PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — A Northeast Ohio suburb is making history and celebrating diversity in law enforcement.
The city of Parma Heights recently named its first-ever female police chief.
She was sworn in by their first-ever female mayor.
Both women aim to inspire future leaders in politics and policing.
They say it's a true honor.
They're now ready to get to work and continue doing what's best for the community of Parma Heights.
Lifelong Parma Heights resident Tanya Czack wears her title and badge of "Police Chief" with a sense of pride and purpose, especially since she is the first to do it in her hometown.
"I'm hoping that young ladies across, anybody who see this, any young female who wants to get into law enforcement --knows it's possible if you work hard," Czack said.
Czack climbed the ranks over the years starting at the Parma Heights Police Station at just 19 years old as a police dispatcher.
"My sister was a dispatcher here 34 years ago, and I needed a job to help me get through Tri-C. And I came to this police department and said this is where I'd like to work," Czack said.
Nine years later, she became the city's first female police officer.
She patrolled the streets she grew up on, worked as a school resource officer, and was ultimately promoted to sergeant, captain, and then chief.
She credits the strong women in her life—including her 101-year-old grandmother and her own mother "Big Carol" who stands at a mighty 4 feet 11 inches tall and lives in the area.
"My mom's been one of my biggest supporters from the time I was growing up. She was a woman who never said no to anything and told me I could do anything I wanted to do," Czack said.
On September 11, a day of reverence and subsequently her mother's birthday, she became Parma Heights Police Chief.
Making history, she was sworn in by Parma Heights' first-ever female Mayor Marie Gallo.
Czack says she now makes up just one of the 8.3% of female police chiefs in the United States.
"I think there's no glass ceiling if you push yourself hard enough," Czack said.
"The goal is to continue to move the city forward and the police department forward with that respect and to make sure our community is safe," Gallo said.
Czack took the reins from beloved friend and colleague Chief Steve Scharschmidt, who retired after more than 30 years on the force.
"I changed our mission statement to his statement that he constantly used which is 'doing the right thing for the right reasons'," Czack said.
That statement can be found painted on the walls inside of the station.
Both Gallo and Czack hope to inspire the next generation of public servants.
They say community relations and community policing will play an instrumental part moving forward.
Seeing officers in the community as a kid actually inspired Czack to pursue a career in law enforcement.
"It's huge and honestly that's one of my biggest goals. Interpersonal relationships with the community. The community that you serve supports you in times that are good and bad, and you don't want to wait for bad times," Czack said.
Her goals moving forward are to maintain staffing levels as recruitment nationwide has become a challenge, complete the drone unit, continue cross-training officers and follow through on succession plans.
"It's a lot of weight, but it's a lot of really good people that are working for me and a really good community to work in," Czack said.
"It's important to have a chief that's on the same page with you. As a mayor, Chief Czack is definitely on that page," Gallo said.
Czack says she's one of roughly a handful of female police chiefs in Cuyahoga County.
She says while people often see gender first—she says succeeding in law enforcement is genderless.
Czack says everyone comes with different skill sets and backgrounds and hard work is what gets results.
She's excited to take on the role and she's thrilled to do it as a mom of three.
Her husband is a Cleveland Fire Captain.
