She’s the second-in-command of the nation’s largest police department, but First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella is also a mom-of-two – and she’s hoping to inspire other women that “there is room in this world to do both.”
Kinsella, 45, who was born in the South Bronx, joined the NYPD in 2003 and worked her way up to the high-ranking role in 2023.
“It was the best decision of my life, besides having my children,” she said of joining New York’s Finest.
She had her kids – Madison, 14, and Evan, 10 — when she was a sergeant.
Kinsella, who was married to a fellow NYPD sergeant, said her kids were born with blue blood – even asking smart questions when she worked as a precinct commander and practiced her CompStat speech in front of them.
“I would choose each child to be one of the chiefs,” she said. “And they would sit there and they would listen, and they were very inquisitive about the crimes and deployment of cops. And it was one of the great NYPD memories I had – [and among the] fond memories I have with my children, because they were part of a lot of the success that I have.”
Months after Kinsella was promoted to executive officer of the Office of the Chief of Patrol in 2022, Madison, who was in fifth grade at the time, created a PowerPoint presentation about her mom.
The presentation was so touching that Madison’s teacher reached out to Kinsella to share it, she said.
“I was at work, so I opened up the PowerPoint presentation, and it was very emotional for me, because it was at that moment it clicked that my children now see me the way I saw my mom,” Kinsella said.
“I’ve watched my mom study for her RN, become a nurse, work hard, have two children, and for me, that was everything,” she added. “So once I became my mom, I knew that I had to be the best and do the best, because I wanted my children to follow the footsteps that I followed.”
Kinsella said she feels lucky to have a “village” supporting her as she straddles her demanding career with motherhood.
“It’s chaos. It’s organized chaos on a daily basis,” Kinsella said. “[But] I would never choose anything different.”
Now, she hopes to inspire mothers in law enforcement and other demanding careers to ignore those who pressure them to choose between the two roles.
“They’re gonna tell you that you can’t do it, you can’t have it all. You can’t be a mother and be successful in your career – you can’t do what you love because you need to give up your dreams and your aspirations to be a mother,” Kinsella said. “But there is room in this world to do both. And myself and the police commissioner are living testaments that you could be a great mom and still be a great leader [within] your career.”
Kinsella is also an avid runner and member of the NYPD Running Club, and teaches criminal justice as an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, her alma mater.
Teaching, like motherhood, allows Kinsella to reach young people in a profound way, she said.
“It’s part of my identity – who I am,” she said. “I’m just this little girl from the South Bronx that’s now second in command of the largest police department in the world. Who would have thought, right? So when I sat at John Jay many moons ago, I never would have thought that my path would take me on such an amazing roller coaster. And now here I am.”
Kinsella was planning for her Mother’s Day to be a relaxing one — likely with her two kids taking over the kitchen and making her breakfast.
“I’m just proud. Mother’s Day is very special for me, because I’m just so grateful to be a mom and to be their mother and to be able to share Mother’s Day with my mom still around,” she said. “Every day is a great day….Showing up for your children in all aspects of their lives is always gonna show them that they too can do it.”
