John Vanek

John Vanek is a leadership, collaboration, and anti-human trafficking consultant and speaker working with law enforcement agencies, non-governmental and community-based organizations, academic institutions and private sector companies. John served 25 years with the San Jose Police Department, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant. John holds a Master of Arts in Leadership, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of International Policy & Management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

John is a nationally recognized authority on human trafficking and the response to modern-day slavery. John managed the San Jose Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force from 2006-2011.

John’s knowledge on trafficking and multidisciplinary task force leadership and operations have been utilized by the United States Department of Justice, the Office of the United States Attorneys, California’s Office of the Attorney General, California POST, the California District Attorneys Association, the National Law Enforcement Training Network, the Not For Sale Campaign, Police One, the Freedom Network Training Institute, and other governmental and private organizations.

John speaks regularly on trafficking, task force leadership, and multi-agency collaboration, and the need for greater public-private partnerships to combat crime and improve the world in which we live.

Over the course of his 25-year career, John’s assignments included Special Operations, Training, Sexual Assault Investigations, Vice, Systems Development, and the Bomb Squad. He received his BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University, and his MA in Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California.

John and his family live in Carson Valley, Nevada, where he enjoys cycling, mountain biking, nordic and alpine skiing, backpacking and climbing in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.