Welcome Members and Guests
Background
The South Central (formerly Texas) Chapter officially formed in January 2016 in Houston, Texas under the Chapter’s first president, Andrew Baer. During the next year, the Chapter expanded its reach into the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In 2018, Nicole Aguais assumed chapter presidency after Baer relocated to Colorado, and she was elected to her first presidential term in 2019.
In 2019, the chapter extended its presence into the San Antonio and Austin areas with two successful full-day hub launch events. As the chapter grew, liaison positions were created to help with this expansion in South Texas, Central Texas, and North Texas.
In 2020, the chapter adapted to the changing world resulting from the COVID pandemic, continuing to offer high-quality virtual training events on various topics pertaining to behavioral threat assessment and management. Between 2020 and 2021, meetings featured presentations by nationally renowned experts in threat assessment and related disciplines. 2020 concluded with a personal account of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting from one of its members who survived being shot multiple times on that tragic November day.
While still facing the challenges of the pandemic, the Texas Chapter persevered in 2021, providing virtual monthly meetings and presentations to members across all ATAP chapters and international TAP partners. A highlight of 2021 was the successful expansion into Oklahoma City via a one-and-a-half-day violence prevention symposium in partnership with the OKC FBI Office.
In 2022, the Texas Chapter rebranded itself as the South Central Chapter to reflect, and be more inclusive of, all states in the chapter’s region and celebrated with an impressive showing of members at the first-ever chapter networking celebration during the 30th Annual Threat Management Conference. In 2023, this event returned as a partnership event with the Southeast Chapter (formerly Atlanta Chapter). 2023 also saw the second annual full-day training event to support the Austin Regional Intelligence Center (ARIC), and the chapter, in partnership with Oklahoma FBI Field Offices, hosted its 3rd Annual Violence Prevention Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The chapter has experienced significant membership growth through 2025, with meeting and event attendance at an all-time high, reaching audiences upwards of 600 attendees for an individual meeting. The 2022–2025 Board, under the leadership of President Dr. Matt Talbot, has focused on identifying new talent in the field and inviting thought leaders to speak on contemporary topics germane to behavioral threat assessment and management. Over the last two years, the chapter has continued to expand its regional footprint by hosting its first-ever South Central Chapter symposium in Lafayette, Louisiana, as well as its fourth annual half-day training in Bentonville, Arkansas, in partnership with Walmart and the Walmart Threat Management Team.
With a newly elected board under the leadership of incoming 2026-2027 President Dr. Monique Boudreaux, the South Central Chapter will continue to grow its presence across its four-state region, expose violence prevention professionals to the value of membership in ATAP, and further expand the ATAP network within and beyond the South Central region. Together, WE end violence.
We welcome new members and skill sets to our chapter, please contact staff@atapworldwide.org for more information.