Welcome back! It has been a minute, but Fearless, Inspired and Free is back with host Dana Wright to connect with more phenomenal women and to continue to build a community of learning, support, resilience and GROWTH one story at a time. By listening to these stories of women in our communities, we learn and we grow. We also learn how we can support women. When we support women, we support our communities!

This episode's guest, Wey-ni Langdon, has been in the field of law enforcement for over 10 years, after a woman saw her potential and referred her to apply to her first police department. She currently serves as a police officer with the Chicago Police Department. She started her career in 2007 at the Northern Illinois University Police Department. In her career, she has served in several different capacities including Patrol, Investigations, Crime Analysis & Planning and much more. She also had the opportunity to serve as an undercover officer on a federal task force with the United States Postal Inspection Service and is also a Medal of Valor recipient from the NIU Police Department and the DeKalb Police Department.

Wey-ni was instrumental in developing positive relationships between the community and the NIU police department where she contributed to creating the Community Policing Unit...all while working to implement the first NIU Citizens Police Academy. 

Throughout her career, Wey-ni has been blessed with many mentors who have provided her with a wealth of knowledge and guidance. Because of these positive influences, one of which was her father, she was led to a career she loves and to start an organization to support women in law enforcement. Women in law enforcement represent a fraction of the numbers who serve in police departments across the U.S. (approx. 13%). Her passion for creating Women of the Shield was to create an event and space where women in law enforcement can be celebrated among their peers while offering support and encouragement. She also wanted to provide an opportunity for people to be educated on the struggles women have faced in the criminal justice system and celebrate their determination to overcome obstacles. Her desire to “pay it forward” constantly keeps her motivated to work with the community and encourage young women to pursue careers in law enforcement. 

In her spare time, Wey-ni loves spending time with her family including her fur baby, Sir Duke Mix-a-Lot and traveling.

Listen in to hear about how strongly influenced Wey-ni has been by her father as a self-proclaimed "Daddy's Girl". Her parents, a law enforcement officer and a teacher, both laid the foundation of service and were positive role models leading to her strong work ethic and desire to give back. Wey-ni created a space for women in law enforcement so that they could be supported and educated by other women. It is her desire to insure the numbers of women in law enforcement increase because she knows their value and that if women in law enforcement are strongly represented, communities can thrive.

Wey-ni can be reached at [email protected]  You can also call her at 708-261-6119. To get more information about Women of the Shield email [email protected] or go to www.womenoftheshield.org / Wey-ni can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.