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2026 NCAPI SPRING CONFERENCE-SPEAKERS AND TOPICS

Event:  North Carolina Association of Private Investigators’ Spring Conference 2026
Dates:  April 21 - 22, 2026
Location:  Courtyard by Marriott, 100 Charlotte Avenue, Carolina Beach, NC 28428
PPSB-22-001S

 

Topic:  PPS Overview & Current Issues Facing Our Industry (1 hour)
Speaker: Paul Sherwin, Director, North Carolina Private Protective Services

 

Speaker Biography: 

Paul Sherwin was appointed by Department of Public Safety Secretary Eric Hooks as the director of PPS in June 2020. Prior to his appointment, he served as the agency’s Deputy Director.Sherwin previously worked in corporate security with DHL Global Forwarding, and in law enforcement with the Norfolk Southern Railway Police Department in Raleigh; the Durham County Sheriff’s Office; and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Hillsboro, Oregon. Sherwin is a veteran who served in the Oregon Army National Guard and the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2011, where he achieved the rank of captain and worked primarily in the infantry and field artillery branches. He completed one deployment to Mosul, Iraq, in 2008. Sherwin received a BS degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and a Master’s Degree in administration from Queens University of Charlotte.

 

 

Topic:  How to Run a PI Business (1.5 hours) 

Speaker: Garland Slate

Speaker Biography: 

Mr. Garland E Slate is a former white collar crime FBI Special Agent. He received four performance awards for excellence in white collar crime investigations from the FBI.  He has over 38 years professional investigative experience, specializing in financial crimes / white collar matters, military investigations (prosecution and defense) and police defense investigations. He has operated Integrity Investigations Inc., a private investigations business in NC, SC, & VA for the past 27 years. Mr. Slate has received commendations from the Chief District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma and the US Army Trial Defense Services, and the US Army Trial Assistance Services (prosecutors). He has been married to Jane for 44 years, has four children and nine grandchildren.  

 

 

 

Topic:  Close Protection Advances: Quiet Planning. Confident Protection.  (1 hour)

Speaker: Jaymes Holden

 

Speaker Biography: 

Mr. Jaymes Holden is the President of 360 Protection Group, Inc. and has more than 40 years of investigative and executive protection experience. He gained his 30 plus years of Investigative experience in North Carolina law enforcement where he served as a criminal investigator, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain of investigations. Mr. Holden has over 10 years of experience working on the Department of State Worldwide Protection (WPS) contracts in Kabul Afghanistan, Jerusalem Israel, and protecting multiple high-net-worth clients in Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and a Master’s degree in Security Management from American Military University. 

Mr. Holden is a licensed private investigator in North Carolina, and Virginia, licensed close personal protection in North Carolina and Virginia, and licensed security guard and patrol company in North Carolina. He is also a NC approved unarmed, and armed trainer, and an approved vendor to teach the NC close personal protection (CPP) course. He is also a Nationally Registered, and North Carolina Advanced EMT. 

Mr. Holden is a member of ASIS Charlotte North Carolina Chapter #85, Graduate and member of the FBI National Academy Session #208, Member of the NCAPI and recently elected Vice President. 

 

 

Topic:  Understanding our Laws: Firearms and Concealed Carry (2 hours) 

Speaker: Chad Thompson

 

Speaker Biography:  

Chad Thompson is a 35-year law enforcement veteran serving at local, State, Federal and even in international capacities. Chad began his career in the US Coast Guard headquartered out of District 7 in Miami Florida. Chad returned to his native State of NC in 1993 and has served in several capacities up to and including Narcotics Lieutenant and then Training Lieutenant at the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. Chad has taught concealed carry-handgun in NC since the program was conceived and became law in our State. Additionally, Chad served as Firearms School Director and Senior Firearms Instructor at the NC Justice Academy for 15 years until his retirement in 2022. Lastly, Chad is a Grandmaster pistol competitor on the USPSA circuit shooting for Deep River Customs.

  

 

Topic:  Finding Your Ideal Client: Tools and Positioning Strategies
for Private Investigators  (1 hour)
Speaker: Austin Slate
Speaker Biography:

Austin Slate is a licensed private investigator with nine years of experience specializing in criminal defense investigations. Trained by former FBI Special Agent Garland Slate, Austin owns his own PI firm and has built a social media following of over 100,000 followers through educational content. As a serial entrepreneur who has owned multiple small businesses, Austin brings practical insights on effective marketing strategies for investigative practices in today's digital landscape.

 

Topics: The Value of Leaked Records in Your Investigation (2 hours) &

LOCINT (LOCation INTelligence): A Powerful Investigative Secret (1.5 hours) 

Speaker: Christopher Salgado

 

Speaker Biography: 

Christopher Salgado is a highly accomplished and trusted security and investigations leader with more than 20 years in cyber investigations, physical investigations and general security. He has assisted several Fortune-based companies, including a Fortune 20 company, by installing and refining numerous innovative and efficient processes on investigative and security matters, including brand protection, threat management, business continuity, intelligence, operations, recruiting, customer service, employee morale and leadership. His expertise has been applied across industries such as social media, pharmaceutical, luxury brands (clothing, jewelry, etc.), consumables, automotive, electronics, film production, streaming services, entertainment, insurance, law firms, other investigative firms and more. 

In 2016 - 2019, Christopher assisted in building and managing Facebook's global investigations division, including their Investigations Center, a 24/7 /365 security, investigations and intelligence support operation. While at Facebook, he was able to assist on sensitive matters, including Cambridge Analytica and the election tampering of the 2016 US presidential election. 

Christopher is an expert social engineer and has presented on various physical and cyber investigative topics, including social engineering, romance scams, elderly fraud, child online safety, online investment fraud, general online fraud, cyber investigations, physical investigations, counterfeits, cults, assessing and reducing your online footprint and other topics. Christopher has presented to various companies, law firms and law enforcement agencies. 

Christopher was a keynote speaker at CrimeCon 2022 where he spoke on romance scams. He is Founder of AGGOSO™ Training, a comprehensive OSINT/cyber training program for investigators, corporations, law firms, journalists and those desiring to upskill their OSINT/cyber investigative skillset. He is also a member of the London Speaker Bureau.

 

 

 

 Topic: Digital Stakeouts: Securing Your Tech While Tracking the Truth (1 hour)  

Speaker: Kiley Couch

 

Speaker Biography: 

Kiley Couch brings over 25 years of experience in technology delivery, security architecture, and operational risk management. For the past 15 years, he has served in senior leadership roles guiding innovation, transformation, and secure platform design across various industries.

He currently leads a team of 35 engineers at a rapidly growing security software company with offices in Durham, NC; Bellevue, WA; and Emeryville, CA, where his work focuses on building resilient, secure systems that protect sensitive data and support regulatory and compliance needs. In his spare time, Kiley enjoys exploring emerging technologies, home automation, and unplugging with jigsaw puzzles.

 

 

 Topic: Crash Investigation for Civil Litigation (1 hour)  

Speaker: Frank Bianco

 

Speaker Biography: 

Frank Bianco, Private Investigator, sole-proprietor owner of Bianco Investigations in North Carolina for the past thirteen years. He has built trusting and meaningful relationships with Private Attorneys throughout our State and lectures eight (8) board approved work-based experienced training that remains open to all Private Protective Service license holders. Frank holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from City University of New York, and re red a er twenty-one years of dedicated service as Detective-Investigator from the New York City Police Department. In addition, he completed and earned certifications of NC General Instructor Trainer and PPS Unarmed Guard Trainer. Frank works on a contractual basis for personal injury law firms while mainly focusing on civil litigation case matters. His background career and experience with civil and criminal investigations has been extremely valuable enhancing a multitude of case investigations. Frank enjoys exercising, spending time with family and volunteering his me and talent with neighborhood community events and church youth mentoring programs.