Dione “Dee” Neely talks about the many challenges of being a Black woman pursuing and maintaining a career in law enforcement. She points to data that shows Black people are disproportionately targeted and endangered in encounters with police, the difficulties of being on the other side of that, and the further discrimination she has faced in the workplace due to her gender. Neely encourages the audience to be willing to talk about hard things that may make others uncomfortable, specifically discrimination. She also challenges people to think about what they can do to be more conscious about their own biases, and how to influence others to do the same.
About the Speaker
Dione “Dee” Neely is a former Supervisory Special Agent with the United States Secret Service (USSS). She served over 30 years with the U.S. Government—2 years with the Environmental Protection Agency, 3 years with the USSS Uniformed Division (UD), and the remainder as a Special Agent working in several field offices conducting investigative and protective related missions. She was detailed to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) where she partnered with law enforcement professionals to defend the nation against terrorism. She led recruitment and hiring efforts throughout her career and became a champion for diversity, inclusion, and equity. She earned her BA at the University of Maryland, her MBA at the University of Phoenix, and her MA in Security Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). She is currently an Instructor at NPS-Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
