Meeting Speaker for April 26, 2016

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is one of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies.  On March 1, 2008, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Joseph A. Farrow Commissioner of the CHP.  He was reappointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2011.  With a Department of more than 12,000 personnel, Commissioner Farrow commands the fifth-largest law enforcement agency in the nation.

Commissioner Farrow entered the CHP Academy in 1979.  Throughout his career, he has quickly been promoted through the ranks.  Commissioner Farrow has demonstrated his commitment to higher education by earning executive level certificates, graduating from several schools, and earning his master’s degree in executive leadership from San Diego State University. 

Commissioner Farrow has been recognized and endorsed for his innovative leadership approach in public administration.  The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) presented him the J. Stannard Baker Award in 2006 for his sustained, career-spanning, and extraordinary initiative and creativity in developing, implementing, and improving traffic safety programs and technologies within the State of California, and for his willingness to promote significant traffic safety issues both nationally and internationally.  He is a member of the IACP and the California Peace Officers’ Association.  Commissioner Farrow’s strong leadership earned him selection as current Chair of the IACP’s Highway Safety Committee.