Tara Engel

Tara Dixon Engel served as VP of Training and Strategic Development for the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) and interim President of The American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville, FL, and conducts handgun/armed intruder trainer for the Florida Safety Council (in addition to being a senior grant writer for K9s for Warriors). She is a Training Counselor for The United States Concealed Carry Association and a Chief Range Safety Officer for the NRA. She started earning NRA Instructor certifications in 2006 (basic pistol, rifle, shotgun, home firearms safety, personal defense in the home, refuse to be a victim, NRA ccw, and RSO) and started teaching with several Ohio-based organizations, including Southwest Ohio CCW and Olde English Outfitters. She also worked at Olde English Outfitters for four years as the 50-year-old organization's first female gun salesperson, and as a firearms reviewer/blogger and instructor. In 2015, Tara authored The Handgun Guide for Women (Zenith Press). She has given countless speeches, presentations and training sessions on women and firearms, the Second Amendment and the civilian and law enforcement training programs at The American Police Hall of Fame (where NACOP is housed). She is a certified Glock Armorer as well as a USCCA certified instructor in Concealed Carry/Home Defense, Women's Basic, Intermediate and Advanced handgun and self defense, and Countering the Mass Shooter Threat. She trains regularly with some of the nation's top tactical instructors. She has taken classes such as Concealed Defensive Pistol and Pistol Instruction courses taught by Dave "Boon" Benton, Women Only Pistol Class taught by Kris "Tanto" Paronto and Boon Benton, 3 Steps Behind taught by Matt Mallory, numerous advanced tactical classes and multiple Sig Academy classes. She has written for a number of national gun magazines including Gun World, Shooting Illustrated, Small Arms Review and Combat Handguns. She was Managing Editor of "Home on the Range," a firearms oriented digital magazine produced by The Shooting Center at the American Police Hall of Fame. A four-time commercially published author, she is currently working on her fifth book -- her second firearms-related book that focuses on tactical training. She especially loves working with new shooters and dispelling their fears and myths about firearms and concealed carry.