Chief Sonia Quiñones’ Hometown Reception
The National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE) hosted its national meeting August 21-25, 2019, in Providence, RI. At this annual event, a woman law enforcement professional is recognized for her contributions throughout her career and is presented with the Woman Law Enforcement Executive of the Year award (WoLEEY). This award honors a female leader within law enforcement who has risen to the challenge to serve and protect her community, all while leading the way to inspire and mentor women within the profession.
Since NAWLEE’s inception 24+ years ago, Motorola Solutions has been honored to be the founding sponsor of the WoLEEY award. This year Motorola Solutions congratulates 2019 recipient Chief Sonia Quiñones of the Hallandale Beach Police Department. At the conference in August, we celebrated Chief Quiñones’ accomplishments by hosting the WoLEEY Gala in her honor, a night to acknowledge the successes of women in law enforcement.
On December 7, 2019, we celebrated Chief Quiñones in her hometown of Hallandale Beach, FL. It was a special night for the friends, family, and colleagues of Chief Quiñones to officially welcome her as the newest leader to be inducted into this prestigious group of inspirational women. The Mayor of Hallandale Beach, Joy Adams (pictured), also attended to show support and thanks for Chief Quiñones accomplishments.
With 26 years of law enforcement experience and 16 years of executive leadership, Chief Sonia Quiñones is putting her stamp on the profession as a woman leader. From starting her career with Hallandale Beach in 1993 as an officer, she rose through the ranks by expanding her professional background. Working with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as a task force agent, she conducted many different operations from wiretap, narcotics, and money laundering investigations to undercover work. She even expanded her experiences into media interactions as a Public Information Officer, laying the groundwork of success for years to come as Chief of her department.
Chief Quiñones built on the strong foundation she created by furthering her education and training, attending the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy (FBINAA). This prestigious ten-week program at FBINAA is an executive-level training course offered to only 1% of law enforcement. Additionally, Chief Quiñones graduated from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Senior Management Institute for training, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Command Institute, and more.
Chief Quiñones remains active in professional associations within her career, continues to strive for more, and is dedicated to a life of service and excellence. Some noteworthy associations Chief is involved in include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA), the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association, Police Unity Tour and NAWLEE.
For over a decade, Chief Quiñones has been recognized as an inspiration to women in leadership and shares her inspiration and knowledge to ensure future generations are inspired to lead. On behalf of Motorola Solutions, thank you, Chief Quiñones, for your continued dedication to lead, inspire and mentor, which is the main mission of NAWLEE. It is women like Chief Quiñones that are an inspiration to future law enforcement professionals.
