President
Chief Roxana Kennedy
Chula Vista Police Department
On December 30, 2016, Roxana Kennedy was appointed as the City of Chula Vista’s 24th Chief of Police. Chief Kennedy began her law enforcement career in 1992 after graduating from the Southwestern College Police Academy. She rose through the ranks to become the first female Chief of Police for the City of Chula Vista.
As an Officer, Chief Kennedy established a reputation for an outstanding work ethic, professionalism, commitment to the community, and dedication to the job. Her passion for police work and providing the highest quality of service to the community quickly propelled her through the ranks to become Chula Vista’s first female Police Lieutenant and then in 2013, Police Captain.
During Chief Kennedy’s career, she managed the Patrol Operations Division which is the largest division in the police department and is composed of 67 percent of all sworn personnel. Chief Kennedy oversaw Patrol, Traffic, School Resource Officers, Street Team and Gang Suppression Unit, Community Policing Unit, Community Relations and Crime Analysis. In addition, the Patrol Division also includes canine units, Senior Volunteer Patrol, the Reserve Unit, Crisis Negotiations, SWAT, Mobile Field Force, bilingual services, and mental health assistance in coordination with the Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams (PERT).
Chief Kennedy has worked various assignments throughout her career including Patrol Officer, Street Team Officer, Field Agent, Background Investigator, Patrol Sergeant, Street Team Sergeant, Watch Commander, Geographic Policing District Commander, and Investigative Division Lieutenant. During her career, she served on both the Crisis Negotiation Team and the Mobile Field Force Unit for 22 years, including 12 years as the Unit Commander for each team. In addition, Kennedy directed a very active Wellness/Peer Support Team for the Department.
Under Chief Kennedy’s leadership, Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) has adopted an Innovation Initiative focused on using technology to enhance community safety, increase situational awareness and officer safety, and reduce response times. Chula Vista Police Department is proud to be the first and only police department to work under the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS Integrated Pilot Program “Drone as a First Responder (DFR)” concept which provides real-time data to officers and supervisors allowing officers to make better tactical decisions in the field providing safer outcomes for all parties involved. Chief Kennedy’s goal is sharing our story with our law enforcement partners nationally and internationally to help standardize and expand to any agency interested in the benefits. CVPD is also leading another pilot project called Live911. Live911 allows the officers in the field to hear incoming 911 calls and respond before critical calls are processed and dispatched.
Other programs of importance include:
- Body Worn Cameras – issued to all uniformed patrol.
- Cell phone deployment to all sworn officers.
- DeX- pilot program replacing MDC’s with officers’ hand held smart phones docked in the vehicle.
- Opticom – preemptive traffic light CAD integration for responding officers.
- Open Data Initiative – To provide greater transparency, build trust, and enhance community engagement. CVPD is proud to be one of the first law enforcement agencies in the United States to participate in the White House Open Data Initiative.
- Speakwrite- application based report writing dictation program
- State of the art Communication Center
Chief Kennedy has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from California Coast University. She is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Class #243 and served on the FBI National Academy California Chapter Board of Directors for six years. She is a founding member of the San Diego Chapter of Woman Leaders in Law Enforcement Foundation and served as President for 3 years. Chief Kennedy is currently the Vice President of the San Diego County Chiefs and Sheriff Association. However, what is most important to her, is spending time with her family and friends, and volunteering with non-profit organizations. Chief Kennedy serves as the President of Project Compassion and leads medical mission teams throughout the world helping those in need. She has traveled and lead teams on more than 20 international trips to Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Ecuador, and Ethiopia. Helping others is her passion and motivation.
Vice President
Ray Sweeney
La Mesa Police Department
Chief Sweeney joined the La Mesa Police Department in 2001, and has held several assignments over his 23-year career. The assignments include, Patrol, Detective, Narcotic Task Force Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. He also held several collateral assignments that include, Master Officer, Range Master, Defensive Tactics and Less Lethal Instructor, Special Response Team member, Team Leader, and Commander. As a Captain, he oversaw both the Patrol and Services Divisions. Chief Sweeney has served as a Subject Matter Expert for the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) in mental health and law enforcement response and De-Escalation. He was selected as La Mesa’s 12th Chief of Police in June 2021.
Chief Sweeney is a veteran of the US Army, serving both on active duty and continuing his career in the California Army National Guard. He retired as a Sergeant Major in 2012, after serving more than 26 years with several deployments.
Chief Sweeney holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University and a Master of Science degree from the University of San Diego, in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Class 260, the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute and the US Army Sergeant’s Major Academy.
Treasurer
Magda Fernandez
Port of San Diego Harbor Police
Magda Fernandez was appointed Port of San Diego Harbor Police Chief/Vice President of Public Safety in May 2022 after previously serving as Acting Chief and Acting Assistant Chief. Chief Fernandez is the first Latina to serve in the role of Chief of Harbor Police. She joined the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department as a recruit in 2001 and rose through the ranks to captain in February 2021. Over the years, she has led various department units, including investigations and intelligence, professional standards, and training as well as the patrol and administrative sections. Chief Fernandez also represented Harbor Police as a detective on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and helped establish the department’s Terrorism Liaison Officer program, which focuses on educating officers and members of the Port community on being aware of potential terrorism and criminal activities.
From 1994 to 2018, she served in the U.S. Coast Guard in various roles, including criminal investigator and environmental and marine casualty investigator. Earlier in her career she was an emergency medical technician and a rescue diver with the Santa Cruz Search and Rescue Team. Chief Fernandez’s achievements include being featured on the March 2023 cover of Seapower Magazine, the Navy League of the United States’ official publication, receiving the Port’s 2018 Chairman’s Cup Award for her peer support work in the department, and being named Port of San Diego Harbor Police Officer of the Year in 2008. In addition, Chief Fernandez is a member of the Mexican American Women’s National Association (MANA) and a graduate of their San Diego Latina Success Leadership Program (LSLP) as well as a graduate of the National Command & Staff College Leadership Program. Chief Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Colorado Technical University.
Secretary
Christie Calderwood
Carlsbad Police Department
Christie Calderwood was appointed as Carlsbad’s Police Chief in April of 2024.
Chief Calderwood joined the Police Department in 2006 and rose through the ranks to Assistant Chief of Police in July of 2022. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literature and Writing from Cal State San Marcos and a Master of Science degree in Administration with an emphasis in Leadership from Central Michigan University. During her time as a police officer she served as a Field Training Officer, Crisis Negotiation Team officer, Tactical Communication Instructor, Psychiatric Emergency Response Team officer, Peer Support Officer and Administrative Officer to the Chief of Police supervising the Explorer program, Reserve Program, and the Senior Volunteer Patrol, while conducting Internal Affairs Investigations and Background Investigations.
In 2013, she promoted to the rank of Sergeant where she was a Patrol supervisor and ultimately implemented and supervised the first Crime Suppression Team within the department. She was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2017 and worked assignments as a Patrol Watch Commander, Traffic & Special Events Lieutenant, as well as the General Investigations Lieutenant. Christie was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2021 overseeing Support Operations.
Chief Calderwood has attended multiple professional development programs including the Sherman Block Leadership Institute, the FBI National Academy and California’s POST Command College. Chief Calderwood received recognition by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce in July of 2021 as a top “40 under 40” emerging leader in the City of Carlsbad. Chief Calderwood is the past President of the California Peace Officers’ Association.
Chief Calderwood is a longtime resident of the City of Carlsbad and attended La Costa Canyon High School.