Heather Fong

Heather J. Fong
Heather Fong (left), with Theresa Sparks (center) and Sgt. Stephan Thorne commemorate the Compton's Cafeteria riot.
Born	1956 (1956) San Francisco, California
Alma mater	B.A., University of San Francisco M.S.W., San Francisco State University Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps
Police career
Department	San Francisco Police Department
Years of service	1977 - 2009
Rank	Sworn in as a Police Officer - 1977 Commander - August 1998 Deputy Chief - June 2000 Assistant Chief of Police - May 2003 Acting Chief of Police - January 22, 2004 Chief of Police - April 14, 2004

Heather Jeanne Fong (Chinese: 方宇文; pinyin: Fāng Yǔwén, born 1956) is the former chief of police for San Francisco, California, United States. Her ancestral roots are in Ho Chung village, Chung Shan County (now in Zhongshan City), Guangdong Province, China. She is the first woman to lead the San Francisco Police Department, and the first Asian American woman to head a major metropolitan city police force. She is also the second Asian American police chief in SFPD history, the other being Fred Lau.

Fong became the Interim San Francisco police chief in January 2004 after Alex Fagan Sr. was reassigned by Gavin Newsom. She became the permanent police chief in April 2004.

Fong most recently served as the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law Enforcement, a position she held since November 17, 2014. She left the position at the end of the Obama administration.

Fong grew up in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Social Work degree from San Francisco State University. In college, Fong was a member of the United States Air Force ROTC and worked as a police cadet. She served as a Police Activities League Cadet and Civil Service Police Cadet prior to entering the department. She was sworn in as a police officer in 1977, and worked through the ranks of inspector, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, commander, deputy chief, assistant chief, acting chief, and then permanent chief.