Kelli Florman joined the Ventura County Community College District Police Department in 2023 as the first female Chief of Police and fourth chief overall since the department was certified in 2000 by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

Chief Florman began her law enforcement career in 1993 as the first female police officer in Mayfield Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). She took on specialized assignments, including field training officer, community policing officer, bicycle patrol officer, and evidence technician. After promoting to Sergeant, she developed the department training program from scratch and has been involved with law enforcement training ever since.

Chief Florman moved to California in 2004 and taught Administration of Justice courses full-time for fourteen years, starting at Imperial Valley College and then becoming a tenured professor at Rio Hondo College. In addition to teaching, she spent over five years as second-in-command of the police academies at Rio Hondo College and Palomar College. During this time, Chief Florman stayed active in police work by volunteering for ten years as a Level I Reserve Police Officer for municipal police departments.

Chief Florman returned to law enforcement full time as Lieutenant of Patrol Operations at California State University Northridge, where she managed patrol, dispatchers, and field training. She next was Captain of Campus Police at Chaffey College, where she managed patrol, investigations, police records, parking enforcement, field training, and Jeanne Clery Act compliance.

Chief Florman earned a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice from The Ohio State University. She is a life-long learner and has completed over 1,700 hours of continuing police education and professional development throughout her career. She is a POST-certified instructor for Tactical Communications, Racial Profiling, Investigative Report Writing, Cultural Diversity/Discrimination, Principled Policing, and Force Options/Use of Force/De-escalation. 

Chief Florman is passionate about principled policing and has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She wants the police department to focus every day on maintaining trust with the campus community and working together with stakeholders to provide a safe environment where students, faculty, staff, and visitors can thrive.

During her leisure time, Chief Florman enjoys singing karaoke, shooting pool, watching musical theatre, and rooting for her Ohio State Buckeyes football team.