Dermot Whelan is a Senior Consultant for the Disability Services Division of Modell Consulting Group, LLC. In his role, Mr. Whelan is responsible for teaching and co-authoring trainings for investigations of abuse against individuals with disabilities. Mr. Whelan was instrumental in the development of an advanced Forensic Interviewing Protocol for interviewing individuals with disabilities (Project FIND). Prior to joining MCG, Mr. Whelan served as a Criminal Investigator with the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Mr. Whelan started with the Justice Center in July of 2013, within weeks of the agency going operational. Mr. Whelan was primarily responsible for conducting and supervising criminal investigations stemming from allegations of abuse and neglect against vulnerable people who receive services through New York State-operated, licensed or certified agencies. Mr. Whelan routinely conducted forensic interviews of individuals with disabilities of all ages.

Before specializing in investigating crimes against individuals with disabilities, Mr. Whelan started his police career in 1991 as a member of the New York City Housing Police and attended the NYC Police Department’s Police Academy. After several years of policing housing projects in the Bronx, Mr. Whelan took a position with the City of Albany Police Department where he served as a Patrolman, Detective, and Sergeant. As a Sergeant, Mr. Whelan managed the Department’s Training and Policy Unit. Mr. Whelan holds several NYS DCJS specialized Instructor Certifications and other instructor certifications. Since becoming a police instructor in 2000, Mr. Whelan has developed curricula and conducted numerous trainings for veteran Police Officers, Police Recruits, Police Trainers, District Attorney’s Offices, Civilian Police Review

Board members, as well as civilian adults and teens, on a myriad of Law Enforcement related topics. Mr. Whelan also served as an instructor for Niagara University-sponsored “Disability Awareness Training for Law Enforcement.” Mr. Whelan is a contributing author and instructor of the NYS DCJS certified course “Forensic Interviewing Best Practices for Vulnerable Populations” as well as the “Advanced Forensic Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities Certification Course” curricula.