Joshua Byrd is a native of Atlanta, GA. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with more than 20 years of combined experience as a criminal justice professional. He is the founder of TEACH US Justice (an education consultancy), Vice President for Hawque Protection Group (a private security company) and a former business consultant for two fortune 500 companies. He recently served as chairman for the Clayton County Board of Ethics. His legal experience includes clerkships with the U.S. federal government in Boston, Massachusetts and in Washington, D.C., and work as a staff attorney for a multinational legal consulting corporation. He is a former deputy sheriff, with experience training law enforcement executives, criminal investigators and prosecutors. He has also served as a criminal justice professor and subject matter expert for both public and private institutions. He currently serves as Director of Career Services for American InterContinental University (AIU), (Atlanta, Houston, & Online) and as Professor and Program Chair, for the Schools of Criminal Justice and Information Technology at AIU Atlanta. Joshua is also a published author. His work has been featured in legal publications, social science publications, and in a criminal justice encyclopedia. Joshua is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ), the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), a board member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta where he also chairs their Anti-Gun Violence Committee. Joshua was recently recognized as a class of 2022 40 under 40 honoree at Georgia State University where earned his bachelor’s degree. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati and his juris doctor degree at North Carolina Central University, School of Law where he served as Student Bar Association President.