DJJ Board Member to Receive Highest Award from International Association of Women Police (IAWP)

Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Avery D. Niles is proud to announce that DJJ Board Member Angie Holt is soon to be named the recipient of the 2018 ‘Heritage Award’ by the International Association of Women Police (IAWP). Holt is highly regarded throughout the upper echelon of Georgia law enforcement for her public service spanning 45 years as a peace officer. She also represents Georgia’s 8th Congressional District as a two-term Board Member providing her professional guidance to the Department of Juvenile Justice.  
 
The Heritage Award is the highest honor the International Association of Women Police can bestow upon any individual member. Conferred by the association’s board of trustees, the award is presented to recognize years of significant contributions for women in the police profession, especially for achieving milestones for the advancement of the organization.  
 
“I am honored and proud beyond words to be selected by my peers to receive this Heritage Award from IAWP,” said Board Member Angie Holt. “I look forward to continuing my work with our organization as we develop new ways to address the growing professional demands on women in law enforcement.”
 
Board Member Holt has been involved with the IAWP for 34 years -- That’s longer than many police officers serve during their entire law enforcement careers. Back in 1988 when the association scheduled its national conference in Atlanta, Angie Holt founded the state’s first ‘Women in Law Enforcement’ group in time for Georgia to host the IAWP event.
 
With the Atlanta conference a success, she also helped organize the next one in Pittsburgh. In the years to follow she served as Georgia’s first GWLE President and since then as an active member, she has attended 20 IAWP annual training conferences.
 
Holt was appointed to chair the IAWP Elections Committee in 1991, served as Executive Director from 1991 to 1994, then joined the Board of Trustees, becoming Board Chair in 2012. Throughout her term of service on the executive staff, Holt’s unfailing activism helped enhance the organization’s profile in the nation’s capital while developing a close working relationship for IAWP with the U.S. Attorney General’s office.
 
“One of the best ways for the IAWP to grow future leaders in law enforcement is through the advancement of study in emerging public safety fields,” said Holt. “By redrawing the front lines of these educational efforts, IAWP is raising its profile in law enforcement and around the world in the communities where we work,” she said.  
 
In addition to her organization and leadership skills, Holt’s academic resume reflects her strongly held beliefs in the power of formal education and professional training. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Masters of Public Administration from Georgia Southern University. She has attended countless hours of law enforcement training, while teaching in venues around the world, including her university-level lecture time as an Adjunct Professor.
 
“I am so pleased members of our organization can advocate this way for the expansion of opportunities for women in areas of law enforcement that have traditionally been limited in the past,” Holt said.
 
Angie Holt trail blazed a distinguished career in Georgia law enforcement that encompasses professional contributions in several Georgia criminal justice agencies – including the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Family and Children’s Services, Child Protective Services, and as a consultant for Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.  
 
As a Special Agent for the GBI, Holt was a key player on a Special Prosecutions Task Force that focused on public corruption. Her assignments resulted in the arrests of a District Attorney and Sheriff who abused the public trust with their criminal behavior. Later as a GBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, she developed law enforcement training protocols for officers on special security assignments for the ‘96 Atlanta Olympic Games.
 
Upon learning of the recognition, Commissioner Niles said, “We discovered this Heritage Award is like a career achievement honor and the IAWP doesn’t choose a candidate to receive one every year because they’re so special. It’s like the law enforcement equivalent of a lifetime achievement award at the Emmy’s and that makes this even more exceptional for our DJJ Board Member Angie Holt. And we totally agree she deserves it,” the Commissioner said.
 
Holt and her husband, Charles, have one child and reside in Warner Robins. She will be honored during the IAWP’s 56th Annual Training Conference scheduled during the last week of August in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.