From Healthcare to Law Enforcement: Chief Jackson's Unexpected Career Journey
Chief Tamrah Jackson’s career in law enforcement is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge. While she now serves the Department of Public Safety in Carson City, Nev., her path to law enforcement initially took a more circuitous route.
"I actually went to school to go into healthcare," Chief Jackson said. "When I completed my bachelor's degree in healthcare administration,” she recollected discovering a program where, “if you went and worked as a police officer for four years, you would have your student loans basically paid off.” Her experience was so positive that although the program’s funding was cut, “I decided law enforcement was a route I wanted to take."
Rising Through the Ranks
This decision marked the beginning of her distinguished career, which began at the City of Fallon Police Department in Nevada and capped off an extraordinary run of career advancement and professional growth. As Chief Jackson recalled, she joined the Nevada Highway Patrol and "spent about a year and a half [there] before I promoted to sergeant, moved halfway across the state for that position, worked in Las Vegas Highway Patrol as a lieutenant, and eventually promoted to captain with our Parole and Probation division." She was then promoted to major within the Highway Patrol Division in Reno, and then within a year of that promotion, she was “asked to be the Chief of Parole and Probation.”
Leadership Lessons for a Public Safety Leader
The cumulative effect of these experiences – traveling throughout the state and working in different divisions - allowed Chief Jackson “to see a wide variety of different sergeants and lieutenants in my region and how they behaved in different fashions.” In doing so she became fascinated with the leadership skills necessary to excel in the management parts of law enforcement. While working as a lieutenant in Elko, Nevada, Chief Jackson was selected to attend the FBI National Academy.
Finding the Master of Public Safety Program
This experience proved instrumental in connecting her with the Master of Public Safety (MPS) program at the University of Virginia. “I started looking at master's programs,” she noted, and “the FBI National Academy [is] partnered with UVA.” The program's flexibility and affordability made it an ideal choice. "When I got the notification that UVA was going to proceed with this program, I was ecstatic," Jackson says. "It was going to be reasonable and all online, and it would work with my schedule.”
The lessons Chief Jackson learned in the MPS program still linger with her. She highlighted the ways in which, “Our instructors, the best way I can describe it, were inspiring.” During classes, they would facilitate sessions that fostered “good conversations, dialogue and debate” with her peers. “I would come out of that just inspired,” she reflects. And in turn, this feeling made her “just want to keep doing better in my career.”
Learning Beyond Borders
In terms of her approach to law enforcement, the MPS program left a profound impact. "My entire career has been the state of Nevada,” Chief Jackson noted. However, “to be able to sit back and listen to things that are going on throughout the nation and even internationally in some cases, and understanding how it is impacting the different things that are impacting law enforcement in all of these different areas” helped reinforce her instincts “to do the right thing, not just by your division, your department, but by your community in general.”
Power of Shared Insights and Continuous Education
Chief Jackson's story is a powerful example of how continuous learning and reflection can enhance one's ability to serve and lead effectively. Reflecting on her journey, she emphasized the importance of broader perspectives gained during the MPS program, believing that “it opens your eyes to what else is out there and gives you opportunities to reach out and gain insight.” Ultimately, Chief Jackson said, “the understanding you can gain through that shared insight: I think that is unbeatable.”