Edward Flynn

Edward A. Flynn is an expert in violence reduction, strategic planning, sustainability, law enforcement operations, place and offender-based tactics, and public safety partnerships. Prior to joining CNA, Flynn was appointed Chief of Police in Milwaukee in January 2008. He was formerly Police Commissioner in Springfield, Massachusetts from 2006 to 2008. As the chief police executive, he was responsible for 470 officers and 100 civilians, serving a city of 155,000 residents. Flynn served as Secretary of Public Safety under Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney from January 2003 until he took command in Springfield. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Public Safety, he served for five years as the chief of police in Arlington, Virginia. In that capacity, he was instrumental in the recovery effort at the Pentagon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Flynn served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum. He also chaired the Legislative Committee of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. He was a member of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Session on Policing and a 1999 recipient of the Police Executive Research Forum’s Gary Hayes Memorial Award for Emerging Police Leaders.

Chief Flynn was inducted into the George Mason University Evidence Based Policing Hall of Fame and received the Robert Peel Award for Evidence Based Policing from Cambridge University in 2015. In May 2016, he received the Police Executive Research Forum’s annual Leadership Award recognizing his career achievements. In 2017, the FBI National Executive Institute Alumni awarded him its Penrith Leadership Award. In 2018, the Major Cities Chiefs Association presented him a special recognition award for his contributions to the police profession.

Flynn has a Master of Arts in criminal justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from LaSalle University in Philadelphia.