Chief's Advisory Board Members
The Police Chief’s Advisory Board was formed in October 2009. Members of the Board are briefed on all activities of the Police Department and bring issues and community concerns to the Chief’s attention. Board members receive updated advisories and alerts on crimes and are invited to department events. Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Takoma Park Community Center. Applicants are interviewed and selected by the Chief of Police and a member of the Board. Members are required to have a criminal background check. To reach out to a Board member in your Ward, please see their contact information.
Ward 1
Ms. Stewart has lived in Takoma Park since 1984 and currently serves as the chaplain for the Takoma Park Police Department. She is an ordained minister and currently serves at the historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. In her past career, she served with the Metropolitan Police Department and retired at the rank of Captain. Contact: gfisher143@verizon.net or (301) 996-4102
Ms. Beal has grown up in Takoma Park. She attended Takoma Park Elementary, Piney Branch, and Takoma Park Middle Schools. She joined the advisory board to bring attention to issues that impact the community and the youth of our community. She is a sophomore in high school and she plans to focus on law or psychology in college.
Contact: akbeal1025@gmail.com
Mr. Peacock has lived his whole life in Montgomery County, except while being educated at Harvard (A.B.) and Columbia (PhD). He is the husband of neuropsychologist Linda Sapin, with whom he has owned a house in Takoma Park since 1984. Their son Sean attended Takoma Park Elementary and Middle Schools, served as an Emergency Medical Technician at the Takoma Volunteer Fire Department, received his BS from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and his AA in radiography from Montgomery College in Takoma Park, and now works at an X-Ray and Cat-Scan technician at Community Radiology Associates. Mr. Peacock is Professor Emeritus of Native American Studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, and an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation in Fort Totten, N.D. A published poet in English and the endangered Dakota language, he has given readings at the Takoma Park Community Center. He worships and teaches adult Sunday School classes on restorative justice at Takoma Park Presbyterian Church. Mr. Peacock is particularly interested in serving as a liaison between his church and the Takoma Park Police department. Trained in conflict resolution at the Lombard Mennonite Mediation Skills Training Institute, he also hopes to help advance police-community relations in the broader Takoma Park community. Contact: jhpeacock@aol.com
Ward 2
Mr. Morris has lived in the Takoma Park Langley area since 1984. As a career journalist, he covered national news as a member of the White House Press Corps., worked in anti-terrorism and law enforcement as a Washington, DC Special Police Officer, as well as a Uniformed Diplomatic Security Officer for the US State Department. Mr. Morris spent 19 years with the iconic Fox Crime Show, America’s Most Wanted, as a producer and investigative on-air correspondent. Morris states “[W}orking to get justice for victims of crime and finding missing children are the things I am most professionally devoted to and passionate about.” Mr. Morris is currently the host of the fugitive profiling TV show Live PD Wanted on the A&E Network, co-host Crime Analyst on Live PD and host of the A&E sponsored podcast, P.D. Stories. Mr. Morris further states “I love Takoma Park and have never wanted to live anywhere else.” Contact: 40gunner@gmail.com
Ms. Trainor has lived in Takoma Park since 2017. Before she retired in 2020, she worked in the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, investigating police departments of all sizes, and also conditions in prisons, jails, and lockups, both for adults and juveniles. She is the mother of two grown sons. Contact: trainorcathleen@gmail.com or (301) 906-1917
Mr. Della-Giacoma is an active member of the Long Branch Sligo Community Association and the Friends of Sligo Creek. When he first migrated to the United States some 20 years ago, he moved to Montgomery County and has lived in Takoma Park’s Ward 2 since 2016. He is the father of two teenagers attending local schools. As a life-long community organizer, Mr. Della-Giacoma is interested in building relationships between local government and his neighbors, including the Takoma Park Police Department. He has participated in the Takoma Park Community Police Academy and is a serving member of the City of Takoma Park’s Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC). When not cycling on Sligo Creek, he is an international development consultant working in various fields, including elections, political risk, and building local community resilience. Contact: jimdella@gmail.com
Ms. Zavala was born and raised in Takoma Park. She is a Diversity and Inclusion program manager in the federal government. Ms. Zavala previously worked on Capitol Hill and in federal legislative affairs. She credits her immigrant parents and this community with shaping her interest in public service. Contact: patriciazs854@gmail.
Ward 3
Ms. Lopez and her husband have lived in Takoma Park since 1995 and have two children. Until a few years ago, she worked at the US Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division. She is currently a professor at Georgetown University’s Law School where she teaches courses on Criminal Procedure and Policing and runs a program she co-founded, the Innovative Policing Program. Contact: christy.e.lopez@gmail.com or (301) 270-9066
Mr. Payne has lived in Takoma Park since 2013. He works as a webmaster for a government contractor and is qualified as an engineer. He is originally from Britain, moved to the United States in 2001 and is a naturalized citizen. Mr. Payne lives with his partner and two little dogs! He enjoys watching movies and sees around 200+ a year. He also serves as a Board member in DC’s only square dance club.
Contact: brianpayne@yahoo.com
Ward 4
Mr. Landsman was born in Takoma Park and is a life-long Montgomery County resident. Currently, he leads PulselQ!, a unique and innovative company delivering energy efficient to master-meter buildings, and has prior professional experience in property management, real estate and federal consulting. He earned his BS from Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and his MS from University College London’s School of Public Policy in the UK. Mr. Landsman has lived in Takoma Park since 2011 with his wife, Elizabeth Tully, and together they have two young children, Miriam and Francis. Contact: adamlandsman@gmail.com or 301-785-5064
Ward 5
Mr. Chalofsky has lived in Takoma Park for over 35 years, raising his children here. He is a founding member of the TPSS Co-Op and is a retiring university graduate program faculty member. Contact: nealcha@gwu.edu
Ward 6
Mr. Schultz and his wife moved to Takoma Park in 1986. He served eight years on the Takoma Park City Council (2009-2017). Prior to that, he served on the Public Safety Citizens Advisory Committee for approximately three years and the Montgomery County’s Purple Line Master Plan Advisory Group. Mr. Schultz has a degree from Duke and a Masters in Regional Planning from Cornell. He spent many years in economic development and commercial banking. Contact: fred@schultz.net or (301) 434-7090
IN MEMORIAM
Juan Luis Torres passed away on Friday, November 12, 2021, after a brief illness.
Juan served on this Board representing Ward 2 for many years and had lived in Takoma Park since the 1970s. Juan also previously worked for the Public Works Department in Takoma Park and later served as the Public Works Director for the town of Cheverly.
Memorial contributions may be made to Takoma Academy, www.ta.edu.
Juan Torres obituary in Post
Juan will be deeply missed.
