Sandy Vastola of CMPD Named 2025 PRNEWS Top Woman "Changemaker"

Published on June 06, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sandy Vastola of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Named a 2025 PRNEWS Top Woman “Changemaker”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – (June 6, 2025) – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) announced today that Sandy Vastola, director of public affairs, has been recognized as a 2025 PRNEWS Top Woman in the Changemakers category. This award celebrates women who are making a significant impact in the communications and public relations field through innovation, leadership and a commitment to positive change.

“Sandy’s exceptional leadership has not only improved community relations and fostered greater support for CMPD officers but has also set a new benchmark for law enforcement agencies across the nation,” CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said. “Her dedication to innovation and positive change makes her a truly deserving recipient of the PRNEWS Top Women Changemakers award.”

“Each year, an elite group of women are selected to represent the best and brightest up and comers, entrepreneurs, change-makers, industry champions, and motivators in the communications industry,” PRNEWS Content Director Kaylee Hultgren said. “This year’s Top Women are the trailblazing, ceiling-shattering women making waves within their organizations, whether it’s skillfully navigating a crisis, bolstering a company’s reputation, breaking through to new markets or supporting and mentoring their colleagues.”

Under CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings’ leadership, Sandy built, launched and continues to lead a team that ushered in a new era of customer service for law enforcement, demonstrating measurable effectiveness through impactful results.

“Sandy has been instrumental in transforming CMPD’s approach to community engagement and trust,” Chief Jennings continued. “After recognizing a critical need for enhanced interactions in 2020, I tasked Sandy to spearhead the development and implementation of CMPD Serves, a groundbreaking customer service training program that is the first-of-its-kind in law enforcement. This initiative has revolutionized how the department approaches interactions by emphasizing empathy, active listening and other de-escalation techniques.”

Key CMPD Serves program achievements include the following:

  • Innovative Training Development and Delivery: Engaging materials such as "a day-in-the-life" videos, role-playing scenarios and modern communication techniques
  • Widespread Adoption: Comprehensive annual training for all CMPD employees
  • Measurable Impact: Tracking key metrics including increased customer satisfaction scores, documenting 13,000 positive officer-citizen interactions through body-worn camera tagging, and recognizing employee excellence via the Acts of Excellence awards program
    • More than 75% of public survey respondents reported a positive impression from CMPD employee interactions.
    • 70% of employees reported they could apply training knowledge, 61% demonstrated competency in foundational customer service elements, and 43% successfully applied training concepts in daily work.
    • Over 40% of employees observed improved communication or experienced better interactions with the community, 36% within the department, and 32% agreed that departmental culture has improved within the first two years of the program.
  • National Model Sharing: Landing significant media coverage across national outlets. Sandy also produced a documentary, “To Protect and Service,” showcasing the program’s journey, inspiring interest from major police departments nationwide
  • Continuous Improvement: Fostering a culture of ongoing development by incorporating elements like growth mindset, world-class internal culture and employee wellness initiatives

Beyond CMPD Serves, Sandy has made other significant contributions to the organization including:

  • Innovative Recruitment Strategies: Developing and implementing successful digital advertising campaigns that yielded 3,037 applications (up 18%) and resulted in 248 sworn hires (up 30% from 2023).
  • Strengthened Transparency and Accountability: Leading proactive communication efforts with the public and efficiently managing public records requests, including:
    • 303 social media/application alerts to media and public
    • 458 press releases
    • 126 press conferences
    • 160 coordinated media interviews
    • 109 campaign social media posts
    • 3,558 public records requests (up 146% from 2023)

Honorees were recognized and celebrated at an awards luncheon on June 5 in New York City.

###

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, www.cmpd.org and www.JoinCMPD.com, is a progressive, technology-driven, metropolitan department that believes strongly in the principles of crime management, community collaboration, professional accountability and employee wellness. The department employs more than 1,900 sworn officers, 500 civilian employees and 500 volunteers. If the public has information about a crime, anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com.

 

 

Tagged as:
Back to top