About Us

Tom Jarlock is the founder and CEO of Archangel Rising, LLC.  Tom grew up in Michigan enlisted in the US Marines after high school,  Tom served in the USMC in the 1st Marines as an 0351 and was honorably discharged in 1986 as an E5/Sergeant.  Tom returned to Michigan as a SCUBA instructor,  to teach recreational SCUBA to civilians in Detroit.  

Providence intervened in the recreational SCUBA work Tom was conducting in 1987 when he connected with former Navy Seal Dave LeBlanc in Louisiana.  Dave was working with at-risk youth and needed a SCUBA instructor to teach his kids to dive.  Tom didn’t even know what an at-risk kid was but was curious about the concept.  Always looking for a challenge, Tom traveled to LA to meet Dave and see the operation.  It was the kids that hooked Tom into packing his belongings and relocating to LA.  The Baton Rouge Marine Institute, now AMIKids, was his focus for the next several years.

In 1994 Tom Transitioned to the North American Family Institute, a national non-profit offering programs and services to at-risk youth and their families mostly in the northeast.  Tom was hired to open the first Serious or Habitual Offender Program (SHOP) in the state.  After successfully launching this program in DeFuniak Springs, FL, Tom opened a similar program for girls east of Tallahassee.  Tom became the regional manager for NAFI in 1998 and also served in leadership roles in the Juvenile Justice arena in Florida.  During this time Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of West Florida.

In 2004 Tom was recruited to become the Executive Director of the largest and most notorious juvenile detention center in Louisiana.  With the mandate to implement reform, Tom and his team began the rigorous and unpopular work of model change in this institution.  There was much work accomplished in the 12 years that Tom presided over the operations.  The work was notably cited by Dr. David Roush in his book “Recalibrating Juvenile Detention”.  During this time Tom earned his Master’s in Public Administration from the Louisiana State University.

In 2015 Tom was hired by the State of Louisiana at the Department of Health to manage federal grants targeted at the exploding opioid crisis.  In addition to these federal efforts, Tom was tasked with assisting the state chiefs of police in reducing mental illness in county jails.  The One Mind Campaign sponsored by the Internationals Association of Chiefs of Police was the vehicle used to inform agencies about signs and symptoms of mental illness.  Tom became a reserve officer in Walker, LA to see the efforts at work first hand.

Tom left Louisiana in 2020 just as the pandemic was emerging.  Tom was hired by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as the director of monitoring and compliance.  In the fall of 2021 Tom retired to the Hill Country of Texas.  What does a Marine do in retirement?  Determine the best way to help fellow Texans feel safe in their homes.  Tom founded Archangel Rising to do just that.  People deserve to feel safe in their homes not because they live in a nice neighborhood, but because they have trained to defend it.  Archangel Rising helps people feel safe in their homes and that is how Tom continues to contribute to his community.