The global authority in human risk education and science-based interviewing.
Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates is the global authority in science-based investigative interviewing, human risk mitigation, and professional training for the practitioners responsible for safeguarding people, places, and organizations.
Who we serve
- Law enforcement & federal
- Retail, hospitality & gaming
- Healthcare & education
- Corporate security & AP
- HR, compliance & legal
- Executive leadership
Four decades of helping professionals handle the world's most complex conversations.
For more than four decades, WZ has helped professionals handle some of the most complex conversations in the world. Our training supports those responsible for investigations, loss prevention, workplace violence prevention, human resources, compliance, fraud, sexual harassment, sexual assault, drug use, homicide investigations, public safety, executive leadership, and organizational risk.
Founded on the belief that effective interviewing must be ethical, evidence-based, non-confrontational, and grounded in human behavior, WZ has become a trusted training partner across law enforcement, government, retail, hospitality, gaming, healthcare, education, corporate security, asset protection, human resources, compliance, and executive management.
WZ leads thousands of programs annually, ranging from one-on-one instruction and asynchronous, on-demand learning to enterprise-wide training, certification programs, live seminars, digital academies, and large-scale keynote presentations. These programs are powered by our continued innovation in risk mitigation, human behavior, investigative interviewing, communication, decision-making, and loss prevention training.
Our influence extends beyond the classroom. WZ advances the field through academic collaboration, practitioner research, podcast programming, industry education, professional certification pathways, and our long-standing leadership with the International Association of Interviewers. Through these thought leadership vehicles, WZ continues to shape how modern professionals identify risk, gather reliable information, uncover the truth, and make better decisions.
To be the global authority in human risk education, science-based interviewing, and evidence-based investigative training — advancing the way professionals communicate, identify risk, safeguard organizations, and uncover the truth.
Founded May 1, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois.
WZ was founded when Doug Wicklander and Dave Zulawski launched an investigative and training company in Chicago. Their mission was clear: help public and private sector professionals conduct better investigations and identify the truth through more effective, ethical, and practical interviewing methods.
Doug Wicklander and Dave Zulawski became recognized as foremost experts in private sector interrogation, investigative interviewing, and professional interview training. Their work helped redefine how organizations approached difficult conversations — moving the field toward more practical, ethical, and non-confrontational methods.
What began with investigations, polygraph services, and private interrogation training soon evolved into what is now known as the WZ Non-Confrontational Method. In 1993, Wicklander and Zulawski published Practical Aspects of Interview and Interrogation through CRC Press, helping establish the foundation for WZ's national and international influence in investigative interviewing.
Over the decades, WZ expanded its curriculum, instructor network, certification programs, client base, and training capabilities while staying committed to field-tested methods practitioners can apply immediately. That heritage remains central to who we are — but it is no longer the limit of what we do.
A modern human risk education and training organization.
WZ is built for the full complexity of today's operating environment. Our programs support professionals responsible for investigations, workplace violence prevention, loss prevention, asset protection, organized retail crime, fraud investigations, internal theft, sexual harassment, sexual assault, human resources investigations, compliance matters, drug use investigations, homicide investigations, public safety, leadership, culture, and organizational decision-making.
We train practitioners to ask better questions, reduce resistance, build trust, recognize risk, gather reliable information, and make sound decisions in high-stakes moments. Our approach is grounded in science-based interviewing, evidence-based investigative methods, human behavior, communication strategy, and real-world application.
WZ continues to advocate for ethical, non-confrontational, and research-informed methods while moving the industry away from coercive, outdated, or one-size-fits-all tactics. Our curriculum includes the WZ Non-Confrontational Method, Participatory Method, Fact-Finding, Cognitive Interviewing, and other modern approaches designed for different industries, risk environments, and investigative needs.
In-person seminars
Hands-on cohort training delivered across the U.S. and internationally.
Enterprise training
Customized curriculum for security, HR, and investigative teams at scale.
On-demand & CBT
Asynchronous learning paths, computer-based modules, and simulations.
Keynotes & webinars
Live broadcasts, conference keynotes, and large-scale practitioner events.
Certification pathways
CFI prep, recertification, and credentialed continuing-education tracks.
Advisory & private cohorts
One-on-one instruction and confidential engagements for executive teams.
WZ also maintains a broad professional education network through which we share continuing education opportunities and honor curriculum across leading industry and credentialing bodies, including SHRM, HRCI, the International Association of Interviewers, and other respected professional organizations. This allows our clients and learners to connect WZ training to ongoing professional development, certification, and continuing education requirements.
The future of risk is human.
Organizations are facing more complex threats, more sensitive investigations, more difficult workplace dynamics, and higher expectations from employees, customers, regulators, and communities. The ability to communicate with skill, gather reliable information, and make credible decisions has never mattered more.
- 01
Global expansion
Growing WZ's reach across industries, geographies, learning platforms, and professional communities.
- 02
Human-risk platform
Building beyond interview training into a broader platform for human risk education, workplace risk mitigation, and organizational safety.
- 03
Disciplined use of AI
Applied — not novelty — AI that prepares practitioners for the most complex conversations and highest-stakes investigations.
- 04
Field-shaping partnerships
Continued collaboration with academics, practitioners, credentialing bodies, and enterprise clients to advance the discipline.
Our commitment remains unchanged: help professionals identify the truth, make better decisions, protect their organizations, and handle difficult conversations with confidence, credibility, and integrity.
WZ will continue partnering with academics, practitioners, industry leaders, credentialing bodies, and enterprise clients to advance the field of science-based interviewing, investigative education, and human risk mitigation. We will remain grounded in evidence, guided by principle, shaped by real-world application, and focused on preparing professionals for the moments that matter most.
How we show up, make decisions, and serve our clients.
At the foundation of everything we do are the values that guide how we show up, make decisions, and serve our clients. We build trust through evidence, integrity, and a willingness to evolve as knowledge grows. We align our words with our actions, take responsibility for outcomes, design every experience around real-world customer value, and make deliberate choices guided by purpose, focus, and impact.
Principled
We build trust through evidence, integrity, and a willingness to evolve as knowledge grows.
Authentic
We show up as we are, and we align our words with our actions.
Accountable
We take responsibility for outcomes — for our clients, our practitioners, and the field.
Customer driven
Every experience is designed around real-world customer value.
Intentional
We make deliberate choices guided by purpose, focus, and impact.
Talk to the team behind 200,000+ trained practitioners.
Whether you're standing up a new training program, certifying interviewers, or looking for an enterprise partner, WZ can help.