Book Carmen Best to speakLeading when everyone is watching. The decisions, one at a time.
She led a major city's police department through 2020 and walked away from it on principle. Audiences get the decisions as they were made, with the information she had at the time, and what she would tell them about their own.
Keynotes
Six talks. Each one built for the room.
The titles her bureaus list. Every one is tailored to the audience, and she builds custom keynotes with event teams.
01
Executive teams, boards, public agencies
Leading Through Crisis: Building Trust in Uncertain Times.
Seattle in 2020 and global security operations at Microsoft. How to build credibility under pressure, communicate when nobody trusts the institution, and make the call with the information you have.
Leaves with
A plan beats a good idea. Say it, execute it, take the barbs.
02
Corporate security, risk, operations, technology
The Future of Security: Protecting People and Organizations in a Global Landscape.
What a police chief and a Microsoft security director both learned about threats to people, assets and infrastructure, and the practical work of enterprise risk, readiness and response.
Leaves with
Opportunity with lack of preparation is not an opportunity.
03
Leadership programs, associations, HR and talent
Leading Change Management in a Technology-Driven Era: Staying in the Game.
Adapting without losing your values. Reinvention from patrol to Chief to corporate security to the classroom, and what it takes to keep a team competitive and ready for what is next.
Leaves with
Any advice where people tell you to give up on something is not good advice.
04
Universities, civic forums, Black History Month, women in leadership
Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation.
The book, told live. Tacoma to Chief, the doubt and the barriers on the way up, the 2019 hiring class, and the decision to give the job back.
Leaves with
If you need the job, maybe you should not take the job.
05
Conferences, women’s events, community organizations
Light Beyond the Storm: Choosing Hope and Positivity in Difficult Times.
Optimism that has been tested in public. How to stay a source of encouragement for the people around you when the season is hard, without pretending it is not.
Leaves with
Keep going. Take another bite at the apple.
06
Corporate wellness, remote and hybrid teams
Resilience and Well-Being: Building Mental Fitness in a Digital Era.
Clarity, connection and energy under pressure, from someone who ran a department through a pandemic and a reckoning at the same time. Practical, not inspirational.
Leaves with
Take a sanity check. Chat with people outside the profession.
Watch
Her, unscripted.
“The best might only be 80%, but that’s what we’re going to go with, because that’s what we’ve got.”
29 minon the record with You’re Allowed*, then the two minutes from 2020 that a room will recognize.
You’re Allowed*, May 2026, 29 min
Carmen Best explains her decision to retire as Seattle police chief, 2020
Formats
- Keynote
- Fireside conversation
- Panel
- Half-day leadership session
- Board or executive briefing
Audiences
- Corporate leadership teams and boards
- Associations and conferences
- Public sector and law enforcement
- Universities and civic forums
- Women in leadership programs
Fees and travel
On request. Fees depend on format, audience, and travel. She travels from Washington State.
Represented by
- Leading Authorities (exclusive for lectures)
- Washington Speakers Bureau
Direct inquiries through the form below are welcome too.
Where she has spoken
FedExMoPOPSouthern Glazer’s Wine & SpiritsNOBLENABASeafair
NABA panel
NOBLE, 50th anniversary
Cybersecurity keynote
From a host
“Chief Carman Best was one of the very best guests we have ever had. She was engaging, transparent and open to any and all questions. Her insights were refreshing and the honesty and integrity she communicated positively impacted our organization. I can always tell if we hit a homerun with a guest speaker when the audience doesn’t leave the session and the E mails becoming overwhelming requesting this particular individual again.”
Introduce her
Short bio for programs and introductions. Headshots come through the form, sent the same day they are approved.
Carmen Best is a keynote speaker, law enforcement analyst and an associate consultant with 21CP Solutions. She is the former Chief of Police of Seattle, the first Black woman to lead the department, and the author of Black in Blue (HarperCollins Leadership, 2021). A 28-year veteran of the department, she has appeared on NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5.
Booking
Tell her about the room.
Date, audience, and what you want people to leave with. That is enough to start.