Welcome to what I think will be a very enjoyable and educational excursion through the history of women changing the world, in some cases in professions that were initially closed to their entry. This website, started in 2003 was envisioned as a virtual mentoring resource for young women contemplating a career in law enforcement. Over time it has expanded to include the military, diplomatic and intelligence communities as well as the private sector. In the process, you will learn about both the challenges and the opportunities encountered by the early pioneers as they took the initial steps towards inclusion in their respective field. Their motivations were no different historically than those faced by modern colleagues, as they were inspired by the desire to contribute to society and were unafraid of change.
I spent my first thirty years of my professional career in federal law enforcement with extraordinary excursions into the intelligence community and academia, learning a great deal from each experience. An educator at heart, I was driven then, and I am driven now by a sense of mission and public service.
Dr. Kathleen Kiernan
CEO, SameShield
March 16, 1950: Chief Michael Mitchell with a group of female San Francisco Police.
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."
- Amelia Earhart
"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Female officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of service. Each entry has a link to the Memorial Page.
Dr. Kathleen Kiernan is the founder and CEO of Kiernan Group Holdings, Inc. a global consulting firm specializing in law enforcement, defense, and intelligence industries with specialized support to federal and civil clients in the areas of strategy, policy, tactics, and training. She is a 29-year veteran of Federal Law Enforcement. She previously served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) where she was responsible for the design and implementation of an intelligence-led organizational strategy to mine and disseminate data related to explosives, firearms and illegal tobacco diversion, the traditional and non-traditional tools of terrorism.
Alice Cary, MS, has assumed command of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Police Force, the first female chief in the force's 70-year history. Cary, 54, brings 32 yea...
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An Indian-American woman made history on the New York Police Department this month. Gursoch Kaur, a 20-year-old from Queens, New York, graduated from the New York Police Acade...
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Five Year Study on CIA Women in Leadership Concludes as CIA welcomes its first female Director. Who could have predicted that on the fifth, and final, anniversary of the CIA D...
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