NYPD’s Ralph Cilento + Amy Herman

A crime is committed and you are its only witness. Can you accurately remember the events? In this talk, Amy Herman, founder and president of the Art of Perception, Inc., discusses how she trains members of the FBI, CIA, and NYPD to enhance their powers of observation and memory by analyzing artworks. She sits down with Lieutenant Ralph Cilento of the New York Police Department to demonstrate these techniques and help us solve a crime.

Brainwave is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

About the Speakers

Amy E. Herman is the founder and president of the Art of Perception, Inc., a New York-based organization that conducts professional development courses for leaders at the FBI, CIA, Scotland Yard, the Peace Corps, and other organizations around the world. Herman has also served as the Director of Educational Development at the public television station Thirteen/WNET, and the Head of Education at the Frick Collection for over ten years.

An art historian and attorney, Herman holds a BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College, a JD from the National Law Center at George Washington University, and an MA in Art History from Hunter College. Her book, Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life, has been described as “an engrossing guide to seeing—and communicating—more clearly from the groundbreaking course that helps…save money, reputations, and lives.”

Ralph Cilento is a Lieutenant Commander in the Detective Bureau with more than 24 years of experience in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). He has patrolled some of the toughest streets in Manhattan and the South Bronx. Lt. Cilento has been assigned to supervise investigations for more than eleven years, commanding detectives in the 44th Precinct Robbery Squad, 48th Precinct Detective Squad, Bronx Homicide Squad, and Major Case Squad.

In his current position as Commanding Officer of the NYPD’s Detective Bureau Training Unit, he is responsible for developing training for more than 5,000 members of the NYPD’s elite Detective Bureau, including the nationally recognized courses: Homicide Investigators Course, Special Victims Investigators Course, and the Detective Bureau Interrogators Course. He is a featured faculty member for the FBI’s INLETS Violent Crimes Training Seminar. Lt. Cilento is a graduate of Pace University.