
At Civic Leadership Search Partners (CLSP), we provide expert municipal leadership recruitment services tailored to public safety organizations across the United States. As trusted public safety executives recruiters nationwide, we specialize in identifying and placing high-caliber leaders who drive performance, accountability, and community trust. Founded and led by former public safety professionals, our team brings firsthand knowledge of the operational demands, leadership challenges, and expectations these critical roles require.
Our approach blends deep industry insight with a disciplined, results-driven search process to ensure every placement aligns with your organization’s mission and values. We go beyond resumes, carefully evaluating leadership capability, integrity, and long-term impact. Whether a municipality is seeking a forward-thinking police chief or a university needs a dedicated campus safety leader, CLSP delivers candidates who are prepared to lead with confidence, strengthen communities, and create lasting organizational success.
Before founding CLSP in 2026, Kenton Buckler spent years leading public safety executives searches nationwide at Public Sector Search & Consulting, one of the specialty's leading firms. Since 2022, he has personally led searches for police chiefs, fire chiefs, and corrections executives across the country — experience that now forms the foundation of every search CLSP conducts.
This distinction matters: the searches referenced here reflect Kenton's individual experience prior to CLSP. Every engagement CLSP takes on today is guided by that same depth of practice, process discipline, and firsthand understanding of public safety leadership.
Former public safety executives with direct operational leadership experience.
Searches led nationwide since 2022, spanning police, fire.
That experience now shapes CLSP's search process, standards, and candidate evaluation.
Our vision is to become the nation’s most trusted partner in civic leadership recruitment, setting the standard for excellence in public safety executives search. We aim to empower organizations, strengthen communities, and shape a safer future by connecting institutions with visionary, ethical, and highly capable leaders who drive meaningful and lasting impact.
Our mission is to connect communities with exceptional public safety leaders through a disciplined, values-driven executives search process. We identify individuals whose integrity, expertise, and leadership strengthen organizations, build public trust, and deliver meaningful, lasting impact across municipalities, institutions, and public safety agencies nationwide.
Our team draws on decades of hands-on and executives-level experience, including former police chiefs, fire chiefs, and correctional leaders. This real-world perspective allows us to assess candidates with unmatched insight, applying the same high standards and accountability we upheld in our own leadership roles.








Led by experienced chiefs with deep understanding of public safety leadership.

Disciplined search process ensuring highly qualified, culturally aligned executives placements.

Delivering reliable leadership solutions that strengthen organizations and community confidence.
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