Conference brings nation’s top female law enforcement to Kansas City
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KCPD Media Unit
816-234-5170
The nation’s top female law enforcement leaders are descending on Kansas City, Mo., this week.
The 22nd Annual National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE) Conference kicks off Thursday morning, Aug. 3, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Kansas City and runs until Aug. 5. The Kansas City, Mo., and Lenexa, Kan., police departments are cohosting the conference that is bringing more than 200 top women law enforcement leaders to town from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Police Department. In addition to those from KCPD and Lenexa Police, women from several other metro-area police agencies also helped organize the event.
“This year’s conference theme, ‘The Time is Now,’ represents each and every one of us in our capacities as national and international law enforcement executives and aspiring leaders, highlighting who we are and the commitment we share in addressing the distinct issues facing women in law enforcement,” said NAWLEE President Dawn Layman, who is a major at the Lenexa Police Department.
NAWLEE is the first organization established to address the unique needs of women holding senior management positions in law enforcement. It is a non-profit organization sponsored and administered directly by law enforcement practitioners. NAWLEE’s mission is to serve and further the interests of women executives and those who aspire to be executives in law enforcement.
The conference will cover topics germane to women in police leadership as well as broader public safety issues. Several women also will be recognized at an award ceremony for their progressive leadership in their agencies and for female law enforcement nationwide.
Media are invited to attend at 9 a.m. Thursday, meeting outside at 13th and Wyandotte, where attendees will take a group picture. NAWLEE President Major Layman will be available to speak to reporters from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m. Media are then welcomed to attend the conference’s opening ceremonies, featuring a welcome from Mayor Sly James and Keynote Speaker Colonel Sandra Karsten of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the first female leader of that organization.