Myrna Ortiz: She recognized the need of a different kind of response. Amanda McMillan: She certainly broke through a glass ceiling here. Rashida Saunders: I'm so thankful that she was courageous enough to say yes to this job because without her, maybe I wouldn't be here. My name is Rashida Saunders, and I am the Sunshine Division Liaison Officer. Myrna Ortiz: My name is Myrna Aracely Ortiz. I work with Victim Services Unit. Amanda McMillan: My name's Amanda McMillan and I'm the Assistant Chief of the Services Branch in the Portland Police Bureau. Rashida Saunders: Hey, hey. Speaker 4: Thank you very much. Rashida Saunders: So, I've been with the Bureau for almost 14. I've been in so many different capacities and now I'm assigned to the community engagement where I get to work for Sunshine and make sure people are not going hungry throughout the city of Portland. I've always wanted to be of service to others. And being from the city, it's such an honor to be able to put the uniform on and be able to serve people in my community. I've always been underestimated, but it's one of those things for me I thrive because I am authentically me and that's how I show up. Amanda McMillan: Every day I feel like I have to show up as best I possibly can and prove that I should be in this role. Because it is a choice. Every day I show up and I do this work, it's a choice. That drive for service is what really, really put me here. Myrna Ortiz: It's stressful. It's also for us. You have vicarious trauma, but I still wanted to help. Advocacy gives victims and survivors someone to navigate this very difficult system. Rashida Saunders: I think history is interesting because sometimes it's hard for people to pay homage to it and appreciate it. I am very aware of the sacrifice and the struggle that some of the people before me endured in order to open doors for people like me later on. Amanda McMillan: The Police Bureau's history, over 150 years now. The last 120 almost of which women have worked in a sworn capacity. Lola Baldwin being the first with the Women's Protective Division. Myrna Ortiz: Hired in 1908, long time ago. The mission and the goal was to protect and serve those girls that were vulnerable with trafficking and exploitation. She recognized the need of a different kind of response. Women serving women makes a difference. I'm also part of that history because advocacy, how it looked back then, it still looks very similar with the exception that it's gotten better. Being victim-centered, trauma-informed, that's the difference. Amanda McMillan: She was doing things that hadn't been done before. Penny Harrington, first female police chief for city of Portland in '85. Also, she was the first female chief for a major city in the US. Fascinating to think her journey from that sort of limited scope of work that women were even allowed when she was hired to becoming the chief. There's been a lot of women that have paved the road that I walk today. I've not held any position in the Police Bureau where a woman hasn't already held that position. I'm the beneficiary of all of that work, all of those glass ceilings being broken. But there are still seats in the Police Bureau today that have women in them for the first time. Rashida Saunders: Sometimes you're showing up and you're the only one. And for her case, she was the only one. Carmen Sylvester, the first African American female police officer in the City of Portland. She was a single mother when she got hired, raising four kiddos while doing this very tough job. And so, I'm very thankful, very grateful that she stepped up and she was courageous enough to say yes to be a police officer and to be the first because without her, maybe I wouldn't be here. This box is heavy. Growing up, being a police officer was not a likely option in my community. In order for me to dream it, it's helpful to be able to see people that look like me in certain positions. Amanda McMillan: We've seen women excel in the Police Bureau and rise to the highest levels over and over. Myrna Ortiz: We just need more women and women of color, that's a plus because I think this community has a lot of that. Rashida Saunders: Representation matters more than people think. We need more diversity in policing. We need more women in policing. I would hope that the next generation of police officers are fully welcomed and that they're encouraged to bring their entire self to policing. Amanda McMillan: Keep pushing and keep trying and you'll get there. Myrna Ortiz: It's going to be challenging. It's going to be uncomfortable, but it's worth it. We also deserve a seat at the table. Why not? Rashida Saunders: It's an honor to be able to follow in her footsteps and it's an opportunity for a young kiddo to look at me and see me and maybe decide that this is a career path that they're willing to take on.