FBI Leader

Gerri served as a member of the FBI for over 21 years. She took on the Mob working large-scale, impactful cases. She developed an expertise in cold cases and brought a number of murderers to justice. For Gerri’s work on an investigation into two NYPD Detectives committing murders for the mob, Gerri was the recipient of the United States Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement, one of the highest honors given by the US Department of Justice to a law enforcement officer.  

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Gerri was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI’s Genovese Organized Crime Squad then selected to serve as the Senior Supervisory Agent overseeing the FBI’s Long Island Office. Gerri Supervised the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task, composed of FBI agents and detectives from ten federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and dismantled the violent transnational gang MS-13. In addition, Gerri supervised all FBI violent crime investigations, including violent crimes against children, impacting Long Island. She also oversaw the operations of the 120 member FBI office of White-Collar Crime, Counter Terrorism and Counterintelligence squads. 
 

1st Female Police Commissioner

In 2018 Gerri was nominated and confirmed as the first woman to lead the Suffolk County Police Department, the 11th largest in the nation. She strengthened the Department’s focus on combating the heroin and opioid epidemic, aggressively used the Red Flag law to decrease gun violence, identified and eradicated violent street gangs, enhanced training for active shooter and terrorist threat scenarios, focused on human trafficking and utilized the latest scientific technology to solve cold cases. Working with community members, she developed a comprehensive police reform plan that serves as a model of accountability, efficiency, and transparency. 

 

Calling on her federal law enforcement experience, she made collaborating with law enforcement partners locally, regionally and nationally a cornerstone of her administration. Through these renewed partnerships and an emphasis on intelligence led policing strategies, crime rates fell to their lowest since the Department began recording statistics. Gerri developed and implemented policies to increase diversity, equity and fairness within the department while continuing the critical work of building trust with the community. 

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Commitment to Service Continues

Gerri was named Hofstra University's Associate Vice President of Public Safety and Community Engagement in June 2021 and continues her work to transformation of the role of Public Safety and community engagement for more than 15,000 students, faculty, staff and administrators who live and work on the University’s 244 acre campus increase community bonds throughout the campus community. 

 

Educating and eradicating Human Trafficking has become her passion and she often presents and speaks on this topic throughout the region.  

 

Gerri is a graduate of St. Francis College where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She earned her law degree from St. John’s School of Law.