Home Programs & Services Women in Higher Education

Police Chief Cathy Lanier:
A Veritable Paragon of Excellence

By Philip L. PremDas
GED_® Administrator and Chief Examiner
Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
GED Testing Center at the University of the District of Columbia

Retro 1981, at the age of 15, Cathy Lanier, a ninth grader and expectant mother, dropped out of high school... fast-forward to 2008, to find Cathy Lanier, the District of Columbia’s first woman to become the permanent chief of the DC Metropolitan Police Department.

From the outset, Ms. Lanier's determination provided the impetus to utilize education to overcome the obstacles and struggles she faced as a youth and young adult. A teen wife whose husband opposed her returning to school to graduate, Lanier initiated her practice of setting personal goals which no one could deter her from achieving. This zeal allowed her to attain numerous and progressive professional/academic accomplishments in a relatively short period.

Adaptability and perceptivity best describe her life and her capability for grasping and dealing with situations quickly and effectively. By the time she was 16, she had a baby and had been on welfare, and at that same age, she earned her GED credential. By 18 she had divorced; driven by the will to provide the very best for her son and to earn the money needed to support her family, she worked as a secretary by day and waitressed at night. She enrolled in night classes at Prince George's Community College whenever she could afford the tuition.

At 23, she began her career in law enforcement despite the decrease in pay that resulted from giving up her second job. A significant factor in joining the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) was the tuition reimbursement program the department offered and the access to further education Lanier could use to realize her full potential. Her educational journey started in 1992 with enrollment in the criminal justice program at the University of the District of Columbia. Today, Lanier holds bachelor's (2002) and master's degrees (2004) in Management from Johns Hopkins University, and a master's degree (2005) in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School (CA). She also is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Drug Enforcement Administration's Drug Unit Commanders Academy and is certified at the technician level in Hazardous Materials Operations.

Her curricular aspirations grew with each opportunity to learn, which included enrollment at the University of the District of Columbia with a major in criminal justice (1992–1993). In 1998, she graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy in Quantico, VA, and continued studies in 1998 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She resumed her collegiate studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she completed both a Bachelor of Science (2002) and Master of Science degree (2004) in the field of Management. Chief Lanier also holds a second Masters degree (2005) in National Security Studies from the Naval Post Graduate School. Her thesis title is "Preventing Terror Attacks in the Homeland: A New Mission for State and Local Police."

Cathy Lanier's career in law enforcement speaks for itself. In sixteen years, she has gone from being a rookie police officer with a GED to a decorated commanding official and has received certificates of completion from the Drug Enforcement Agency's Commander's Academy. In addition to her drive to further her education, she had changed the tone of sexual harassment on the job by strengthening the DCMPD's enforcement for a harassment-free workplace. After successfully taking on a system that made it difficult for a woman to do her job in a male-dominated field without being harassed, it was Cathy Lanier's integrity that allowed her to hold her head up high, knowing that others who climb the ranks after her would be protected by their department.

Ms. Lanier has been the recipient of many and varied awards throughout her career. Her hectic schedule notwithstanding, Chief Lanier maintains a presence in the everyday lives of the citizens of the District of Columbia; she is equally visible and available to the officers under her command. One such officer, who was shot in the chest, found himself with Lanier by his side in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Determined to keep the lines of communication open, Lanier began visiting roll call sessions and has created a website for ongoing dialogue with the officers.

Chief Cathy Lanier is a woman for all seasons, a hard-working determined individual who leaped from the springboard of education, and who has been soaring high ever since—a veritable paragon of excellence.

—Submitted by Debra Louallen-Cole
   Program Associate, Office of Women in Higher Education