ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Policing Institute is pleased to announce that after a nationwide search, Kaitlyn Perez will be joining our team as Senior Director of Communications and Marketing.

With more than ten years in law enforcement and government communications and marketing, Kaitlyn brings a unique and compelling perspective to NPI’s outreach efforts. As Senior Director, she will lead the storytelling of our organization’s positive impact on policing and communities. Kaitlyn will serve as the National Policing Institute’s primary point of contact for all media and related inquiries and opportunities.

”As the National Policing Institute has grown and expanded its reach across the United States and internationally, we are challenged to share our unique capabilities and resources and to tell our story of how we are encouraging excellence in policing,” said Jim Burch, President of the National Policing Institute. “Recruiting a proven and highly effective spokesperson and leader from the law enforcement community was a top priority for our organization. I could not be more excited about Kaitlyn and her expertise and all that she will accomplish as we head into the future.”

Kaitlyn served more than eight years with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in Florida as Community Affairs Director after spending time as Community Outreach Specialist for Sarasota County. In her tenure as a senior advisor to Sarasota County’s highest-ranking elected official, Kaitlyn was charged with helping guide the agency’s strategic planning process, creating solutions for diversity and recruitment challenges and officer safety and wellness issues, along with communicating the agency’s capital and infrastructure needs to key stakeholders.

“The National Policing Institute is leading brilliant work at the intersection of policing and community,” Kaitlyn added. “I am eager to join the team and do my part to amplify and deepen our impact, strengthening the profession through science and innovation.”

In her time as a law enforcement communicator, Kaitlyn was the recipient of the International Association of Chiefs of Police 40 Under 40 Award and  Florida’s 16^th Congressional District’s Congressional Law Enforcement Dedication and Professionalism Award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication with a minor in Criminology from the University of South Florida. Kaitlyn also completed St. Leo University’s Command Officer Management Graduate Program, where she studied issues of affordable housing and compensation for law enforcement first responders.

Kaitlyn has deep community ties and experience in nonprofit work, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties.

She begins on July 3, 2023.

Established in 1970, the National Policing Institute (formerly the National Police Foundation) is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to pursuing excellence in policing through science and innovation. The National Policing Institute is leading the way in promoting and sharing evidence-based practices and innovation within policing and communities.