A POWERHOUSE STEPS UP TO BE CHIEF l YVETTE GENTRY
By Megan M. Seckman Photo submitted
From the small pulpit of Louisville, the echo of “Say her Name” can be heard around the world. With daily protests now in their fifth month and a police force under a microscope, Yvette Gentry, interim Police Chief, has essentially walked into the eye of a storm. Before Chief Gentry took a leave of absence from her job in philanthropy at Metro United Way to accept this interim appointment, she had retired as deputy police chief in 2014 with a 20-year career in law enforcement. With the experience and community relationships she built on and off the force, she’s poised to be just the woman to help mend our fractured city. For now. Make no mistake, Chief Gentry walks into this position with a sense of duty to all of Louisville’s citizens — those in and out of the uniform — until it is time for her to pass the baton to Mayor Fisher’s permanent hire. Her goal until then is simple: Leave Louisville better than how she found it.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO JOIN THE POLICE FORCE YEARS AGO? HOW OLD WERE YOU? In 1990, at the age of 20, I became a dispatcher. That was my mother’s line of work, and I respected the work she did, so I followed in her footsteps. Later, my best friend and I became interested in law enforcement, so we took the test. This line of work was a natural progression for me in my life of public service, but I didn’t set out to become a police officer. I thought I was going to be a teacher — and I still want to be a teacher when I grow up.
WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE ACTION ITEM YOU HAVE ON YOUR LIST?
To hear from the community and start working on a shared agenda that incorporates looking for ways to improve the police department and the city overall. There needs to be systemic change, not just in law enforcement, but in many policies and practices within our city. I want to be crystal clear that my responsibility is to have a strong police department, examine our policies, and support our officers so that they can keep the community safe, but I also look forward to working and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people throughout the community to address our needs.
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October 2020 / TodaysWomanNow.com
WHAT PREPARES YOU FOR THIS POSITION? WHAT HARD AND SOFT SKILLS MAKE YOU THE RIGHT PERSON FOR NOW? I am prepared for this position because I have so many experiences with government and non-profit work: recreation, the zoo, the health department, the mayor’s office… I have developed many skills across all areas of government and have built lots of relationships across the community. That, coupled with my desire as a citizen to make this a better place, is what makes me the right person for right now. I gave up a lot of comfort to be here — to help others experience a better quality of life with the violence and unrest we are experiencing. My goal is just to leave the city better than I found it.
