Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Carla Kearns has graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., a program that fewer than 1% of officers in the U.S. have the opportunity to attend, police announced Wednesday.

The academy offers 10 weeks of advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training, police said. Typically, officers who attend the program have more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and must have proven records as professionals within their agencies.

A zone supervisor, Kearns manages the Pittsburgh Members Assistance Program (PMAP), the bureau’s peer-to-peer support program for police.

During the recent academy graduation ceremony, FBI Director Christopher Wray praised Kearns for creating the program following the tragic death of FBI Special Agent Sam Hicks. Hicks was shot and killed during the takedown of a violent drug trafficking organization while Kearns was working with him as part of an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force near Pittsburgh in 2008.

“That event stuck with Carla and, as she went through the grieving process, Carla realized there weren’t enough resources in place for officers struggling to process trauma from their jobs,” Wray said. “So, Carla took the initiative to build a peer support program to help other officers who went through similar experiences to make sure they had the support and tools they needed to be well.”

The 284th session of the FBI National Academy consisted of 237 law enforcement officers from 49 states and the District of Columbia, as well as from 25 countries, five military organizations, and five federal civilian organizations.

A total of 53,908 graduates have completed the FBI National Academy since it began in 1935.

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