The International Association of Chiefs of Police recently held their Women’s Leadership Institute training in Saratoga Springs, NY. Once again, NYWLE was able to award a scholarship to an active member of NYWLE. Lt Rochelle Menard, from the Village of Depew Police Department, was this year’s scholarship winner, while NYWLE Board Members Chief Erika Taylor, NYS University Upstate and T/Lt. Kim Shappy, New York State Police, were also in attendance for this valuable training.

This one-week program not only allows participants the opportunity to learn from senior law enforcement leaders, but also provides a wonderful networking opportunity for attendees to meet women serving law enforcement agencies within the United States and abroad. Participants included 45 women from New York, Illinois, New Mexico, Indiana, and Washington, DC, as well as international students from Toronto, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Serbia.

A highlight of the week features a panel of successful women leaders who share their stories about how they rose through the ranks to achieve their positions. These panelists along with instructors then serve as mentors for the students, each of whom presents a personal ‘plan’ for their future goals receiving advice about how to ensure their success. Special thanks to our own Board member Commissioner Mary Ritayik, New York State University Police Department, who served as a mentor for attendees.

“The most valuable portion of this training to me was the emphasis on leadership and followership responsibilities at every level,” said Board member Erika Taylor. “I strongly believe in top down, bottom-up leadership and will share what I learned with those from my department.” Erika added “I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the material and information over the last week and plan to implement a lot of the information in a monthly training program I will hold for my people at our Departmental meetings throughout 2024.

NYWLE Board member Kim Shappy added “I have been wanting to go to this training for some time now. I have always heard such great things and it did not disappoint. I think a lot of us are driven to do better and want to accomplish positive change not only for ourselves but our agency and followers as well.”

Scholarship winner Rochelle Menard commented, “After being promoted in June 2021 I was never given any leadership training and to be honest the (2) weeks of supervisor school did not teach me how to be a supervisor or a leader. I spent a lot of time during the week of WLI self-reflecting on not only how I see myself as a leader, but also how my officers and superiors see me as a leader”, adding, “I sincerely appreciate being selected as the scholarship awardee and being given the opportunity to the attend the WLI. Coming from a smaller department where the training budget can be tight, I would not have been able to attend without the scholarship. My utmost gratitude to NYWLE for making my attendance happen.”

Your NYWLE Board of Directors is committed to providing training opportunities like this to further the careers of our members. We rely on our membership dues to help fund initiatives such as this one. The more members we can get to join NYWLE, the more opportunities we will be able to offer for you! Who can you get to join today?