109: Culture, Commitment and Care w/ Lt. Sarah Shendy

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I met (new LT!) Sarah Shendy at the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s 40 Under 40 Award ceremony Dallas back in 2022, where we were both recipients. It has been rewarding to be connected with other driven, engaged emerging police professionals.

Sarah has such a positive outlook and critical focus on doing the hard work, having the hard conversations, and driving forward perpetually. She brings a balance of inspirational candor with real talk- both of which I appreciate wholly! In this conversation, we talk about Sarah’s evolution into criminal justice and experiences being a female Arab officer.

We cover community policing with empathy, leadership philosophy and her unwavering love for the profession.
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Sarah Shendy is currently a police lieutenant with over 16 years of law enforcement experience. She made history by being the first Arab American Muslim female police sergeant in the State of Ohio.

Shendy was a Law Enforcement Training Officer with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for four years. Shendy earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice. Having a passion for mental health issues within our community, Shendy is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and previously co-chaired the Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Health.

In June of 2020, Shendy was appointed to be the inaugural Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment, the first office of its kind in the country.

Shendy was published in Police1’s 22 on 2022: A Police Leadership Playbook. In July 2022, Shendy was the recipient of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 40 Under 40 Award. Globally, she was the only Arab American female amongst the forty award recipients. In March of 2024, Shendy was announced as an award recipient for the Arab America 40 Under 40.

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music credit: Drive by AShamaluevMusic