Nichole Hudson has made history by becoming Grand Haven's first female public safety chief.

She was hired July 1 to succeed retired Director Jeff Hawke and the city held an open house to introduce her last night. Hudson has been with the Grand Haven Public Safety Department since 2002 when she was hired at 19 as a parking cadet. She says she wants the department to become more involved in the community and says they fell away from those efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.