serviceyears birth_place birth_date article_title name department
1978-2014 february 20 , 2013-september 15 , 2014 pittsburgh february 1950 regina mcdonald
 regina mcdonald pittsburgh police
regina mcdonald

regina mcdonald is a longtime pittsburgh police leader , who was named acting pittsburgh police chief on february 20 , 2013 , its first woman chief .
in january 2004 she became only the second woman to hold an assistant chief 's rank in the bureau , becoming assistant chief of investigations after 4 years of heading the 45 detective strong narcotics and vice squad .
prior to 2004 she was named acting supervisor of the investigative branch on several occasions that then chief mcneily was called into military reserve service .
she was promoted to commander in 1995 .
chief mcdonald is a lifelong resident of the sheraden neighborhood and before joining the bureau in 1978 was a long time teacher and then city park administrator -- at one point in the mid-1970s actually holding down three jobs .
in the late 1970s she was one of the pittsburgh police academy 's first women recruits .
one of her first assignments as a sworn officer was for the city 's then newly adopted d.a.r.e. program .
she graduated from suburban slippery rock university in 1973 and earned her first masters from penn state university .
in 1984 she earned a second master 's degree in administration of justice from the university of pittsburgh with a final thesis concerning `` police stress '' .
mcdonald stated to press inquiries in january 2014 that she intends to retire around her 64th birthday in february 2014 .
mayor peduto 's staff however has given a 6 months or more timeline for finding a permanent chief .
in early september 2014 cameron mclay was named to succeed mcdonald who retired on september 15 , 2014 .
