Christopher Santiago is a career Student Affairs and Campus Safety professional having served the past 30 years in Higher Education, with roles in Residence Life, Admissions, Athletics, and Campus Safety. He became a sworn campus law enforcement officer in 1999 and has been in various campus safety roles while progressively increasing his leadership skills across eight different institutions to include his alma mater, Mount Ida College, and in his current role as the Director of Safety & Security at Thomas College.
Over the years, Director Santiago has fine-tuned a leadership philosophy that he learned from his military father and has been furthered by campus law enforcement mentors he has had as supervisors on his journey. Director Santiago has completed the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA) Leadership Trilogy (Supervisor Leadership Institute [SLI], Command Leadership Institute [CLI], and Executive Leadership Institute [ELI]) and is well read in various leadership philosophies with Mentor Leadership being one of his favorite. He has worked with youth and young adults for decades delivering various leadership training programs to include the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa / Kellogg Foundation Leadership series. He has been a true leader in campus training, serving as certified Field Training Officer (FTO) and spending time in his administrative roles developing both topical training programs within his profession as well as departmental in-service training programs. He is a subject matter expert in law enforcement report writing and law enforcement cultural diversity programs. He has presented a self-designed program entitled Campus Diversity: A Dialogue at the Intersection of Enforcement at numerous institutions to both campus safety and student affairs professionals. Director Santiago was previously a Co-Director of the New Hampshire Campus Safety Academy before partnering with Wesleyan University to create the New England Campus Safety Academy.
Director Santiago has a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Mount Ida College and an M.S. in Criminology from Thomas College, as well as a Graduate Certificate in DEI in the Workplace from the University of South Florida Muma School of Business and a Graduate Certificate in College Student Wellbeing Trauma & Resilience from Florida State University.
Education and Leadership have been a tenant of Director Santiago’s career within higher education as well as in the professional organizations he serves. Director Santiago is a founding member of the Massachusetts Latino Police Officers Association (MLPO) and has served the Executive Board in various positions to include being a Past President and its current Senior Advisor. He is an avid Scouter serving Scouting America where he holds several leadership positions to include Kennebec Valley District Commissioner, Troop 410 Scoutmaster, and Cub Scout Pack 410 Cubmaster. He also serves as the Financial
Secretary and Family Director of Knights of Columbus Abnaki Council 334 in Augusta, Maine.
