Community Partnership Forum Panelists- Winston Salem

William Herrera

Hispanic League of Winston-Salem board member, retired law enforcement
Herrera retired from law enforcement in 2012. While originally from Nassau County, New York, he has been in North Carolina for eight years. He is active in his community serving as a board member for the Hispanic League of Winston Salem. Herrera serves on the Education Committee overseeing the Middle School Achievers Program that mentors bilingual at risk youth. They work to persuade youth to stay in school and seek a higher education. Previously, he served on the board for STRONG Youth (Struggling To Reunite Our New Generation), a grassroots organization that mentors at risk youth and gang members to leave that life and become productive members of society.

During his time in law enforcement and public service, he held many positions to include lieutenant. He was a volunteer firefighter/EMT, Fire School instructor, Head of the Investigations Committee. He also worked in a Street Crime Unit; Vice, Narcotics and Investigations Unit; Gang Task Force; Gang Intelligence; Mental Health Unit; and has been a hostage negotiator.

Chief Deputy Rocky Joyner

Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
Chief Deputy Rocky Joyner began his career in 1988 working patrol for the Kernersville Police Department before joining the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in 1992. Throughout his career, he has been assigned to various areas within the agency to include being a School Resource Officer, Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Civil & Support Services, and Administration.

Joyner returned to the Kernersville Police Department in 2010 where he worked as a patrol officer, a patrol Sergeant and retired in February 2018 as a Sergeant in the Special Operations Division. He came out of retirement and was sworn in as the Major of Enforcement in December 2018 and was promoted to Chief Deputy a short time later. As Chief Deputy, he oversees all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office to include the Enforcement Bureau, Detention Bureau and Administration. As
second-in-command, Chief Joyner assists Sheriff Kimbrough in planning, administering and coordinating the activities of the Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Joyner holds a General Instructor Certificate and is specialized as a Firearms Instructor and a Rapid Deployment Instructor. He has received his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate.

Colonel Glenn M. McNeill Jr.

NCSHP commander
Gov. Cooper appointed Col. Glenn M. McNeill, Jr. as commander of the State Highway Patrol in February 2017. A military veteran, McNeill began his service as a state trooper in 1994. During his law enforcement career he has served in various positions, including the Special Operations Section, as the troop commander and, upon his promotion to major in 2014, as director of training. With oversight of the State Highway Patrol Training Academy, McNeill was responsible for all aspects of training from basic law enforcement to telecommunicator schools, in-service training, and specialized training courses such as firearms, defensive tactics, driver training, radar and training for civilian support personnel, as well as supervisors.

A native of Reidsville, McNeill holds an associate's degree from Durham Technical Community College, a bachelor's degree from Mount Olive College, and graduate certificate from the University of Virginia. He is also a graduate of the Administrative Officers Management Program and the National Academy at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in Quantico, Va. McNeill is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the N.C. Police Executives Association.

Dr. Denise Nation

Winston-Salem State University
Dr. Nation is the Chair and Associate Professor of Justice Studies in the Department of History, Politics & Social Justice at Winston-Salem State University. She has a bachelor's degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland, a master's in Applied Sociology from Old Dominion University and a doctorate in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.  

With almost two decades teaching in higher education, her research focuses on policing, juvenile justice, issues around minorities in the criminal justice system—specifically, race, class and gender. Her book, Citizens' Preferences About Police Work: An Argument for Racial Variations, explored citizen’s attitudes toward and expectations of the police. She has received several grants and in 2019 received the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association “Founders” Research Award for her research on criminal justice issues in North Carolina. In addition to receiving several teaching awards, Nation is published in a number of peer-reviewed journals as well as in several criminology and criminal justice encyclopedias. 

Pastor Jayson Sloan

St. Peter’s Church & World Outreach Center, Winston-Salem
Pastor Jayson Sloan serves as the youth pastor of 24/7, a youthful extension of St. Peter’s Church & World Outreach Center, in Winston-Salem. Their mission is reaching, teaching and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to young people across all races, denominations and cultures. 24/7 is a dynamic ministry comprised of young people. It is described as a ministry for youth who have given their lives in dedication to serving God, studying His Word and praying fervently for the salvation of lost souls. The ministry is named after Jeremiah 24:7.

Pastor Sloan is a recent graduate of Winston-Salem State University with an Interdisciplinary Studies degree and a concentration in Psychology. He has also joined an elite group of leaders within the Winstin-Salem community by becoming alumni to Leadership Winston Salem.

His wife, Mia, is also a youth pastor. They are the parents of three children.
 

Chief Catrina A. Thompson

Winston-Salem Police Department
Catrina Thompson is the fifteenth Chief of Police for the city of Winston-Salem. She is a native of Detroit, MI where she graduated from Wayne State University with a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. Additionally, she also holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Appalachian State University. 

During her 26 years with the Winston-Salem Police Department, Thompson has served as the Assistant Chief in charge of the Investigative Services Bureau, which is the Command Bureau over detectives and school resource officers. She graduated from the Leadership Winston-Salem, Class of 2016, 2017 Public Executive Leadership Academy of the School of Government at UNC Chapel Hill, the West Point Leadership Program of Methodist University, and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Leadership Association program. 

In 2018, she received the Criminal Justice of the Year Award from the Ministers Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity. She was also recognized by Black Business Ink Magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential African Americans in the Piedmont Triad. 

She is married to Alonzo Thompson, a former Assistant Chief of Police with the Winston-Salem Police Department and current Chief of Police for the Spartanburg Police Department. They have two children.