Bill Overby
Bill is the Department Chair and Instructor for the Criminal Justice Program. He serves as the Commander of the Parks Law Enforcement Academy and the Basic Law Enforcement Reserve Academy at Skagit Valley College. In addition to classroom instruction, Bill provides customized in-service training and consultation to several regional agencies.
An eastern Washington native, Bill retired from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in 2003 after a 32-year career with that agency. His duties included a variety of park ranger and park management assignments in parks throughout the state, culminating in his management of the Deception Pass area complex for twenty years. His affiliation with the Parks Law Enforcement Academy as an instructor began in 1987, when his duties with State Parks included training of commissioned staff. Bill has directed the academy operation at Skagit Valley College since 2001.
A graduate of Washington State University (Bachelor of Arts, 1972), Bill is currently pursuing his Masters degree in Criminal Justice through Boston University. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy Incident Command Training Program. He is a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, National Association of Field Training Officers, Park Law Enforcement Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Partnership for Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security.
Bill is a recipient of the Washington Recreation and Park Association's President's Award, "Who's Who Among America's College Educators", and Skagit Valley College Exceptional Faculty Award. He enjoys yard and garden activities and all sports.
Bill can be contacted via email at bill.overby@skagit.edu or at 360.416.7829.
Jerry Dodd
Jerry began his police career as a Police Explorer with Bellingham Police Department in 1971 and joined the Mount Vernon Police Department almost 29 years ago; currently he is the Administrative Services Lieutenant and has overseen the department's patrol, administrative, investigations and crime prevention divisions. Over the years, he has instituted numerous programs and received several department commendations.
Jerry graduated from Skagit Valley College, Western Washington University and has completed one year of post graduate studies. He attended the 162nd session of the FBI National Academy, the Northwest Law Enforcement Executive Command College and the Results Law Enforcement Executive Academy. He has received his first level supervision, middle management and executive career certifications from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
He is a member of the Skagit Rotary Club, currently the President of the Charitable Foundation Association and serves on a variety of community boards and involved in various community activities.
In addition, for the past ten years he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at Whatcom and Skagit Valley College, where he teaches a variety of classes in the Criminal Justice Program. He also instructs for the Basic Reserve Law Enforcement Academy and the Parks Law Enforcement Academy.
As the Chair of the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee and an enthusiastic instructor, he is committed to provide communities with police officers who are professional, dedicated and perform to the highest ethical standard. Every community member deserves and should expect this from their finest law enforcement officers.
