Ronald J. Cristando
Founder
Ronald Cristando has worked as a consultant to law enforcement since 1979 when he served as project director for the CA POST certified Air Crash Disaster Simulation Training Program. Based on the experience of the San Diego PD and other first responder’s management of the PSA Flight 182 crash in September 1978, it was designed to improve the preparedness of police and sheriff’s departments to manage major disasters.
Certified by California POST, Nevada POST and the California Board of State and Community Corrections (STC), he has worked with hundreds of law enforcement agencies varying in size from over 9,000 sworn (LAPD and LASO) to agencies with 12 sworn. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, team building, leadership, management and supervisory development, community policing, change management and executive search. Other assignments have included management of the testing process for lieutenants and sergeants, development of new and more objective performance evaluation systems and the investigation of sexual harassment and hostile work environment complaints in police departments.
Prior to founding Cristando House, Inc. 1980, he served for nine years as the executive director of the Valley Regional Training Center in Fresno, CA. This intergovernmental agency was the first of its kind in the US and the model for nine similar agencies located throughout California. Under his leadership he tripled the size of the staff, increased revenues by over 300 percent and recruited and supervised over 40 consultant/trainers to raise the capacity of public sector policy makers, executives, managers and employees. In 1976 he was instrumental in confederating the ten agencies in California into the Regional Training Center Network, creating the largest public sector consulting and training delivery system in the United States at that time.
Previously, Mr. Cristando worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, the California State Association of Counties, a county administrative office and a county welfare department. He earned his MA degree in public administration from the University of California, Berkeley and his BA degree in political science from California State University, Fresno. He resides in Cambria, CA.