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Kristen Ziman

Former Police Chief of the Aurora IL Police Department (Ret.); Speaker, Author, Leader & Change Agent

Former Police Chief of the Aurora IL Police Department (Ret.); Speaker, Author, Leader & Change Agent

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Chicago, IL, USA
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Kristen Ziman Biography

Kristen Ziman is the former Police Chief of the Aurora IL Police Department (Ret.). In Ziman’s 30-year career in law enforcement, she blazed trails: she became the first woman Lieutenant in 2008, first woman Commander in 2010, and eventually the first woman Chief in her department’s history in January of 2016. Ziman was also the Chief on watch during a mass shooting in her hometown Aurora, IL.

Since retiring from the department, Ziman has now stepped into her new career as a professional speaker and consultant for organizations and police departments focused on the areas of leadership, women empowerment, positive psychology, and mass shooting prevention.

Ziman is also the author of "Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing," a passionate and personal memoir of a misunderstood profession through the vantage point of a female police chief.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 06/25/2024.

Kristen Ziman Speaking Topics

  • PREVENTING THE UNTHINKABLE

    Organizations suffer when they fail to confront the risks that come with uncertainty of the unknown crisis that looms.

    With 27 years as a police officer and the chief who lead her department through a mass shooting, a member of an International Mass Violence Advisory Team, and called upon by the Department of Justice to investigate crisis, I have come to learn that the key to confronting the certain uncertainty of a crisis is through preparedness.

    I will teach you to equip your organization for the ever-looming uncertainty by supporting your team to craft the skillset needed to adapt through a crisis and the mindset to embrace (not brace for) the incoming change. I will transform your organization into a team of first responders who can expertly navigate through any challenge that arises in business and in life.

    When people feel helpless, they’re scared. You can override that feeling of helplessness and fear by empowering people with knowledge and action steps. That’s what this talk is all about: empowering people into action so you don’t find yourself in this horrific tragedy like I did.

  • OPTIMIZE WITH OPTIMISM

    Day in and day out, when police officers respond to 911 calls, they’re not responding to people at their best; they’re responding to violence, pain, death. Their brains get rewired for negativity. So much so that studies have shown that police officers are more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty.

    This just isn’t okay to me. Which is why I’ve brought the science of positive psychology into my work in law enforcement and beyond. There are proven, practical ways to change negativity – and not just for police officers.

  • EVOLVING YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

    I grew up, from Cadet to Chief, in a culture of taking orders. There was a clear chain of command that everyone was expected to follow. Anyone who did not take orders potentially threatened the safety of everyone on the force, which is why any dissent was punished.

    When I became Chief, I redefined the chain of command. I gave my team permission to speak up and share their input. Not in all situations, but in the ones where they were the best authority. By increasing their sphere of influence, we began shifting the culture of policing.

    The culture of any organization is a living and breathing organism. You cannot see it in the tangible sense but you can feel the gravitational pull when someone acts outside of the norm.

    It’s exactly this type of ‘out of the norm’ behavior that you must invite to shift culture. But you must do so in a way that moves the entire organization forward, in the direction you want to go.

  • EVOLVING WOMEN LEADERS

    Throughout my career, I have been underestimated. From the moment I earned my badge, I’d show up on a call and people would say, “You’re too little to be a cop” or “Do they let you ride by yourself in a squad car?” As I moved up the ranks, I was often asked, “Do those men follow you?” I learned to shrug it off or retort with a witty comeback. I never got angry because I tried to respect the templates for which those people saw the world that made them doubt me. It made me try harder to disprove their world view.

    And I did.

    I became the first woman Lieutenant, first woman Commander and first woman Chief in my department. In order to achieve these leadership positions, I learned how to tame the imposter in my head – the voice that said, “Can I really do this?” As women in leadership, we need to stop conforming to these templates for how others see us and defy them – blow them up even. And that might mean making others uncomfortable in the process. If you can become comfortable with making others uncomfortable, you can transform an organization.

  • EMPOWERED LEADERS EMPOWER OTHERS

    I learned from Professor Marty Linsky while attending the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University that “Leadership is about disappointing people at the rate they can absorb.” I thought that statement was absurd when I first heard it while sitting in his class. It wasn’t until I became the chief and was met with resistance at every change that I began to understand what he meant.

    People hate change. What I came to understand is that it’s not so much the change that is painful, it’s that space before change happens that stretches us in the most uncomfortable ways.

    But once you get to the other side, people are appreciative and even wonder why they didn’t do it sooner. The only way we get to the other side is to go through it which requires us to become comfortable with disappointing people on the way to changing things.

Kristen Ziman Videos

  • Retired Aurora police chief opens up about her new role, book
    Retired Aurora police chief Kristin Ziman opened up about the mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company and how it changed her outlook on gun control.
  • 'Now is the time': Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman reflects on retirement
    Thirty years since she walked into the Aurora Police Department, Chief Kristen Ziman is saying goodbye.
  • 2020 Graduates: A Message from Aurora Chief Kristen Ziman
    A message from Aurora Chief Kristen Ziman to the Seniors of 2020.

Kristen Ziman Books

  • Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing
    Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing

Speaker Lists Featuring Kristen Ziman

FAQs on booking Kristen Ziman

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  • What topics does Kristen Ziman speak about?

    Kristen Ziman is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Empowerment, Influential Women, Innovation, Leadership, Literary, Motivational, Psychology, Science, Virtual, Women.
  • Where does Kristen Ziman travel from?

    Kristen Ziman generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Kristen Ziman for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Kristen Ziman for your next private or corporate function.
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Kristen Ziman is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as PREVENTING THE UNTHINKABLE, OPTIMIZE WITH OPTIMISM, EVOLVING YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, EVOLVING WOMEN LEADERS and EMPOWERED LEADERS EMPOWER OTHERS. The estimated speaking fee range to book Kristen Ziman for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Kristen Ziman generally travels from Chicago, IL, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jenn Lim, Deanna Singh, Kathleen Hassan, Nataly Kogan and Marilyn Tam. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Kristen Ziman for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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