2024 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a member of the national body in honor of the recipient’s dedication, efforts, service and visionary guidance in being a catalyst for the improvement of the national body which has brought about significant change in the quality of service to both its community and membership.
Cynthia Hadley-Bailey began her 27-year career as a Police Officer for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in April of 1980. Her first assignment was with the PATH System and was later assigned to patrol at the George Washington Bridge, World Trade Center, and the Passenger Ship Terminal. As a Police Officer, Cynthia worked several plainclothes details with the detective unit.
Cynthia was later appointed as a Detective in 1987. She conducted several investigations at Port Authority facilities until her retirement from the Port Newark Marine Terminal in July of 2007. Highlights in her career included assisting with the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force in the investigations of the 1993 and 2001 bombings of the World Trade Center. While assigned to the Port Newark Marine Terminal, she arrested over 20 undocumented truck drivers for using stolen social security numbers and identification to obtain ID cards, in order to drive into the terminals.
After retirement, Cynthia spends her time giving back to her community, volunteering with several organizations. She is active in her town’s Rotary Club, member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), coordinates a tutoring program in the Townships school district, and serves and the treasurer for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Retired Detectives’ Association. Cynthia has previously been a member of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). She has been a member of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NABLEO) for over 22 years.