Badass in Heels

October 7th Massacre

This is a short narration of my blog entry on the October 7th massacre. In December of 2023, I was invited to the Israeli embassy for a private screening of video footage depicting part of the attack. I saw approximately 140 people get killed, and many taken hostages. This episode contains details that are graphic and upsetting, discretion is advised. #hamasisraelwar #october7massacre

Badass in Blue: Badge #2- Heidi Chance

Heidi Chance, retired Detective from the Phoenix Police Department, has 27 years of law enforcement experience, 13 of those years working deep undercover in the dark sex trafficking world. Heidi shares her journey, from being inspired by her father, a retired police officer, who also served in the Phoenix P.D. for 26 years, to  joining law enforcement at age 18 and becoming the first female cadet! In this cadet program, Heidi was assigned badge #2! She then takes us through her career and talks to us about her role as an undercover and putting away monsters for life. Heidi shares with us cases that will expose you to monsters, to victims, and to people like Heidi and her team, who work to protect our tweens and teenagers. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!
*Disclaimer: This episode contains language that might be offensive to some. Discretion is advised.

Badass in Blue: Sarah Shendy

Sarah Shendy, Ohio’s first Egyptian-Muslim female police sergeant, takes us on a journey from Cairo to Ohio, talking to us about her life in Egypt, immigrating to the US, challenges she faced in school, and her amazing 16-year law enforcement career. Sarah tells us about the challenges she faced at a young age, which exposed her to the DARE program, a program that changed her life. Sarah herself later on gave back and ran her own DARE, which was on steroids! Sarah has been doing amazing policing work building a bridge between the Arab community and law enforcement. She was recently named an Arab-America Foundation 40/40 honoree! Listen to Sarah, who is an amazing human, woman, and police officer! #policewoman #police #womanempowerment #badasspodcast

Badass in Blue: Lindsay McCall Long

In this episode, Lindsay shares her fascinating life story, and opens up with many personal anecdotes: from her childhood to losing her father at age 17, to experiencing post-partum depression, to tragically and senselessly losing a colleague at her police department. She also recounts the day she was shot, ,how it not only impacted her but her family as well, and how she made the tough decision to medically retire after almost 17 years of service.
Today, Lindsay is a keynote speaker at many events where she shares her story and talks about challenges, resilience, and survival. Today, listen to Lindsay’s inspiring story and gain a new perspective on the challenges faced by law enforcement officers!
#podcast #lawenforcement #policewomen #careers #bi #womenempowerment #crime #resilience #trauma #inspirationalstory

Badass in Blue: Kristen Ziman, Retired Chief of Police

Kristen Ziman kicks off Season 3, a special Season dedicated to our women in Blue!  Kristen broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman Chief of Police of the Aurora Police Department in Illinois. She had an extraordinary 30-year career and in this riveting episode she shares her personal and professional stories. A journey into the law enforcement world that is full of emotions, learning, challenges and successes! From the people who inspired her, to chasing a bad guy, to realizing words are powerful, to letting criticism become fuel, she has a real conversation about what it was like to be a woman in the police world! Listen now to learn all about Kristen!

Episode 20: Jennifer Cormack

Jennifer Cormack closes season 2 with her extraordinary story! From wanting to be a photographer, to joining the army to then becoming a badass FBI Special Agent, Jen shares her journey with us. Jen talks to us about why she joined the army, her role as a hazmat member in the 2009 crash of Continental Express flight 3407, which led to her receiving an Impact Award, how she earned a QSI (quality step increase) later in Las Vegas, and her roles as LNO (liaison officer) for CENTCOM and SOCCENT. Jen and I also discuss her post-retirement life and her role in ICITAP EMPoWER, Skull Games and her own private eye! For a retired agent, Jen surely stays busy!

Episode 19, Part 3: Sugi Gomathinayagam and Grace Mason

This episode concludes my EMPoWER micro series! Grace Mason from the Department of State and Sugi Gomathinayagam from the Department of Justice close out this mighty episode. Sugi shares her personal story and talks to us about her journey in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, the amazing work she did in the Balkans, and her current role as Acting Deputy Assistant Director for the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistant Program (ICITAP) Europe and Eurasia Region. Grace talks to us about the importance of the USG’ Women in Peace and Security program and Lynn Holland surprises me with a shout-out near the end!

Episode 19, Part 2: Lynn Holland & Vanessa DuBoulay

In this episode, Lynn Holland and Vanessa DuBoulay, two amazing women from the Department of Justice ICITAP EMPoWER, the International Criminal Investigative Assistance Program, Engaging Multinational Police Women in Equality and Rights, share with us their personal stories and journey into the EMPoWER world. Learn about Lynn and her phenomenal 33 career in law enforcement as she talks to us about becoming the first U.S. female peacekeeper to be sent to Haiti and working high-profile cases in Kosovo during the Kosovo war.  Tune in to listen to  Vanessa, who has had a passion for international affairs since she was a teenager, and who is now making waves elevating the policewomen in Jordan and Kenya.

Episode 19:EMPOWER-Grace Mason & Ivana Brennan

In honor of International Women’s Day, five extraordinary women from the Department of State and the Department of Justice joined me to talk about the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, Engaging Multinational Police Women in Equality and Rights, ICITAP EMPoWER. This part 1 of the EMPoWER micro-series. 
In today’s segment you will hear from Grace Mason, Program Manager for the U.S. Department of State, Counterterrorism Bureau Programs Office;  and, from Ivana Brennan,  Deputy Assistant Director for the ICITAP Global Programs and Women, Peace, & Security (WPS) Unit. Grace and Ivana share with us the importance of EMPoWER, whose mission is to increase the number of women in counterterrorism efforts around the world and develop them professionally by providing top-notch training and resources, and connecting them across regions. But like every Badass in Heels episode, Grace and Ivana  share their story letting us in their world. For more on Grace, Ivana, #ICITAP, and #EMPOWER visit my website.

Episode 18: Cyber Pioneer Woman, Stacy Arruda

Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Stacy Arruda shows us a glimpse into the cyber world at the FBI! She served in the FBI for 22 years and worked cyber most of her career, becoming a sought out subject matter expert. In this episode, Stacy shares her story, from working for Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to to hunting down online sex predators via the first FBI’s online undercover operation. She talks to us about tracking state-sponsor hackers and investigating computer intrusion attacks, and she talks to us about the biggest cyber threats for people like you and I. This episode will surely keep you wired! Listen to Stacy’s story today to learn more about her phenomenal career and what she is up to now!