Alumni Day 2009
Keynote Speaker: Bernie Tolbert
Bernie Tolbert is a Senior Vice President in the National Basketball Association where he is responsible for the security of all League operations including arenas, players, staff and fans. In addition, the NBA has offices in ten countries around the world and Bernie Tolbert is responsible for the security of those offices.
Bernie was born in Buffalo, New York, where he received his early education in the Buffalo Public School System. Upon graduating from high school, Bernie attended the State University of New York at Buffalo where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in 1971 and a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1973. Following a short stint as a high school teacher, Bernie worked in several human service agencies including five years as a program director in a large, private family-counseling agency.
In January 1980, he entered on duty as a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Following sixteen weeks of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, Bernie served in the Buffalo and New York City Offices. In June 1985, he was transferred to FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C., as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Intelligence Division. In March 1987, Bernie was transferred back to the Buffalo Division, where he supervised all Foreign Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism and Civil Rights investigations in the Western New York area. In November 1990, Bernie was reassigned as Chief of the Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Training Unit at FBI Headquarters until October 1992, when he was appointed to the position of Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Office. In January 1997, Bernie was promoted and assigned as an Inspector in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters. On May 5, 1998, he was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Division. He retired from the FBI in March 2001, and worked as a Security Manager for the Coca-Cola Company and prior to coming to the NBA, was Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Security for HSBC Bank.
Presentation: Translating Social Work Values into Non-traditional Work Environments
Nabbing bank robbers; Chasing spies; Protecting against terrorists; Interacting with and being responsible for the security of the highest paid athletes in the world, all while dealing with government and security professionals across all parts of globe. How does training as a social worker prepare one with the tools needed to even begin to take on such daunting tasks? While it might not have been intended at the time, the skills and experiences honed during my education, training and practice as a social worker turned out to be among the critical factors that opened a whole world of nontraditional opportunities and challenges to me. The ability to have been moderately successful in meeting those challenges are without question in large part attributable to what I learned while trying to be a good social worker.
