Cherise Giordani Gause, Secretary

Chief Cherise Giordani Gause is the Chief of Police for the North Miami Police Department and has three decades of law enforcement experience.  She started her career with the Miami Police Department in 1993 as a civilian dispatcher and progressively ascended through the ranks. In August 2023, she retired from the Miami Police Department at the rank of First Assistant Chief of Police.

She held assignments that span the three divisions of the department: Field Operations, Administration, and Criminal Investigations respectively. She oversaw the Field Operations Division (FOD), which is the largest segment of the Miami Police Department. The Field Operations Division is responsible for the day to day delivery of a wide range of police services within the City of Miami, including police response to calls for service and proactive crime prevention patrolling. FOD also encompasses specialized elements such as Marine Patrol, Mounted Patrol, Traffic Enforcement, Canine, Aviation, Towing Detail, Special Threat Response Unit, including SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactical), Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Detention Officer Detail, Crisis Intervention Detail, Homeless Empowerment Assistance Team (HEAT), Public Service Aides, and the Field Training Officer Program for new police officers. She is passionate about public safety, community policing, constitutional policing, and community engagement.

Chief Gause earned a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Union Institute and University, a Bachelor of Public Administration degree from Barry University, and an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Miami-Dade College. She is also a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy (Session 279), The Senior Management Institute for Police, and the Command Officer Development Course from the Southern Police Institute (S.P.I.) in Louisville, Kentucky and the MCCA Police Executive Leadership Institute. 

Chief Gause has received numerous leadership and community service awards, including, Legacy Magazine South Florida’s “50 Most Powerful Black Leaders in Business & Industry” 2020, Women of the Year N.Y.P.D. Haitian-American Law Enforcement Fraternal Organization 2019, and Legacy Magazine Miami’s “Most Influential and Prominent Black Women in Business and Industry” 2019. She is a member of several professional organizations, including but not limited to, Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police, where she serves on the Police Reform Committee, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE) Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). She also demonstrates her civic advocacy through memberships with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Jack & Jill of America Inc.