Vernon currently holds the position of Lead Chaplain and serves as the Director of Chaplain Services and Peer Support Unit with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. He has a Doctorate of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling, EdS in Community Care and Counseling: Traumatology from Liberty University, and has worked in law enforcement for several years. He is a Clinical Pastoral Therapist, Marriage & Family Therapist, and a Board Certified Christian Counselor with the National Association of Christian Counselors (NACC).

Vernon is a Certified Crisis Chaplain (CCC) with the American Academy of Experts
in Traumatic Stress, a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional (CCFP), a Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional (CMIP), and certified in EQ-i + EQ 360 with Multi-Health Systems, Inc (MHS, Inc.). In addition, he is trained in PAIR (Prevention Assessment Intervention and Recovery) Suicide with the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), Individual and Group Crisis Intervention with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), Peer Support and Resiliency with Crisis System Management (CSM) and Law Enforcement Alliance for Peer Support (LEAPS) amongst other training.

Vernon desires to bring awareness to the growing concern of mental health and wellness in the law enforcement community and, as such, founded the nonprofit Critical Aspects. Critical Aspects, Inc. addresses various topics, such as the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual impacts of the law enforcement profession. As the President/Founder of Critical Aspects, Inc. and the host of the Critical Aspects of Law Enforcement Podcast, Vernon seeks to help change the stigma of mental health and wellness within the law enforcement community.