Dr. Alice Atalanta, Ph.D.
Leading Scholar and Trusted Collaborator in the Special Operations Field
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https://linktr.ee/aliceatalantaphd
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bio
Dr. Atalanta is a leading scholar and trusted collaborator in the Special Operations field, working behind the scenes on countless projects with high profile individuals from the SEAL, Special Forces (Green Beret), Ranger, and intelligence communities in both the public and nonprofit space.
Her work has appeared in multiple publications, and has previously earned the distinction of "Article of the Year" at the prestigious veterans' publication, Havok Journal. The SOFxLE program was born of her highly-acclaimed collaboration with famed LE trainer LTC Dave Grossman, "LTC Dave Grossman on Building Cops Who Cannot Fail Us: How SEAL Team 6, Professional MMA Fighters, a Clinical Psychiatrist, and the Best-Known Law Enforcement Trainer on the Planet Hold the Key to Solving Our Police Problem for Good," published in Havok Journal in the wake of the George Floyd controversy.
Dr. Atalanta's open, frank, and engaging teaching has received accolades at multiple institutions including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her doctorate and was ranked by students in the top two educators across the university. Her most recent book is "Meditations of an Army Ranger: A Warrior Philosophy for Everyone," co-authored with LTC JC Glick.
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To learn more about Dr. Atalanta's work with the Special Operations community, please visit www.aliceatalanta.com. For a sampling of Dr. Atalanta's writings and media appearances, please click here.
a letter from
dr. atalanta
"9/11 happened my second week of graduate school. I had just begun a nearly decade-long PhD program, but I was left wondering, 'How can I leverage my academic and professional skillset to join the fight and serve my country?'
That commitment to serve led me on the adventure of a lifetime: from learning shooting and combatives with Navy SEALs, to serving underprivileged veterans at the Cleveland VA medical center, to fundraising for the Green Beret Foundation alongside Cleveland Browns players and coaches, to working on book projects with leaders in the Special Forces, Ranger, and SEAL communities.
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Through it all, I've built a body of knowledge and experience that I'm constantly looking to share in ways that will benefit the civilian community. How can we build bridges between the divided military and civilian worlds? And what did our nation's elite Special Operators learn in 20 years of war that can benefit us all as a nation back home?
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2020 was the turning point when I realized I was in a unique position to help. I saw America's police officers relentlessly under attack, both on the streets and in the media, worse than ever before in our nation's history. I had long talks with my police officer teammates at the fight gym where I train, who told me about the rioting they had experienced in Cleveland on the very streets where some of them had grown up. It was heartbreaking, devastating, and unacceptable.
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I knew that something had to change. I knew that our Special Operators had decades of experience surviving the longest period of sustained combat any American warfighters had ever seen. With both communities confronting a suicide epidemic, I knew that our Special Operators had valuable insight to share with America's LEOs to help make them mentally, physically, and tactically more resilient in their profession.
First, I wrote about it. And then, what began as an article I published on the subject turned into a series of trainings on Special Operations strategies for officer resilience that I was invited to deliver to LEOs in the state of New Jersey, which leads to you and me connecting today.
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I called those trainings SOFxLE, and they were my way of putting the pieces together and getting the conversation between SOF (Special Operations Forces) and LE (Law Enforcement) started.
The feedback I received on SOFxLE from the New Jersey LEOs was unequivocally strong. They were grateful to receive the support from SOF that the program provided, and I knew that other officers across the country could genuinely benefit from the same knowledge.
Since then, I've worked nonstop to grow the SOFxLE presentation offerings, joining forces with some of the most elite--yet wise and humble--Special Operators in my network, who are genuine and sincere in their desire to help back their brothers and sisters in blue.
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Please reach out. This training is unlike any other. At SOFxLE, we're not just about changing lives.
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We're about saving them."
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- Doc Atalanta
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