Kristen Roman was appointed Chief of Police/Associate Vice Chancellor of the UW-Madison Police Department in January of 2017. She holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While a student at UW-Madison, she was a member of the UW Volleyball team.

Prior to her appointment, Chief Roman served for 26 years with the City of Madison Police Department. During her tenure there she held a variety of positions including Police Officer, Recruiting Officer, Community Relations Sergeant, Professional Standards & Internal Affairs Lieutenant, Detective Lieutenant, Patrol Operations Lieutenant, Crisis Negotiation Team Commander, and Community Outreach Captain. In addition, she coordinated department Critical Incident Stress Management efforts and supervised the department’s Peer Support Program.

A defining feature of Chief Roman’s career is her extensive work in the area of improving police services to people with mental illness. She has conducted multiple local, statewide, and national trainings/presentations on the subject, is a past NAMI Dane County Board member and a current member of the Board of Directors for Journey Mental Health. Chief Roman is committed to collaborative approaches to ensuring safety and to the practice of always reaching higher.