Sheryl Victorian, Ph.D., chief of police, City of Waco, will share her personal story of rising through the ranks to become the first black and first female police chief in her police department on the first full day of the conference, Tuesday, April 8 in Louisville, Ky. FRA caught up with Victorian ahead of this year’s Women in Law Enforcement Summit to learn more about what she has planned.
Dedicating over 31 years to the police profession, Victorian has done it all. She served nearly 28 years with the Houston Police Department, beginning as a patrol officer and advancing to assistant chief. After nearly three decades in Houston, she moved to Waco, Texas in 2021, where she became the chief of police for the City of Waco Police Department.
In addition to her decades of experience in law enforcement, Victorian also prioritizes her relational policing─ speaking with male and female officers across the country to inspire, encourage, and support their development. Her primary message: lead authentically.
“Sometimes we have these personas of what police officers should look like or how they should act,” said Victorian. “But I think just being our genuine, authentic selves in leadership and knowing that you can come into these roles and not have to change who you are in order to police effectively is very important.”
Victorian has a mission, she said, to also improve the underrepresentation of women officers in law enforcement, noting that since the beginning of her career in 1993, the representation of women in policing has only increased from eight percent to 13 percent. “That’s not a lot of progress if you ask me,” she said.
“As police chiefs, we're always talking about how we want our cities, our police departments, to match the demographics of our cities, and we typically talk about race when we're doing that,” explained Victorian. “But no one has ever really focused on gender until the 30x30 initiative.
But women make up about 50 percent of our communities, so our police departments should really be reflective of that. And right now, we only make up 13 percent across this country.”
As part of her goal to support female officers’ growth within law enforcement, Victorian works with the 30x30 initiative, a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations dedicated to increasing police recruiting classes to 30 percent females by the year 2030. And to inspire the younger generation, she has also written a children’s book, The Me I See, a beautiful story about a little girl who didn't realize she could be a police officer.
Throughout her presentation at FRA’s Women in Law Enforcement Summit, Victorian will share more about her personal journey, the challenges and lessons learned along the way, the defining moments that shaped her career, and her insights on leadership perseverance and breaking barriers.
“I hope to motivate and empower women to pursue their ambitions with confidence and determination and to make room for themselves around the tables and in divisions and at the executive level,” she said.
Victorian will present her keynote address, ‘If You See It, You Can Be It’: Achieving Your Dreams Through Hard Work and Persistence, at 9:10a.m. on Tuesday, April 8 during the Women in Law Enforcement Summit in Louisville, Ky. Food and beverage are included with registration. For more information, including the full agenda, list of speakers, and registration information, click here.