The Lakeland Police Citizen Advisory Board was formed in June of 2020, made up of nine citizens from across the Lakeland community. Each member of the Lakeland City Commission, City Manager, and Police Chief Ruben Garcia selected a representative to serve a term on the board.
The LPCAB board is focused on discussing new agency programs, past police/citizen interactions, and providing insight on community needs to LPD staff. The goal of the board is to have an open dialogue with members of the Lakeland Police Department, allowing for continued development to enhance quality of life for our citizens and those visiting our beautiful city.
Citizen Advisory Board By-Laws
Contact:
Carol Ratcliff
Phone: 863.834.6907
carol.ratcliff@lakelandgov.net
MEMBERS
Dr. Shandale Terrell
Chairman of the Lakeland Police Advisory Board
Dr. Shandale Terrell, commonly known as Dale Terrell was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida and a graduated from Lakeland Senior High School. Dr. Terrell is an Educator for K-12 Polk County Public Schools. Dr. Terrell daily obligations are: educating special need students, analyzing academic, assessment data and mentoring students. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree, majoring in Education from Florida A&M University; a Master of Science Degree in Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University; and a Doctoral Degree in Education with a concentration in Higher Education Leadership and a minor in Urban Education from Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Terrell served as a Committee Member for the City of Lakeland (COL) Citizens Advisory Committee, the Citizens Advisory Budget Committee, and the Gang Task Force Committee. He served on the Board of Directors for the Lakeland Police Athletic League (PAL) Youth Leadership Program.
Elena Giarratano
Elena Giarrantano is an Employment Specialist with the AARP Senior Community Service Employment Program. Born and raised in Westchester County, NY, she is consistently involved with community programs such as the Combee Area Revitalization Effort, Combee Emergency Responders Team, the Lakeland Community Theatre Senior Troupe, and Guardian Ad Litem (10th Circuit).
Carol Philipson
Susan Ripley
Susan Ripley has lived in Lakeland since 1978 when her family moved to Florida. She has been married 31 years to someone she met in high school and they have two grown children. As a youth, she was a Lakeland Police Explorer for four years. She has worked in child welfare for 30 years, currently as the Director of Foster Home Licensing for Heartland for Children who manages the child welfare system in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties. She also has her own private business doing private adoption related services (Southeastern Adoption Services), and currently serves on the LPD Advisory Board & Polk School Board Advisory Council.
Veronica Roundtree
Veronica Roundtree is a retired educator and healthcare worker with over 30 years of service, and previously served as a freelance writer for the Ledger and the New York Times. Though a Florida native, she is also an avid traveller who has traveled to over 30 countries. Veronica holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and Management, Human Services, as well as a Masters Degree in HR Management.
Veronica serves her community in various capacities, including on the Lakeland Electric Advisory Committee; as the chair of Summerwerx for youth employment; as the NAC Scholarship Chair; vice chair on the Habitat Board; the chair for Code Enforcement and as the president of the Valencia-Pinehurst Neighborhood Association. She also serves as the President of Basic Life Support, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Dr. Sallie Stone
Dr. Sallie Stone is a consummate professional with over twenty years of experience in educational leadership and management. She is the founder of Compass Smart Solutions educational consulting providing training, professional development, business coaching and motivational speaking for diverse groups around customized themes. As the owner of Well-done Events! multi-media services Dr. Stone has established a solid reputation for helping businesses and organizations promote their message through digital marketing and branding strategies.
Dr. Stone is an experienced educator and administrator with 20 plus years of experience across academic levels to include elementary, secondary, adult, and higher-ed. She has extensive experience in working with charter schools in Florida and one highlight of her career includes being the founding Principal of a local collegiate charter high school. She has served as an adjunct professor/site supervisor with Grand Canyon University working with teachers in their clinical courses and principals in their internship courses. She currently serves as a substitute mentor for Kelly Educational Staffing providing support, professional development and evaluation processes for substitutes working in the Polk County School District.
Dr. Stone is married with one daughter and loves spending time with family, taking care of her eighty-two-year-old mother, who is her inspiration. She seeks opportunities to partner with those who are passionate about changing the culture of communities to create a better place to live and work for all.
Mathew Vancol
Mathew Vancol is an IT and Marketing professional based out of Lakeland. He is the oldest of four children with two loving parents and his favorite girl in the world, his dog Nala. Mathew moved to Lakeland in 2006 and been in love with the city since then. His passion is people and people are his passion.
Mathew loves to serve and has been that way since he was a kid. Being asked to be a part of the Lakeland Police Advisory Board, he was taken aback that he out of all people was asked to be part of the board. His journey to serving his community and his fellow law enforcement officers has made his purpose much more meaningful.
Tom Williams
Tom Williams grew up in Atlanta, GA and is the owner of Harvest Logistics, LLC. He holds a Forestry degree from Auburn University. With over 25 years of forestry experience, Tom has provided consulting services for private landowners and timber companies in Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and Belize. A frequent speaker at forestry conferences, Tom has made presentations internationally at conferences in Sweden and South France. A Lakeland resident of Lake Morton Historic District since the mid 90’s, Tom and his wife attend Strong Tower Church in the Parker Street area.
Stephen Young
Stephen Young is a representative of Downtown, Dixieland, Lake Morton, and Hollingsworth districts. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from the University of Florida, which he received after serving in the Marine Corps for eight years. He is a franchisee of three local 7-Eleven convenience stores. Stephen also owns multiple rental properties around the downtown area of Lakeland. He has been on the SAC committee at Scott Lake Elementary and currently sits on the Board of Directors at South Lakeland Baseball. Stephen has been a resident of Lakeland for 15 years and 3 out of 4 of his kids were born at Lakeland Regional. He is here to help bring the community together with the Lakeland Police Department in a variety of ways.