Board Member Profile

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Chief Vera Bumpers (Ret.) served with the Harris County Metro Transit Authority Police Department in Houston, Texas, for more than 40 years, including a decade as Chief of Police. She was the first African-American woman to work for the agency and rise to every rank including sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and assistant chief. One of her top priorities as Chief was to expose personnel to training for personal growth and preparation for advancement opportunities. She also created and instituted the cooperative urban policing model, which focuses on addressing innate bias, peer accountability, and law enforcement responsibility.

Chief Bumpers served as a commissioner on Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Commission Against Gun Violence, Chair of Houston Community College Police Academy Advisory Board, and board member for the Houston Recovery Center Technical Advisory Group.  She served as a board member with the International Police Chiefs Association (IACP) and was President for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Chief Bumpers was a member of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association(HAPCOA) and National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executive (NAWLEE), Texas Police Chiefs Association (TPCA) and Houston Area Chiefs of Police. Chief Bumpers received the WoLEEY Award from Motorola for the 2022 Female Law Enforcement Executive of the Year.  In April 2025 she received the Barbara Childress Trailblazer Award from TPCA. Chief Bumpers holds a BA in criminal justice from Texas State University, a MS in education from Prairie View A&M University, and is a graduate of the 230 session of the FBI National Academy.