Pleasanton Police Chief Tracy Avelar’s life and career demonstrate powerful traits —most notably character and resilience.
Speaking without notes to the GraceWay Church retired men’s group Monday, she shared her personal and career story as well as fielding plenty of questions — her preferred way to engage with audiences. She grew up in a family of nine after her mom (with five kids) married a man with four. Her description: “chaos.”
She departed at 18, went to work in the insurance business, got married and bore two children. Then, her husband died of brain cancer at 25. She continued in the insurance business, remarried, had twins and started thinking deeply about her journey in the private sector and maybe the public sector offered more stability and opportunities. She got hired and attended the police academy at age 31. Working in Foster City, she climbed up the ranks.
Tracy, with the urging of her bosses, earned a college degree so the lack of the same didn’t get in her way of promotions. (I understand, I got mine for exactly the same reason.)
Her chief encouraged her to get a master’s — she frankly was quite disappointed with the undergrad and not interested until he sent her a program through the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School specifically for professionals dealing with homeland security. It was exceptionally competitive—about 5,000 people applied and her cohort was just 32 people. She related just how accomplished they have become. The 18-month program included two weeks on campus each term for the three classes. She juggled that, her job, her kids and her marriage.
Along her journey, she hit a turning point as a captain. An officer on probation had committed what she thought was a firing offense, but neither her fellow captain nor the chief agreed. She shared her feelings with her mentor, the former chief, and he simply said, “you’re not chief.”
She went on to become chief and also served as president of both the county chiefs association and the statewide association as well as working on their legislation committee. Her ease speaking in front of a group spoke to that experience. Her statewide duties delayed her planned retirement for a year and then the Pleasanton job opened up. She had joked with former Pleasanton Chief David Swing about wanting the job when he retired. Having lived in Dublin and commuted to Foster City for 22 years, she relished the idea of working locally and helping refine what she described as a top-notch department.
She prefaced her remarks with a question if anyone had seen her speak before—she’d clearly be on the local circuit. If you have a chance to listen to her, grab it—well worth your time.
Incidentally, the department is catching up with technology that it could not afford with the city’s financial crunch. It finally has a drone, an addition the chief believes will help with a variety of enforcement and other activities. For instance, they were able to locate a missing teenager who was asleep in a field on what was predicted to be a cold night. It also will give officers the ability to track e-bikes that they will not pursue because it’s too hazardous. Additional parental responsibility may be coming to a rampaging e-bike home near you.
