In 1975, I took my first college class in investigative interviewing. Since then, I have consciously worked on making it a core skill strength in my work as a professional investigator. Twenty years later, I sat in a three-day seminar led by a former Israeli Polygraph operator, who coined the term, "I'm from the Department of What Happened" and that description has always stuck with me. The seminal moment in my learnings came a few years later, in Boca Raton, Florida, when by pure chance, I came across a public assess broadcast of a community college class in Psychology. Talk about an aha moment. As former police officer and insurance fraud investigator, I have sat across the table from many witnesses and suspects. I continue to hone my interviewing skills as a licensed private investigator taking statements and memorializing interviews in a variety of civil and criminal cases. I still study and teach interviewing concepts and have successfully trained new investigators how to become confident and competent in their interviewing. I present at international seminars and write articles in industry magazines that have won publishing awards. After establishing rapport with some witnesses, I like to tell them that I am from The Department of What Happened.
