The first woman to be appointed a three-star Port Police Chief encourages diversity in the ranks of New York and New Jersey forces.

Gloria Frank broke the glass ceiling at the Port Authority Police Department and wants to create a skylight that more women can climb through.

Frank is the first three-star female executive in the department’s 100-year history. She oversees department recruiting and public relations and wants more women and people of color to join the ranks.

“For women in general, there is no limit to the opportunities that want to pursue a career in law enforcement,” Frank said. “I want them to have the courage to strive for higher ranks.”

Frank, black, is currently one of three high-ranking PAPD officers.

Chief Gloria Frank, the first female chief of the Port Police Department to receive 3 stars.

She and Richard Belucci are the only department heads with three stars. They report to Deputy Superintendent Michael Brown, a four-star chief who is the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the department.

The Rockville Center, Louisiana resident is the PAPD’s Chief of Public Affairs and is responsible for police reform, recruitment, public relations, and promotions—key positions that help drive change from within.

And the change has begun, Frank said.

“We are already seeing an increase in the number of women and people of color at work,” she said. “Last graduation from the academy was one of our most diverse classes in terms of race.” The new class at the academy is “more diverse than the previous one,” she said.

Gloria Frank, the first female 3-star port police chief on Oculus.

“We have to see who survives, but we are very confident that in the end we will have a very diverse class of men and women,” she said.

More than half of the 129 new officers who graduated on Jan. 27 were people of color, according to the agency. About 18%, or 24, were women.

It was a significant improvement from when Frank graduated from the academy in 1998—she was only one of three women to join the Port Authority forces that year.

Frank graduated from Hunter College with a degree in sociology and planned to pursue medicine. She was working for the New York City Probation Department when she found out that the Port Authority was hiring.

Gloria Frank, the first female 3-star Port Authority Police Chief.

“I never thought about becoming a police officer, but my friend who works in the unit practically talked me into it,” she recalls. “But I saw the physical aspect of it as a challenge that I wanted to overcome, and here I am today.”

Working in a male-dominated profession was another challenge, but she still went ahead and quickly rose through the ranks, working in all airports, tunnels, bus and train stations run by the Port Authority.

“That’s how I was raised. I was told that you can do anything – that if you just put in the effort, anything is possible,” she said. “Despite the fact that this is a male profession, I wanted to be in this environment to prove that women can do the same as their male counterparts.

“We have the same drive and if we are not equal, we can be better,” she said. “Why not put us at the forefront?”

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