by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College is celebrating Women’s History Month by honoring women in public service.
“The Honor and the Fulfillment: My Life in Public Service” is from noon to 1:30 p.m. March 23 in Room 2325 on the KCKCC Main Campus, 7250 State Ave. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served.
The presentation features former Chief of Police Ellen Hanson, who became a police officer in Lenexa in the 1970s. Hanson grew up in Kansas City, Kan., and became the first female police chief for the Lenexa Police Department in the early 1990s. She worked for the department for 37 years before retiring in 2012. Less than two years later, she came out of retirement to take the role of interim Chief of Police for the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department. Like in Lenexa, she was the first female police chief in the department’s history. She served in the position for one year.
Hanson is a 1966 graduate of Wyandotte High School and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Kansas. She also received a master’s of management degree from Baker University. In 1980, Hanson graduated from the FBI’s National Academy and is past president of the Johnson County Chiefs and Sheriffs Association as well as the Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Association.
The event is sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, the Intercultural Center and the American Association of University Women. For more information, contact Jennifer Gieschen at 913-288-7193.