Chief of System Safety, Security, and Emergency Management, Wanda Y. Dunham, will retire from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) after 34 years of meritorious service to the agency.

Chief Dunham started her career with the MARTA Police Department as a uniform patrol officer and worked her way up the ladder over the next three decades. In addition to the uniform patrol division, she served as a commander in the Criminal Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs. She was later promoted to Captain and Major, where she served as a precinct commander, before being promoted again to Assistant Chief of Police. In May of 2006, Chief Dunham made history with her appointment to Chief of Police/Assistant GM at MARTA, the country’s ninth largest transit agency. She was the first African American and woman to hold this position.

In September 2018, she made history again, when she was promoted to MARTA’s C-Suite as Chief of System Safety, Security, and Emergency Management. As a member of MARTA’s executive team, Chief Dunham was granted expanded areas of responsibility, including the Department of Safety and Quality Assurance and the Office of the Chief Information Security Office. Additionally, she retained her responsibility for Police and Emergency Management until Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Kreher was named as MARTA’s new Chief of Police in March.

Chief Dunham retires after more than three decades of experience with transportation law enforcement. At her direction, MPD has distinguished itself as one of the top law enforcement agencies in the country, receiving consecutive Gold Standard Awards from both the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the Transportation Security Administration Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement.

Chief Dunham reaches another milestone with her retirement, as she is now the longest serving law enforcement officer in the department’s 43-year history.