FBINAA Associate Magazine Q3.2021

Cindy Reed THE HISTORIAN'S SPOTLIGHT

F B I N A A . O R G | J U L Y / S E P T 2 0 2 1

Cynthia Renaud

T he International Association of Chiefs and Police (IACP) and the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) have always shared the common theme of police leadership. There- fore, it is no surprise that the leadership of each organization has members who have been involved in both organizations. The first President of IACP was Webber Seavey of Omaha, Nebraska who served from 1893-1895, forty years before the for - mation of the FBI National Police Training School in 1935... later to become the National Academy. According to a citation in the 75th Anniversary Book of the FBINAA, it was the IACP who “upon seeing the high standards of training that were continually being developed for FBI agents, came out in favor of a national police school in 1934, asking, demanding really, that training similar to the FBI’s be provided for police officers across the country.” In the past thirty years, starting in 1990, 23 of the 30 IACP Presi- dents have been FBINA graduates. The 2020-2021 IACP President is Cynthia E. Renaud , who is also the second woman to lead this prestigious organization since 2005-2006 when Mary Anne Viverette from Gaithersburg, Maryland was elected to the position. Mary Anne is a member of the 155th Session (1988) and Cynthia attended the 214th Session (2003). President Renaud spent many years working both uni- formed patrol and special investigations. She began her career in 1991, serving twenty years with the Long Beach Police Depart- ment in Los Angeles County and rising to the rank of commander. Subsequent to leaving, she served in the Folsom Police Depart - ment in Sacramento County for seven years and finally served as the Chief of Police in the Santa Monica Police Department finally

retiring in October 2020. Other supervisory positions during her three decades in law enforcement included Internal Affairs, the Field Training Program, Academy Director, Patrol Watch Com - mander, Communications Division Commander, Patrol Division Commander and Investigations Division Commander. Cynthia is a native of Long Beach attending California State University in Long Beach where she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature in 1996 and a Master’s Degree in Eng - lish Literature in 2000. In 2010, she completed a second Master’s Degree in National Security Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. She received the Outstanding Thesis Award for her thesis submissions in both graduate programs. Not sur- prisingly with this extensive literature and writing background, she continues to write professionally and has had articles published in the Homeland Security Affairs Journal, the Journal of Leadership Studies, and Tactical Edge magazine as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.

In 2015 Chief Renaud was named California State Legislature “Woman of the Year” for Assembly District 6. Then in 2016 she was selected by the Sacramento Business Journal as one of the year’s “Women Who Mean Busi - ness” honorees. Cynthia has many fond memories of her time at the Academy in Quantico. Below she shared some thoughts with current members of the Association: “First, it should never be lost on anyone that attending the FBINA is not only a privilege, but also a sacrifice. You’re away from your family, from your organization, from your home, and from your friends. In my particular case, my daughter was 14 months old when I was afforded the opportunity to attend the FBINA. I won’t bore you all with the details of the struggle I went through trying to come to terms with how to accept this opportunity and still be a good mother to my baby, but I’ll

(L-R) Cynthia Renaud; the Renaud family; Graduation.

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