Edward Pallas is currently a District Commander with the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCP) in Maryland, where he has served for 27 years. His prior assignments include MCP Director of the Training & Education Division and the Major Crimes Division. Commander Pallas is also the leader of his department’s Crisis Negotiation Team, where he has served as a Conflict/Hostage negotiator for the last 20 years.
Ed earned a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University and a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University. His dissertation, The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Transformational Leadership Style, and Effectiveness among Police Supervisors, is published with ProQuest. Dr. Pallas is skilled in the Socratic Method. He has taught thousands of law enforcement and private-sector professionals from the United States, Canada, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Armenia. He strives to keep his students engaged and eager to learn.
Ed is currently a faculty member with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI LEEDA). Prior to joining the LEEDA cadre, Ed spent 12 years as a Master Instructor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership in Organizations (LPO) program. Additionally, he teaches leadership, communication, and psychology courses at the undergraduate and graduate/Doctoral levels. In addition to teaching, coaching is a passion for Dr. Pallas. Ed discovered his crisis/hostage negotiation skills had much in common with the best executive coaches. After many hours of study and mentoring, Ed earned his Associate Certified Coach credential (ACC) from the International Coach Federation (ICF). Being married with three children keeps him busy, but he likes to write.
Ed Pallas is the author of the book Leader Armor; Leadership for the Law Enforcement First-line Supervisor. Reviewers called Leader Armor is a “Must read for supervisors and managers” and “an essential read for any person - in any professional field - who is new to the leadership role.” He also writes the occasional article in Police Chief Magazine and PoliceOne.com. Previous articles include “Gettysburg Battlefield - Teaching Contemporary Leadership,” “Research in Brief, Leadership in Law Enforcement” and “Resilience, Your New Superpower.”
While not engaged in leadership learning, training, or coaching, Ed strives to be an average Cross Fitter and to keep up with his wife and oldest daughter, both of whom are fierce CrossFit competitors
