CSKA Members

Chief Katie McLellan has a unique perspective and background combining policing and security experience from both the private and public sectors. Her time spent as a security expert in the private sector highlighted to her the importance of building safe and resilient communities through partnership and collaboration with the community and she is a strong advocate for crime prevention through social development. Having immigrated to Calgary from her home in Scotland, Chief McLellan joined the Calgary Police Service in 1987. For the next thirteen years she worked in the Communications Section and as a general duty patrol Constable and Sergeant in Districts 4 and 3. Those early years engaged in grass roots community policing taught her that the police alone cannot prevent and solve crime without support from communities and partner social agencies committed to improving the lives of all Calgarians. The career of Chief McLellan in the Calgary Police Service spanned numerous areas including the Professional Standards Section, the Chief Crowfoot Learning Center, the Emergency Communications Center and as a Duty Inspector. She was the first Inspector of the Criminal Operations Section. Chief McLellan was promoted to Superintendent in 2008 and went on to lead the Information and Technology Division, the Executive Office of the Chief Constable with oversight of the Professional Standards Section, the Legal Services Section, the Strategic Communications Section and the Freedom of Information and Privacy Section. From 2010 to 2013 Chief McLellan was the Superintendent of the Field Operations Division where she and her team of commanders built and lead frontline policing in the City. In this role, she was grateful to perform a guiding and strategic role in advancing the evolving model of community mobilization and engagement. The complexity of social issues only furthered her resolve to leverage community and social services support in ensuring community safety. In 2013, Chief McLellan retired as the Senior Superintendent and transitioned to the corporate security realm joining an International Oil and Gas exploration company as the Senior Security Advisor. Chief McLellan recognized the critical interface between security and policing and the importance of all public safety partners, whether peace officers, professional security or police, in building a sustainable foundation for community safety. Within the corporate security realm, she was focused on building respectful workplaces, and issues related to workplace violence. Chief McLellan performed a strategic leadership role in working internally with Human Resource teams to bring about a healthy, respectful and inclusive workplace. ISC: Protected A The goal for Chief McLellan was always to return to public policing. In May 2018, she joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was selected to be the Officer in Charge of Federal Policing South, Serious and Organized Crime (K Division). And, in December 2019 she returned to municipal policing in the next stage of her professional policing career as a Chief of the Calgary Police Service. Chief McLellan possesses a Bachelor of Professional Arts degree (Criminal Justice, Athabasca University). She is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and holds a Corporate Executive Diploma from the Faculty of Business, University of Alberta as well as numerous certificates including Senior Police Management, Police Leadership Supervisory Skills and a Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement Diploma. Chief McLellan has been trained as a Hostage Negotiator, an Emergency Operation Centre Lead and an Incident Management Team Commander. Chief McLellan is the recipient of the Police Exemplary Service Medal, Alberta Police Officer Centennial Medal, Alberta Emergency Services Medal, Calgary Police Distinguished Service Medal and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal. Chief McLellan looks forward to enhancing community partnerships and working with all Calgary Police Service employees to ensure Calgary is at all times a safe place to live.

Chief Constable Harj Sidhu was named to his position in November 2024 and is the department’s first South Asian Chief Constable. He has been a member of the Delta Police Department since 1993, beginning his policing career at the department as a recruit constable. Chief Sidhu has a strong commitment to collaborating with the community and stakeholders, working together to problem solve issues, and create solutions tailor made to Delta, and presides over the department’s “No Call too Small” approach over policing. He worked closely with the Tsawwassen First Nation administrative staff to develop a model of policing deployment which recognizes cultural sensitivities and accounts for the needs of industrial, commercial and residential stakeholders. Chief Sidhu was the primary investigator on the high-profile Panghali homicide investigation, which led to a successful prosecution in a challenging case where the investigators had to rely on circumstantial evidence. During his career in Delta Police, he developed and implemented the DPD’s current service delivery model, the Delta Service Enhancement Plan, and created a computer software system that allows officers to account for their proactive activities. His work in this area resulted in a 25% reduction in property crime offences. Chief Sidhu has been instrumental in introducing Business Intelligence Systems that supports evidence based decision making throughout the organization. He is an accredited Gold Commander for public order incidents, a graduate of the FBI Command and Executive Leadership Courses, and a graduate of the Sr. Management Institute of Police Program from Boston University. He holds a BA in economics from the University of BC. When Chief Sidhu isn’t at work he enjoys being on the soccer pitch with his daughters, and also living a simpler life on the family’s blueberry farm.

Chief Sara Cunningham joined the Greater Sudbury Police Service in 1998 and throughout her 26-year career has served in variety of investigative and operational roles. In December of 2021, she was promoted to Deputy Chief of Operations which included Patrol Operations, Criminal Investigations, Community Policing, Integrated Operations and the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Centre. In 2023, she became the Deputy Chief of Administration overseeing Human Resources and Professional Development, Finance, Communications and Information Technology and Records and Information Management. In September of 2024, she became the Chief of Police where she remains committed to Community Safety and Well-bring and will continue to foster community partnership with a focus on data-driven and intelligence-led community policing practices. Chief Cunningham holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University and is a graduate of the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management Police Leadership Program. She is the recipient of the Governor General Exemplary Service 20-year medal and the Order of Merit of Police Services. She is a member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Ontario Women in Law Enforcement.

Michael has over 35 years of experience working as a business leader in the field of telecommunications, IT, security and complex application development. Presently he is the President of Motorola Solutions Canada located in Ottawa, Ontario. Michael works closely with Government leaders supporting their requirements for mission critical public safety communications, analytics, artificial intelligence, video and command center software solutions. Prior to Motorola, Michael spent three years as the Federal Practice lead at Accenture, ten years at TELUS as Managing Director of Public Sector Solutions, Vice President of Public Sector Marketing and sixteen years as Director of Engineering with Telesat Canada. Michael holds an Electronics Engineering Diploma from Algonguin College and has completed advanced business studies at Ivey Business School, Rotman School of Business and INSEAD.

Chief Nishan Duraiappah was born in Sri Lanka, and immigrated to Canada. Chief Duraiappah began his career with Halton Police in December 1995. He served in a variety of assignments throughout his career including front line policing, specialized investigations and Diversity and Community relations. He was promoted to Deputy Chief of Halton Police in 2015 leading front-line policing, community mobilization as well as innovation and technology. In October 2019, Chief Duraiappah was appointed Chief of Peel Regional Police. Chief Duraiappah arrived with a mandate for change and the strategic goal of becoming the most progressive police service in Canada. Amidst the first year of his command, Peel Regional Police championed: - The creation of its first-ever community-embedded Intimate and Partner Violence Unit to respond to the growing needs in our Region. - A re-emphasis on front line policing.- A road map for Innovation and Technology, as well as a Digital Officer Transformation plan to better equip officers to serve the community. - The adoption of the Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) framework and establishment of a CSWB Bureau to modernize traditional community policing. Chief Duraiappah is committed to the safety and well-being of the community he serves, with one of the primary focuses being mental health and seeking multi-sectoral collaborative partnerships to reduce risk in the community. Chief Duraiappah is heavily involved in the community. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Toronto, and a Diploma of Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario. Chief Duraiappah serves as Vice President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Board of Directors. He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and is an Officer of the Order of Merit Canada.

Farooq Sheikh has worked in law enforcement since 1992, the majority of that in policing, except for the past two years, where he operated as the Chief of Alberta Sheriffs.  His policing experience includes working at Calgary, Central Saanich, West Midlands and London Metropolitan Police services. Farooq has worked in a variety of roles, which include; criminal investigations, traffic, neighbourhood policing, 24/7 response, proactive crime teams, robbery, stolen auto, professional standards, diversity and inclusion and in recruitment.  He is trained as a public order commander and policed in two riots in addition to policing the London Olympics in 2012. Farooq is the proud father of three amazingly talented adult children, a son and two daughters.  He enjoys keeping fit through weight training and loves watching his favourite soccer team, Liverpool Football Club.

Chief Del Manak is in his 33rd year of policing and has served as the Chief Constable for over four years. He is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy Program and the Dalhousie University Police Leadership Program. In 2019, Chief Manak completed his Masters of Arts in Terrorism, Risk and Security Studies from Simon Fraser University. In 2014, Chief Manak was appointed Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. In addition, he is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal and the Police Exemplary Service medal.

Chief MacSween has been a member of York Regional Police since 1989. Over his 32-year career, he has served in Uniform Patrol, Criminal Investigations, the Hold-Up Unit and Community Services. As an Inspector, he served in the Duty Office and the Training and Education Bureau, and as a Superintendent, served as the Officer in Charge of #2 District, #4 District and Operational Command. He was promoted to Deputy Chief on May 15, 2019 before assuming the role of Chief on May 1, 2020. Chief MacSween holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Justice Studies from the University of Guelph and a diploma in Police Foundations Leadership from Humber College. His professional leadership training includes the Police Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management and the Executive Strategic Management program at the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston, Massachusetts. He currently sits as the President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Board and on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN). Active in the community, Chief MacSween is the former Chair of the Board of Directors for St. John Ambulance and previously served as Chair of its Community Services Committee. He volunteers his time to Special Olympics Ontario and supports the Law Enforcement Torch Run through the annual Race for Plunkett and the Polar Bear Plunge. As Chief of York Regional Police, he is responsible for 2,300 employees, an operating and capital budget of $390 million and community safety for 1.2 million citizens.