virginia nelson
Virginia Nelson is Chief Superintendent, Operations Coordinator, Ethical Standards Command in the Queensland Police Service. Having joined the Service at 18 Virginia has more than 30 years’ service and has worked in rural, regional and metropolitan areas across Queensland.
Promoted to commissioned rank in 2008, Virginia has undertaken several appointments in Central Queensland before returning to Brisbane in 2017 as the Assistant District Officer, South Brisbane District. Appointed to Chief Superintendent at the Ethical Standards Command in 2019, Virginia is responsible for the Internal Investigation and Integrity and Performance Groups for the Service.
In 2015 Virginia undertook a 12-month secondment to the Australian Institute of Police Management in Sydney as the Queensland Police Service Visiting Fellow. This opportunity saw Virginia contribute to the facilitation and development team for the Graduate Certificate Program and other leadership and development programs for senior police and emergency services across Australasia including in the Solomon Islands and Indonesia.
Virginia holds tertiary qualifications in leadership and management and has recently completed the Company Directors Course.
In 2016 Virginia was awarded the Bev Lawson Memorial Award by the Australasian Council of Women and Policing for her leadership and commitment to the development of women in policing and in 2016 Virginia was awarded the prestigious Telstra Queensland and Australian Businesswoman of the Year – Public Sector and Academia.
In 2017 Virginia attended the Netherlands School of Business in the Hague and successfully completed the program ‘21st Century Public Leadership and Diversity’. Also in 2017 Virginia attended the exclusive Harvard Business School’s Authentic Leadership Program, an opportunity she describes as a career highlight. During the 2017 Queens’s Birthday Honour’s Virginia was awarded the Australian Police Medal. In 2018 Virginia was awarded the International Women in Policing Award for coaching and mentoring.