectors of the criminal justice system.

Alyse adeptly combines legal expertise with a passion for helping others—making her uniquely qualified to facilitate the best possible outcomes—people who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

Originally from the rural community of Merkel, Texas, Alyse has worked in law enforcement, community mental health, and as an attorney through her career. She regularly presents on mental health topics at conferences and events to many diverse groups including attorneys, community members, and law enforcement. Known for her tireless efforts to improve the system, Alyse has earned several recognitions for her contributions to mental health advocacy, including the – Dallas Mental Health America Prism Award, Texas CIT- Advocate of the Year, and North Texas NAMI- Advocate of the Year. Alyse holds a JD-Juris Doctorate from Texas Wesleyan School of Law. She earned her MS in counseling psychology and a BS in criminal justice/psychology from Angelo State University.

In both her personal and professional life, Alyse welcomes the challenges that come with solving problems big and small—everything from cracking a particularly difficult crossword puzzle clue to championing mental health education, training, and advocacy.

Shawn Edwards

Shawn has over 27 years of experience in law enforcement and holds a Master Peace Officers License as well as a Master Jail License. The past 16 years, he has focused his career on mental health by working with mental health partners to advocate and educate law enforcement.

Shawn has served in several rolls in his career including on the SWAT tactical team, Hostage/Crisis negotiator, training coordinator and patrol supervisor. He serves as a Regional Director for the Texas CIT Association, part of the Texas Municipal Police Officer Association, Texas Jail Association, Brazos Valley Crisis Network, and the Texas Sheriff’s Association. Shawn also serves as board member with the Brazos Valley Coalition on Suicide Prevention.

Shawn’s passion has been working in the mental health field along side NAMI, LMHA, Mental Health facilities, Courts, Attorneys and law enforcement agencies to network and advocate for individuals living with a mental illness.

Shawn is a TCOLE certified instructor and a field training officer. He has taught mental health courses to include Crisis Intervention, MHO and de-escalation courses. He is one of the States leading mental health instructors.

In 2016, Shawn was recognized as the Officer of the Year in Burleson County. In 2021, Shawn was recognized as Mental Health Officer of the Year for the State of Texas for 2020, by the Texas CIT Association. In 2022, Texas Association of Counties awarded Shawn and Burleson County, a best practices award for their mental health and jail diversion program.

Sergeant Billy McIntosh

Billy McIntosh is a Sergeant with the Wylie Police Department, a small city situated just Northeast of Dallas. Billy has been in law enforcement for 18 years and holds numerous certifications, such as Mental Health Officer, TCOLE Instructor, defensive tactics and handcuffing instructor, Force Science certification, and numerous leadership and mental health continuing education hours.

Billy has long had a passion for helping those with mental health navigate this system we all try to work with, as he understands this is not as simple as a single office visit as with some other medical issues we all have to deal with.

Billy hopes to continue his work training others in the skills of compassion and empathy throughout this State and any others he can reach, as well as be a resource to anyone that needs a helping hand.

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