Paula Quynn

I am pursuing a full-time role that presents new professional challenges that leverages my interpersonal skills and utilities my effective time management, and problem-solving expertise.

I demonstrate strong analytical, communication, and teamwork skills, with proven ability to quickly adapt to new environments. I am eager to contribute to team success and further develop my professional skills. I bring a positive attitude and commitment to continuous learning and growth.

I am a detail-oriented individual with exceptional communication and project management skills. I have the ability to handle multiple tasks effectively and efficiently in fast-paced environments. I have been recognized for taking a proactive approach to identifying and addressing issues, with focus on optimizing processes and supporting team objectives.

From Chief Domenico:

This year’s employee of the year award is being awarded to a long-time member of our organization who truly embodies our organizational values and is the example of service above self that we should all strive to be.

Criminalist Paula Quynn served as BPD’s lone criminalist for 19 of her 20 years with our organization. During those years Paula has been involved in every major case the organization has handled, frequently responding in after hours to coordinate the processing of scenes, collection and analysis of countless pieces of evidence, and many many hours testifying in court. Paula joined a rapidly growing, but still small organization and helped to build a strong foundation that has led to the professional, modern agency we are today. Paula’s knowledge, expertise and commitment have helped bring many victims justice and have helped more than a few detectives (me included) look like we knew what we were doing when their case eventually found its way into a courtroom. It would be impossible for me to outline the many facets of what Paula does here at BPD, but over the course of her career she has positively impacted every division in some way.

Paula is passionate about her work and truly cares about victims and making her community a better place. Paula does not do what she does for awards and recognition, though she has received many over the course of her career. She does it due to an innate desire to serve others and bring justice to victims.

Paula's’ contributions to our organization do not stop with her work as a criminalist. Paula is a member of the Peer support team and knows the harmful effects being exposed to repeated traumatic incidents has on those working in the criminal justice field. Paula works to ensure all department members have access to critically important resources and information to navigate

the trauma they are so often exposed to in healthy ways. Paula is a critical thinker and when she sees an issue she never hesitates to step up and find a way to make it better, regardless of whether it is in her area of responsibility or not.

Paula is a skilled teacher and routinely puts on classes for department members, community groups, and youth. Paula’s ability to inspire others has led a number of others to pursue careers in the field and it is not uncommon to come across someone who has been in one of Paula's’ classes year later who still talk about how her passion helped to inspire them.

I could go on for hours about Paula’s contributions to Brighton PD and I would still not be able to do justice to everything she has accomplished and how she has made our entire organization better so I won’t try, but it is my distinct honor to award Criminalist Paula Quynn the Brighton Police Department 2023 Employee of the year award!