Carmen Best · Keynote speaker · Law enforcement analyst · ConsultantPeople aren’t always right.
She became Chief anyway.
Carmen Best led the Seattle Police Department through 2020 and walked away from it on principle. Now she speaks, analyzes, and advises: keynotes for rooms with their own hard decisions coming, on-air analysis of policing and public safety (NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5 have all had her on), and consulting, with 21CP Solutions, for organizations that need someone who has actually run the thing.
“You know, people aren’t always right.” Carmen, on You’re Allowed*, May 2026
1992
Joins the Seattle Police Department
2018
Chief of Police, the first Black woman to hold it
2020
Resigns on principle, August 10
2021
Black in Blue, HarperCollins Leadership
Now
Keynote speaker, law enforcement analyst, consultant with 21CP Solutions
August 10, 2020. The day she resigned as Chief.
She had the job everyone said she would never get. Then she gave it back on principle.
The City Council voted to cut about 100 officers. Under union rules the last hired go first, and the last hired were the 2019 class: 108 officers, about 40% of them people of color, a record for the department. She would not carry out the order that undid it.
“Do I want to keep my job? Do I want to stay in a profession that I love? Absolutely. Is that more important than moving forward with the organization, with helping people get to the next rung, with making sure the city has the right public safety mechanisms in place? So in some ways it’s selfless.”
“We’ve had these conversations, police chiefs around the country talk to each other. We’ve had these conversations like if you need the job, maybe you shouldn’t take the job.”
The press conference, 2020. Two minutes, then decide whether you want her in front of your people.
Chief Best, City Hall, November 2018. Interim Chief from January 1 that year, confirmed August 13, the first Black woman to lead the department.
Seen on
Worked for, served with, spoken for
- Vantage
- Seattle Police Department
- United Way of King County
- IACP
Covered by
- The Seattle Times
- Bloomberg
- GeekWire
Three ways to work with Carmen
Pick the room. She will show up for it.
Keynotes and panels
01
Put her on your stage.
Leading when trust is gone, the 80% decision, the team you build, and knowing when to walk away. Keynote, fireside, panel, or a half-day session.
Talks and formats→Analysis and commentary
02
Put her on the record.
Law enforcement analyst. She has been on NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5, and she is available for the next segment. Policing, public safety, leadership under pressure, and what accountability looks like from the top of the org chart.
Media page and press kit→Consulting, boards, executive roles
03
Put her in the room.
Associate consultant with 21CP Solutions: public safety, security operations, and leading an institution through change. She has served on boards and advisory councils including UNCF, United Way of King County, YWCA King County, and is open to board seats, advisory work and senior operating roles in the same lanes.
Start the conversation→In her words
This is what she sounds like with a microphone on.
Six lines from three rooms: the press conference where she resigned, the email she sent her officers the night before, and a conversation six years later. As she said them.
“This is not about the money. And it’s not about the demonstrators. Be real. I have a lot thicker skin than that. It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out.”
Resignation press conference, August 11, 2020
“There’s a lot of good idea fairies out there. Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you do that? But it takes really good leadership to say, here’s the plan, here’s what we’re gonna do, and we’re gonna execute.”
You’re Allowed*, May 2026, 10:59
“This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time.”
Email to her officers, August 10, 2020
“The best might only be 80%, but that’s what we’re going to go with, because that’s what we’ve got.”
You’re Allowed*, May 2026, 15:14
“I have spent my career talking about who gets into the room and who gets kept out. Vantage builds the connections this city never made and makes sure the people and businesses it overlooks are finally seen.”
Vantage press release, July 2026
“You have to have thick skin and really know what your North Star is and what you’re trying to achieve and why.”
You’re Allowed*, May 2026, 15:37
In the room
Panels, podiums, and the occasional gown.
NABA panel
NOBLE, 50th anniversary
Award night
Seafair
Cybersecurity keynote
FOX 13, Studio 13 Live
In the community
The book · HarperCollins Leadership, 2021
Black in Blue.
Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation
Tacoma, the Army, an insurance job downtown, and a police application she filed without knowing whether she would stay a year. She stayed 28. This is the account of what it took to rise through a department that was about 12% women when she joined, and what she did with the top job once she had it.
Questions
The short answers.
Who is Carmen Best?
Carmen Best is a keynote speaker, law enforcement analyst and an associate consultant with 21CP Solutions. She joined the Seattle Police Department in 1992, became its Chief of Police in 2018 (the first Black woman to hold the job), and resigned on principle in August 2020. She is the author of Black in Blue (HarperCollins Leadership, 2021).
What does Carmen Best speak about?
Leading when public trust is gone, making the 80% decision under scrutiny, building and keeping a workforce that reflects the public, and knowing when to walk away from a job. Every talk is drawn from decisions she actually made as Chief of Police in Seattle in 2020.
Why did Carmen Best resign as Seattle police chief?
In August 2020 the Seattle City Council voted to cut about 100 officers. Under seniority rules the newest officers go first, and the newest were the 108 officers she hired in 2019, about 40% of them people of color. She announced her resignation on August 10, 2020 rather than carry out those cuts. Her last day was September 2, 2020.
Is Carmen Best available for media commentary?
Yes. She has appeared on NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5 as a law enforcement analyst, and she is available for interviews, panels and a regular analyst role. Media requests go through the contact form and deadline requests are answered first.
How do I book Carmen Best?
Use the inquiry form on this site with your date, audience and format, or book through Leading Authorities (her exclusive bureau for lectures) or Washington Speakers Bureau. Fees depend on format, audience and travel, and she travels from Washington State.
Is Carmen Best open to board and executive roles?
Yes. She has served on boards and advisory councils including UNCF, United Way of King County and YWCA King County, and she is open to board seats, advisory work and senior operating roles in public safety, security and workforce.
“I always feel like there’s more.”