Captain LaPonda J. Fitchpatrick, SHRM-SCP, EDICT©, IDI®, ACE, ASC
CEO and Principal Consultant
Captain LaPonda J. Fitchpatrick (Ret.) is the owner and senior consultant for her Human Resources Management, Aviation Security, Law Enforcement, and Organizational Development firm. She is an internationally recognized aviation security and law enforcement expert and trainer with over 36 years of experience. She provides organizations with the essential tools and insights necessary to add value to their workforce. With a diverse consultancy of local, state, federal, and international aviation security, law enforcement, and other organizations, both public and private, large and small, she develops policies and procedures, safety and security systems, workplace methods and procedures, and emergency management protocols. She conducts security risk and threat assessments and develops field, classroom, and online training courses.
LaPonda is on the Advisory Council for The Center for Respectful Leadership, a non-profit, educational organization committed to supporting leadership and organizational transformation through active research, public dialogues, learning & development programs, and executive coaching, all focusing on the positive power and measurable impact of respect and Respectful Leadership. She is also a Strategic Advisor for The Lion Institute, an organization that combines cutting-edge research with real-world application to provide practical and immediately relevant tools for solving critical law enforcement and other public safety organizational problems, including personal and community relations, strategic leadership development, organizational development, and wellness-related challenges.
LaPonda recognizes that law enforcement is an outward expression of the beliefs and norms of the dominant community they serve. Having a passion for Human Resources Management with a focus on non-discrimination, gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and unconscious bias, LaPonda helps organizations improve their service to both their internal and external customers by understanding that an organization is only as good as its culture and its employees. She performs organizational analysis and employee satisfaction surveys, provides employee coaching, and develops and instructs on workplace violence and diversity and inclusion training, among other People Management issues. She helps organizations provide their teams with the tools and insights necessary to add value to their workforce and increase their bottom line.
An avid researcher, LaPonda makes informed recommendations for compliance, implementation, and strategy to develop training through a comprehensive analysis of local, state, and federal laws, regulations, scholarly works, articles, court decisions, common sense, and best practices. She develops policies and procedures, security technology and procedural recommendations, organizational realignment suggestions, diversity and inclusion initiatives, individualized coaching programs, and other necessary guidelines based on these analyses.
Understanding the dynamic and diverse venue that a global system such as aviation presents, post-9/11, LaPonda created an international aviation law enforcement training program that has been an industry standard for more than 17 years. She has trained well over 2000 police officers, TSA, and other aviation security personnel across the country and internationally on their law enforcement and security responsibilities in the unique aviation environment. This included the law enforcement components for Atlanta-Hartsfield, Phoenix-Sky Harbor, and the Massachusetts State Police F-Troop assigned to Boston Logan Airport, to name a few. LaPonda has developed and instructed additional training courses, including a 3-day executive level course in Crisis Management, Active Shooter Response for an international audience, Psychological Preparedness, Diversity and Inclusion, Workplace Violence Prevention for Managers, and many others. She has been featured as an aviation security and law enforcement expert on NBC and ABC affiliates, other news outlets, newspapers, and magazines across the nation and internationally.
Prior to retirement with the Los Angeles World Airports Police, LaPonda was the Commanding Officer of the Professional Standards Section, where she updated, developed, and reviewed all policies, procedures, employee conduct (Internal Affairs), employee training (police academy, and continuing professional), hiring standards and police officer pre-employment investigations for over 1100 employees. LaPonda was the liaison to the EEO Coordinator and conducted and reviewed complex discrimination and sexual harassment investigations involving police and civilian employees through their conclusion. She served as a pre-disciplinary hearing officer and assisted the City Attorney with defending personnel decisions to the Civil Service Commission and in Superior Court. LaPonda had a unique role in that she represented both management and labor (union president) in collective bargaining negotiations and was a member of the City of Los Angeles Joint Labor-Management Committee that made recommendations on citywide collective bargaining contracts, employee administrative policy and procedures, and associated employee benefits.
LaPonda is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, where she obtained her designation as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). As a lifelong learner and researcher, she has received certificates in employee coaching and assessments, including the PeopleMap6™ Leadership Coach Approach Program, 360° Degree Assessments, Coaching Using the Big Five Model of Personality, and a Certification from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Diversity and Inclusion and Unconscious Bias. She is a Qualified Administrator (QA) of the Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®), the premier cross-cultural assessment instrument of intercultural competence that is used by thousands of individuals and organizations to build intercultural competence to achieve international and domestic diversity and inclusion goals and outcomes. With the foundation of her favorite leadership book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, which she has used for executive coaching since 2002, she is an Accredited Facilitator of The Five BehaviorsTM for Teams™. She is also an Authorized Partner for Everything DiSC®, a personal development learning experience that equips people with the social and emotional know-how for more effective interactions at work—no matter who or where they are within the organization. As an Authorized Partner, she combines the proven DiSC model with flexible strategies and recommendations tailored to your organization supported by a powerful learning platform.
LaPonda received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UCLA with a concentration on globalization and diversity. She received her Management and Executive Development certificates from the State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). She also has certificates in Background Investigations, Tactical Commander, Managing Within the Law, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Labor/Management Collective Bargaining. She received her West Point Leadership diploma and Instructor Development certification from the Los Angeles Police Department and is a certified instructor in Franklin Covey’s Presentation Advantage™.
LaPonda received the National Black Police Association Outstanding African American Woman in Law Enforcement “Taking Charge of Change” Award in 2011, a California National Guard Commendation for the Post 911 Operation Safe Passage Training and Military Deployment to Airports in 2002, and a Federal Aviation Administration Certificate of Appreciation for Contributions to Aviation Safety and Security also in 2002.
An ardent sports enthusiast, LaPonda played on and coached the men’s basketball and co-ed softball teams for the Los Angeles Airport Police for many years and enjoys long-distance cycling and hiking. She was a member of the Police Unity Tour Team, where she rode over 350 miles from Ground Zero in New York to the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial in Washington, DC, annually for several years. LaPonda is married to Bernard Fitchpatrick, a retired Los Angeles Police Department sergeant and avid trainer. They have three daughters, one son-in-law, and one granddaughter. She lives in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.