September 19, 2023
Registration, Networking, and Breakfast
Opening Remarks
Presentation of Colors
National Anthem Invocation
Opening Address
More Than the Eye Can See
Break & DOOR PRIZE GIVEAWAYS**
Panel Discussion
Angelique Myers | Hostess
Harris County Sheriff’s Office Color Guard
Patricia Wells | HCSO Honor Guard
Major Jennifer Herndon
Vera Bumpers | Chief of Police, Houston Metro Police Department
Major Lynette Anderson & Major Ruth McClanahan
How to Prepare the Next Generation of Women Leaders and the Importance of Followership
Moderated by Captain Kimberly Smith
Panelists
Vera Bumpers | Chief of Police, Houston Metro Police Department
Laurie Christensen | Fire Marshal, Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office
Heidi Ramsey | FBI National Academy Instructor
Debra Schmidt | Retired Assistant Chief, Harris County Sheriff’s Office
Sheryl Victorian | Chief of Police, Waco Police Department
Break & DOOR PRIZE GIVEAWAYS**
Women in Policing & Their Mental Health
Lunch
Motivational Speaker
Break & DOOR PRIZE GIVEAWAYS**
Keynote Speaker
Break & DOOR PRIZE GIVEAWAYS**
Reading Assignment
Panel Discussion
Ashley S. Warren | Licensed Professional Counselor, NCC
Heidi Ramsey | FBI National Academy Instructor
Sheryl Victorian | Chief of Police, Waco Police Department
WILE Symposium Committee
Eliminating Gender Biases and Stereotypes Within the Organization and How the HCSO Plans to Cultivate Female Leaders
Moderated by Major Susan Cotter
Panelists
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Chief Deputy Mike Lee
Assistant Chief Phillip Bosquez
Assistant Chief Tommy Diaz
Assistant Chief Tony Huynh
Break & DOOR PRIZE GIVEAWAYS**
Award Ceremony
Closing Remarks
Photo Op
**Must be present to win door prize.
Angelique Myers | Hostess
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Vera Bumpers has been with the Houston Metro Police Department for more than 35 years and has been a pioneer from the beginning. Chief Bumpers is the first woman to lead MPD and the first woman to have been promoted in every single rank.
Chief Bumpers and all the men and women of MPD are focused on keeping METRO’s transit system moving safely and securely for all customers.
They are also committed to maintaining cooperative working relationships with all law enforcement agencies within the METRO service area.
Chief Bumpers has been widely recognized both locally and nationally for her leadership. She is a past National President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), has been featured in the African American Newspaper and Houston Women Magazine, and was honored as a 2016 Top 50 Black Professional and Entrepreneur and Top 30 Houston Influential Woman. She is also the recipient of the 2015 Trailblazer Award from the Women in Transportation Seminar.
Laurie L. Christensen CFPS, TEM, M.S. Harris County Fire MarshalLaurie L. Christensen is the Fire Marshal of Harris County, Texas, the third-most populous county in the United States, with 4.7 million residents, 2.1 million of whom reside in the unincorporated county. Fire Marshal Christensen is a University of Houston Downtown graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management from Sam Houston State University. She is an accredited Fire Marshal, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist, a Master Peace Officer, a Master Firefighter, and Certified Texas Emergency Manager.
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office is an independent law enforcement agency under Texas Local Government Code 352.011. The duties encompass Head of Department for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and Head of Department for Texas Fire Commission (TCFP) administrator for the department and county government.
Currently, she serves on the International Fire Marshal’s Association board, International Chiefs of Police Homeland Security Committee, Texas Fire Marshal’s Legislative Committee, County Fire Marshal Committee, Lone Star College Law Enforcement Academy Committee, National Fire Protection Assoc. (NFPA) 3000 and 1037. She is one of the authors of NFPA 3000, the first national standard written for Active Shooter Hostile Event Response (ASHER). Fire Marshal Christensen is a published author, guest editor, and guest speaker throughout the state and country. Christensen also provides frequent expert testimony to the Texas legislature.
Heidi A. Ramsey
FBI National Academy Instructor
Heidi Ramsey retired after 23 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, serving in various operational and administrative capacities during her tenure. During this time, she was responsible for creating SIGNAL, a preparation course for troopers seeking promotion to sergeant; the Public Safety Leadership Academy, a 10-week leadership course for mid-level police supervisors; and Ohio ASSIST, a three-day post-critical incident seminar for first responders dealing with the aftermath of traumatic events. She also held assignments at the Academy, Labor Relations, Legal Services, and Human Resources before her retirement in 2018.
Currently, Mrs. Ramsey serves as an instructor at the FBI National Academy, a 10-week leadership course for law enforcement executives from around the world. Her primary course of instruction is Leading At-Risk Employees, which provides resources and strategies for managers to deal with employees who are suffering from substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress, suicide, and depression. She also teaches Navigating Internal Leadership Crises, which deals with strategies for managing crises considering tactics, policy, communication, and wellness issues.
Mrs. Ramsey graduated from the FBI National Academy in December 2016 and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cleveland State University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Capital University, and a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Employment Law from Capital University Law School. She is a certified attorney in the State of Ohio and resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
Debra Schmidt
Former Assistant Chief Harris County Sheriff’s Office
Assistant Chief (retired) Debra Schmidt has served the Harris County Sheriff’s Office since 1985. She worked her way up through every civil service rank and was then appointed to major in 2012. In January 2017 she made history, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the agency when she was appointed to the rank of assistant chief. Retiring from full-time service in 2019, she became a reserve major and currently oversees the Reserve Homeland Security Division.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (215th Session), the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, the FBI LEEDA Command Institute, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Leadership Development Institute program. She is also a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum, an organization dedicated to joining and strengthening diverse leaders to better serve the public good.
The common thread throughout her career, regardless of rank, is that she has made service to the citizens of Harris County and her fellow employees her top priority. For her, it has always been about the people. In her free time, she enjoys scuba diving, ice hockey, being a pirate, and creating ocean art from wood and metal.
Chief Sheryl D.
Victorian, Ph.D.
Chief of Police Department City of Waco
Sheryl Victorian is a native Texan and a 30-year law enforcement professional. She was sworn in as the City of Waco’s Chief of Police on March 15, 2021, after serving with the Houston Police Department for nearly 28 years.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from Texas Southern University (1992), a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Houston – Downtown (2003), and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Administration of Justice from Texas Southern University (2013). She is the creator and co-designer of “Building Trust From Trauma,” a course designed in the Summer of 2020 to educate and inspire officers to learn about the trust-building and trust-eroding events that negatively impact trust between communities of color and the police.
Chief Victorian is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) session #81, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy (FBINA) session #267, Discover Leadership Master Graduate of class #252, a current fellow of American Leadership Forum’s class XLVII (47), Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT) Leadership Inventory for Female Executives (LIFE) class #17, and a graduate of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI). Chief Victorian is the owner and founder of Leading on Purpose, LLC., which provides training, coaching, and curriculum development services to organizations seeking to improve the quality of leadership, both horizontally and vertically, internally, and externally.
In her spare time, Chief Victorian is a playwright and enjoys traveling, mentoring, teaching, and spending time with her family and canine babies, Shelby, and Roxy.
