Cyrise Dixon comes to Safer Schools Stronger Neighborhoods after a 42-year career in law enforcement. She began her career as a patrol officer for the Chester Police Department in 1978, where she worked alongside her father (to date they are the only father-daughter pair to serve for the Chester Police Department). She went on to hold various positions including a detective for the Delco Criminal Investigation Unit, special agent for the PA Office of the Attorney General, and Chief of Staff for the Chester Police Department. In November 2020, Cyrise was named Interim Chief Operating Officer for the city of Chester. She held that title until November 2022, when she retired.According to Cyrise, Safer Schools Stronger Neighborhoods is about more than stopping gun violence. The program will help young people get on a better path by connecting them with services and people who want to help and empower them.

“I have a lot of concern for the youth and the things they go through,” said Dixon. “It is a completely different world today than when I was growing up. My personal goal is to inform people so they know about the opportunities the program will put in front of them,” said Dixon. “A lot of times people can’t get connected to the resources they need. My hope is that this program becomes a model for how a lot of things are done.”