Major Montoya Jackson-McClams

Montoya Jackson-McClams is a Command-level public safety leader with 23 years of progressive law enforcement experience leading complex operational environments, strengthening organizational accountability, developing personnel, and advancing safe, community-centered outcomes. Experienced in overseeing public safety operations, investigations, emergency preparedness, workforce development, and organizational effectiveness within one of the nation’s largest public educational systems, and the largest school-based police department in the Unites States, the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department. Major Jackson-McClams has more than 15 years of supervisory leadership experience, including 11 years serving at the command level directing sworn and civilian personnel across highly visible and dynamic environments where safety, trust, operational continuity, and stakeholder engagement are essential. Major Jackson-McClams has lead in various units to include Patrol, School Resource Officer, Field Training Officer, Aggressive Driving Unit, Police Instructor, Administrative Division, and the General Investigations Unit. She currently oversees the North Operations of the Department, which includes the Northwest, Northeast and Central East Districts.

Major Jackson-McClams is also a Police Instructor at Miami Dade College School of Justice, where she instructs advanced In-Service Courses, primarily focused in Leadership Development. She also trains police academy trainees, who aspire to become Law enforcement professionals.

Major Jackson-McClams is a proud graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Criminology and two (2) Masters Degrees in Public Administration and Criminal Justice. Additionally, Major Jackson-McClams is a graduate of the University of Louisville's Southern Police Institute 75th Commander Officer Development Course, FBI-LEEDA 279th Executive Leadership Institute, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Women's Leadership Institute. She holds memberships with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), where she served as the Recording Secretary for 5 years with the South Florida Chapter, the Florida Association of Women Law Enforcement Professionals (FAWLEP), where she currently sits as the inaugural Parliamentarian and the Training Committee Chairperson, the Miami-Dade Association of Chiefs of Police, where she Chairs the Juvenile Justice Committee and serves on the Awards Committee and the Scholarship Committee, and she is a member of the Juvenile Justice Circuit 11 Advisory Board.

Major Jackson-McClams is committed to leadership that strengthens both people and systems, fostering environments where accountability, preparedness, service, and trust remain central to organizational success.

Major Jackson-McClams is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.