To honor International Women’s Day, local women in leadership and law enforcement gathered at the West Sacramento Police Department for a panel discussion. From left to right: Lanaya Lewis, Patrice Griffith, Rachel McCune, Misty Alafranji, Andrea Cortez, Christine Lynn and Jaclyn Powell.
Camryn Dadey
To honor International Women’s Day, local women in leadership and law enforcement gathered at the West Sacramento Police Department for a day of fun and education.
Officers met community members and showed off equipment like police cars, and kids ate ice cream sandwiches and played in a bounce house. The main event was a panel featuring women in leadership, called “Lead At All Levels.”
The panel, hosted by West Sacramento Public Information Officer Lanaya Lewis, featured Christie Lynn of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; Rachel McCune of the West Sacramento Police Department; Andrea Cortez of the Elk Grove Police Department; Patrice Griffith, director of real estate services for a Sacramento State auxiliary; Jaclyn Powell, chief executive officer of the law firm Smith, McDowell & Powell; and Misty Alafranji, chief of staff for Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan.
McCune, who served in the U.S. military and is now a police officer, said she did not see many women in either the military or law enforcement.
“I think probably the only female cop I knew was Olivia Benson on ‘Law and Order: SVU’,” McCune said.
McCune said she believes being a woman in law enforcement gives her “invaluable” experience communicating with members of the community who may prefer to speak with a female officer.
Alafranji said she also did not see many women in leadership growing up, saying she wanted to work to be a leader in the roles she has held.
“You got to speak up, and you got to say when things are right and when things are wrong and when it gets messy,” she said.
Alafranji said one of the biggest misconceptions about women in leadership is how they are perceived.
“A strong woman is annoying. A strong woman is a problem, right? They’re not a team player. The same actions by a man would not be perceived the same way, and that is something that we deal with every single day,” she said.
Alafranji urged women to keep pushing forward and to not let misconceptions make women second guess themselves.
Powell said a misconception she sees in law is that women lead more emotionally than men. She echoed Alafranji’s statements, saying that many women experience impostor syndrome, where a person doubts their skills or accomplishments.
The panelists agreed that being inclusive and supportive of other women in the workforce is key to success.
Griffith also highlighted the importance of supporting other women, especially as other women who seem like they “have it all together” have had help from other women throughout their lives and careers.
“We are all moving up and doing phenomenal things, but we don’t do it alone,” Griffith said. “As women in the field, we should want to see each other succeed.”
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Camryn Dadey is The Sacramento Bee’s Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova watchdog reporter. She is a 2022 graduate of Sacramento State.