
Distinguished Service Award:
Kassy Alia Ray, Ph.D.
Kassy Alia Ray is the founder and CEO of Serve & Connect, a nonprofit organization focused on fostering positive change through sustainable police-community partnerships. A graduate of the University of South Carolina with her doctorate in clinical-community psychology, Kassy founded the organization after her husband, Greg Alia, an officer with the Forest Acres Police Department, was shot and killed in 2015.
Alia Ray’s work draws on her personal experiences, combined with her expertise in Community Psychology to foster transformative change in police-community relationships. She is a member of several boards and workgroups, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police subcommittee on community policing and the American Psychological Association's Presidential taskforce on reducing police officer use of force.