Biography

Valencia College East and West Campus - Criminal Justice

Professor, Criminal Justice Program Chair at Valencia College
Dave
Heffernan
Valencia College, Orlando, Florida 10/06 – Present
Professor, Criminal Justice Program Chair
Director, School of Public Safety / CJI Assistant Director / Adjunct Professor – Criminal Justice

Tallahassee Community College, assigned to Valencia College, Orlando, FL 09/01 – 10/06
Coordinator & Senior Instructor

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Orlando, Florida 2/97 - 8/01
Detention Superintendent
Quality Assurance Lead Reviewer

Central Oklahoma Juvenile Diagnostic & Evaluation Center 2/92 – 1/97
Director of Diagnostic & Evaluation program and Chief of Detention Operations

Prior to working in the education and criminal justice field, Dave was a United States Air Force Pilot and was an instructor pilot in high performance supersonic jet aircraft and an aircraft commander in the E-3C AWACS command, control, and radar surveillance aircraft. Dave flew combat support missions in Operation Just Cause (Panama) and Operation Desert Shield (Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait) and was awarded The Air Medal. Dave is a rated Airline Transport Pilot and flew commercial aircraft prior to moving to Florida. Federal Aviation Administration Instructor Certified in all categories of fixed wing aircraft; glider, single-engine, multi-engine and instrument instructor.

Dave received his A. A. Degree from Leeward Community College in 1980. He received a B. A. in Psychology in 1982 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 2009, he completed a graduate certificate in Crime Analysis and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida. In August of 2010, Dave graduated from Florida State University’s Certified Public Managers Program. Dave has a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University and a certificate in Leading Servant Institutions from the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

Finisher: 1980 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon

Featured in CBS: Sunday Morning - "Out of the Blue"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHNi0T8Wy9c