Minnesota has been the home to several major events in the past, including the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul. In just the next few years, the state will host the 2018 Super Bowl and the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. Planning for such major events requires cooperation not just between local, state, and federal government, but also a close partnership with the private sector. In this panel discussion, we’ll hear from national and local experts about what it takes to secure a major event while protecting local communities.
About The Keynote Panel
Dag Sohlberg
Retired FBI Special Agent and current NFL Security Consultant
Dag Sohlberg holds a B.S. in international relations. He spent 6 years in the U.S. Navy prior to joining the FBI as a specia
l agent where he specialized in organized crime investigations. At the time of his retirement from the FBI in 1998, Dag supervised joint federal-state task forces investigating drug cartels, gangs and violent crimes.
Following his retirement from the FBI, Dag was hired as a special investigator for the Office of Independent Counsel to investigate allegations of bribery against a member of the U.S. presidential cabinet. From there, he became a licensed private investigator, beginning his tenure as a security consultant for the National Football League. He has provided security consul for the 2002 and 2003 Super Bowls as well as NFL Pro Bowls. He currently conducts security audits of NFL stadiums and is looking forward to being the host security consultant for the 2018 Super Bowl to be played in the Minneapolis US Bank Stadium.
Dan Murphy, CFE, CFCI
Retired detective-sergeant, New York City Police and current CSO
Dan Murphy is a 20-year veteran of the New York City Police department where he served as a detective and detective-sergeant for various divisions including narcotics, organized crime investigation, major case squad, the Bronx gang investigations squad and ultimately, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) after 9/11. His areas of expertise included Federal RICO investigations of violent gangs, kidnapping, human trafficking, bank robbery and counterterrorism. Dan has been acknowledged for his outstanding patrol and detective work as a recipient of the 2003 National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) TOP COP Award, given by John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted” in Washington, D.C. He was a first responder to the terror attacks of both February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center, and has performed undercover work in Southeast Asia while working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Dan has also held such positions as a financial crimes and fraud investigator for The Bank of New York, global security investigations for Supervalu, and as a founding partner of Violence Prevention Strategies LLC. He currently is the CSO for a large financial institution and is co-author of the recently published “Workplace Safety: Establishing an Effective Violence Prevention Program”.
Kim Klawiter
Former MN State Patrol lieutenant and current MN Vikings security
A Minnesota native, Kim Klawiter is a decorated 14-year U.S. military veteran whose awards include the Bronze Star for heroism and an Air Medal. After serving in Viet Nam, he received a degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota where he then went on to become a Minnesota State Patrol trooper for 24+ years. Kim was responsible for all VIP visits to Minnesota such as President Ronald Reagan, the Dalai Llama, and President Mikhail Gorbachev. He was also in charge of the State Patrol SRT (Special Response Team), the State Patrol’s equivalent of SWAT.
Kim first started working with the Minnesota Vikings in 2001 in response to 9/11 as part of a Command Post for home games. Upon his retirement from the Minnesota State Patrol, he was hired as part of the full-time security team for the Vikings. He oversees security for team owners, players, staff and the headquarters at Winter Park.
Michele Kelm-Helgen
Chair, MN Sports Facilities Authority
Michele Kelm-Helgen leads the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority in its role of planning and designing U.S. Bank Stadium. Prior to her role as chair, Michele served as deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs in the office of Governor Mark Dayton. She was chief of staff for the Minnesota State Senate from 2006-2010 and also worked as director of Control Data Corporation’s (now Ceridian) city venture division, later becoming a partner with North State Advisers, a governmental affairs/public relations consulting firm.
Michele has also served as chair of the Eastern Carver County School Board and of the school district’s personnel and legislative action Committees. She is a member of Club 9 Rotary in Minneapolis, Dunkers, and serves on the board of Meet Minneapolis. Michele received her B.A. from the College of St. Catherine, and her MBA with honors from the University of St. Thomas.
Donald McKinnon, Jr.
Chief of DHS Special Events Program, Office of Operations Coordination, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Retired deputy chief of police Don McKinnon, Jr. served in the Manassas City Virginia Police department for nearly 30 years. He is a graduate Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development School (LEEDS). He is also an internationally published author and has conducted significant research on the fear of crime as it relates to community policing efforts.
Since joining the team at the Department of Homeland Security, Don has served in the Special Events Program in the Office of Operations Coordination. In this capacity he is responsible for the data collection, risk assessment and coordination of the federal response to major special events across the nation. He has served as the DHS lead for numerous major events including the last seven Super Bowls. He frequently presents as a subject matter expert on special event security, coordination and planning.
About Bryan Strawser the Moderator
CEO, Bryghtpath LLC
Bryan Strawser is a globally recognized strategist and thought leader who founded Bryghtpath LLC in 2014 after a 21 year career at Target Corporation.
At Bryghtpath, Bryan leads a team of globally recognized experts that offer strategic counsel on identifying, preparing for, and managing risk to the world’s leading brands, nonprofits and public sector agencies.
Bryan holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He is a graduate of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative Program at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government.
