Leadership APB
Leadership APB will engage law enforcement and public safety executives in discussions on timely and current topics affecting first responders around the world. Our guests will share their leadership and managerial philosophies and successes and obstacles they have encountered in their careers. The podcast series are free audio programs distributed to FBI National Academy Associates’ members and other law enforcement executives that provide our communities, states, countries, and profession with the highest degree of law enforcement professionalism and expertise.
Leadership APB
Recruitment: Casting a Wide Net
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This episode is sponsored by Justice Federal Credit Union: Serving Justice Across the Nation. For more info visit Justice Federal Credit Union
Recruiting the next generation of law enforcement professionals requires more than filling vacancies—it requires casting a wider net. In this episode of the FBINAA APB Podcast, Recruitment: Casting a Wide Net, retired Chief Carmen Navarro Gercone joins the conversation to discuss how agencies can move beyond traditional recruitment models and embrace a broader view of diversity. From life experience and education to culture, faith, service mindset, communication skills, and community connection, this episode explores how out-of-the-box thinking can help public safety leaders attract candidates who bring fresh perspectives, strengthen agency culture, and better serve today’s communities.
Carmen Navarro Gercone, NA Session 252, is a retired law enforcement executive with 32 years of experience in public safety and the criminal justice system. Rising from deputy sheriff to 1st Assistant Executive Director/Chief, she led more than 1,200 deputies and 120 civilians while emphasizing community responsibility, officer development, and wellness. Now back in the police academy to reconnect with the realities facing today’s recruits, Carmen brings a rare blend of executive leadership, humility, and lived experience to conversations about recruitment, mentoring, and modern policing. Raised in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park and shaped by personal loss, resilience, and service, she remains committed to bridging the gap between law enforcement and the communities it serves with empathy, kindness, and compassion.