Ryan Boxwell, Chief Morale & Retention Officer (CMRO)
Ryan Boxwell is the Chief Morale and Retention Officer (CMRO) of the National Command and Staff College. With over 29 years of Military and Local Government experience, he leads the organization’s approach to morale and retention. Ryan brings decades of experience in multiple disciplines within the public safety sector.
His career was built on a foundation of intentional leadership and mentoring across multiple divisions and units. This allowed Ryan to experience the tolls and rewards of leadership in both the high-stress role of patrol enforcement to highly detailed and organized areas of administration.
Ryan’s exposure and leadership experience has garnered him the trust and confidence of his peers, who recognize his drive to improve the team, while ensuring each member has the resiliency and support to succeed in both their professional and personal lives.
Ryan has been involved in multiple high-profile projects, investigations and initiatives with the Oklahoma City Police Department in his 26-year career. Early in his career, he was recognized for his teamwork ability and attention to detail; which placed him among the top administrators and influencers in the department and local government. Ryan has operated and led within all four bureaus of the department, across multiple divisions and units.
Over the years, Ryan and his teams authored, designed and implemented numerous projects and initiatives, focused on improving officer efficiency, public transparency, legitimacy, effective training, recruiting, manpower, and officer safety. His most notable projects included design and implementation of the body-worn camera program, a procedurally just and transparent promotional process, multiple high-profile internal criminal and administrative investigations, the department’s first formal leadership training program across all ranks, and extensive research, planning and implementation of various departmental policies and procedures.
As a member of Command Staff, Ryan oversaw the department’s Training and Recruiting Division, gaining a high-level understanding of all aspects of officer morale, retention and new hire recruiting. In 2020, he led his recruit training and recruiting division to successfully navigate COVID-19 and civil unrest, becoming one of the few major city recruit academies to maintain 100% operational efficiency. He used this knowledge and exposure in the Training Division, later as an Operations Division Major, to see his division become leaders in violent crime reduction, citizen contacts, officer recognition and overall employee engagement.
Ryan is a champion of MAGNUS Leadership and the Command and Staff College, bringing the program to all Executive Staff, Command Staff, Captains, Lieutenants and the majority of Sergeants in his department. With this passion in leadership, coaching, officer morale and retention, Ryan grew a team that valued and respected one another, while being intentional about the mission and vision of the department and the law enforcement profession.
Ryan is a seasoned instructor and facilitator with excellent verbal and written communication skills, and a steadfast commitment to those he leads and works alongside. He prides himself on his own personal character, honesty, transparency, internal procedural justice and employee professional development.
Ryan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Emergency Responder Administration from Oklahoma State University and is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police at the Police Executive Research Forum. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, husband of 28 years, father of two and grandfather of three.
