Human Performance & Readiness Institute

Brandi E. Burque, Ph.D.

Dr. Brandi E. Burque is a licensed clinical psychologist whose career has centered on advancing officer wellness, performance, and operational readiness in law enforcement. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in police psychology from Nova Southeastern University in 2009. Her clinical training included an internship with the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Healthcare Center and a postdoctoral fellowship with the U.S. Army Warrior Resiliency Program, where her work focused on the application of resilience and human performance principles within military and operational environments.

Following her fellowship, Dr. Burque served as a staff psychologist with the VA Illiana Healthcare System in Danville, Illinois, providing psychological services to veterans. In 2013, she joined the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) as a staff psychologist. During her initial six years with SAPD, she developed the Performance & Recovery Optimization (PRO) framework to address officer wellness through an operationally relevant approach to performance, recovery, and career readiness. This work received national recognition through the U.S. Department of Justice as an innovative approach to law enforcement mental health and wellness.

From 2019 to 2023, Dr. Burque served as Director of Performance & Wellness Services for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, where she led the development and implementation of comprehensive wellness and performance initiatives for deputies. She returned to SAPD in 2023, where she continues to provide clinical and operational psychological services while developing programs designed around the demands officers face throughout their careers.

Dr. Burque also consults with law enforcement agencies across the country on the development and refinement of officer wellness and performance programs. She has lectured at the FBI National Academy on topics including Crisis Intervention Training, Critical Incident Stress Management, and post-traumatic stress.

She is a co-founder of the Human Performance & Readiness Institute (HPRI), where her work now includes the continued development of the Law Enforcement Officer-Operating System (LEO-OS), a framework designed to help agencies build and sustain officer readiness across performance, protection, and recovery.

Deloria "Lori" Wilson, Ph.D.

Dr. Deloria R. Wilson is a licensed psychologist, organizational consultant, and former U.S. Air Force officer whose career has focused on human performance, resilience, and operational readiness. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational and Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri and her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Her work has centered on translating psychological science into practical approaches that help military and law enforcement personnel perform effectively under the sustained demands of operational environments.

During her career with the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Wilson worked extensively with Security Forces personnel and developed human performance programming specifically designed for the operational demands of military law enforcement. Her work included the development of Defender’s Edge, an initiative that integrated psychological skills, resilience, and performance principles into the training and daily operations of Security Forces personnel. She also contributed to military resilience and performance programming through her work with the U.S. Army Warrior Resiliency Program.

Dr. Wilson has continued to apply her military operational psychology experience to law enforcement, collaborating on the development of approaches designed to strengthen officer performance, recovery, and long-term readiness. Her work has emphasized moving beyond traditional models of wellness by addressing the psychological and organizational conditions that influence an officer’s ability to function effectively throughout a career.

Dr. Wilson is a co-founder of the Human Performance & Readiness Institute (HPRI), where she works with law enforcement agencies to develop practical, operationally relevant systems for supporting officer readiness. Through HPRI, she continues to integrate lessons from military operational psychology with the realities of contemporary policing, helping agencies build environments that support officers’ capacity to perform, protect, recover, and remain ready.

Detective Cliff Burns

Cliff Burns is a detective with the San Antonio Police Department and a co-founder of the Human Performance & Readiness Institute (HPRI), where he contributes to the development and delivery of training focused on law enforcement operational readiness, resilience, and psychological well-being.

Detective Burns has more than 14 years of law enforcement experience, including assignments in patrol, field training, family violence, and special victims investigations. He previously served as a U.S. Army Infantry and Psychological Operations officer, including a combat deployment to Iraq. Drawing on his experience in both military and law enforcement operations, Burns works to bridge the gap between behavioral science and the practical realities of policing. 

He developed a core component of HPRI’s training program that applies Stoic philosophy to emotional regulation, resilience, maintaining a sense of purpose, and mitigating occupational burnout. 

His instructional philosophy emphasizes culturally relevant, discussion-based learning and the practical application of psychological principles over traditional lecture-based approaches.

Burns has trained hundreds of law enforcement professionals across the country, including personnel from the Cleveland Division of Police, Baton Rouge Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and agencies throughout Texas and Utah. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Excelsior College.