Feb. 4 was Captain Michelle Jean’s first day as the new Tiburon chief of police, replacing current chief, Ryan Monaghan. Jean is the first woman police chief in the history of Tiburon.

Monaghan was appointed chief of police in April 2021 after transferring from San Mateo County, where he worked for 26 years. He retired from the department shortly before his two year mark.

There are two ways to go about the process of appointing a new chief. A department could bring in a member from the outside (another organization), which can include a national search using firms that locate public sector leaders that appear to be fitting candidates. Or, a department could use a succession plan, where a member “inherits” another role after the current position becomes available. In the case of a succession plan for the chief, the town manager still maintains the final say. When Monaghan, who was appointed from an outside organization, decided to leave the office, the succession plan he established proceeded with Jean after the city manager officially appointed her. Monaghan considers a succession plan a logical approach since the candidate usually obtains strong knowledge of the organization and ensures continuity. 

“Now knowing that my [successor] will be my captain gives me a sense of security, [and also] knowing that the things I’ve been working on to build this organization and get it ready for the future [will be carried forward, gives me security],” Monaghan said. 

The emergency services coordinator for the department, Laurie Nilsen, shared her opinion regarding Jean stepping into the chief position with Tiburon city manager, Greg Chanis. 

“I told [Chanis] how much we all liked [Jean] when she started as captain. And then when we found out that she’s going to be the chief, I let him know that [the police department was] very happy we have somebody that we’re comfortable with, have faith in and trust,” Nilsen said.

Monaghan notes that the most important quality in a chief is emotional intelligence and being able to understand why people may be feeling a certain way in a situation.

“[Being chief is] constantly a balancing act so I think having that level of emotional intelligence, to understand people and what their interests are, is the top quality you can have as a police chief,” Monaghan said.

Jean also recognizes that beyond those qualities, empathy is important for a police officer and she strives to continue to demonstrate both traits as she steps into her new position.

“I do care [and] I have a lot of empathy. I think that I’m intelligent enough to figure out the problems that are occurring in Tiburon [and] help solve those problems. I’m very outgoing, I feel like I’m super easy to talk to and [I’m] approachable, [which is] a real gift because I don’t want to be the scary cop,” Jean said. “I don’t think I’m great [just] because I’m a cop. It’s my job, and I take it very seriously. But I also want to be here for the people and learn from our officers.” 

Jean moved to San Francisco from Yuba City where she started at the San Francisco Police Department when she was 26. She spent the following 29 years there, part of the time spent as a captain. After retiring for several years, she decided to return to a smaller department.

Out of multiple candidates who applied for the captain’s position, Jean was appointed to the job in 2022, starting in this role on Nov. 7. Jean notes that it has been a smooth transition and that she feels adequately prepared for her new role due to her prior experience with running a department and scheduling officers at the Richmond Station in San Francisco.

Nilsen has been at the Tiburon department since she was 14, when she was in an internship role, and shares her excitement about Jean being the first woman chief. 

“This is the first female [chief] we’ve had, and after 30 years it’s exciting as a female to have the head honcho be a female. The level of knowledge and experience she brings is absolutely fantastic and comparable to any other human out there. She’s going to bring a level of compassion that we as a police department need right now because it’s been a rough couple of years for us,” Nilsen said. “[Jean has] seen it all [and] done it all … She’ll have that knowledge from past experiences to be able to guide and assist us.”

Jean expresses the immense pride she feels being the first female chief. Law enforcement is a predominantly male industry and the role of chief of police is, even more, male dominated.

“To me, I feel like it’s an incredible honor to be the first at anything. To have the confidence from Chief Monaghan, the town manager and the town council to say ‘this is who we want,’ is an honor and I’m very happy that they chose me,” Jean said.