Mardis will officially take over as Durham's police chief on Sept. 8.
She comes from a family of public servants. Her father was among the first Black police officers in Tampa, Florida, and her mother worked as a nurse. While law enforcement ultimately became her calling, Mardis said that was not always the plan.
Growing up, she watched family members dedicate themselves to serving others, an experience she said planted the seed for a career in public service. After graduating from Bennett College with a biology degree and settling in Greensboro, she decided to apply to the Greensboro Police Department.
Mardis joined the department in 2002 and worked her way through the ranks, eventually becoming assistant chief.
"I still absolutely love what I do," she said. "This is my calling. That's my purpose."
During her time with the Greensboro Police Department, Mardis helped lead several initiatives, including the Police and Community Alliance for Peace, a program focused on supporting families impacted by violent crime.
"Violent crime has been on the rise across the nation," she told ABC11. "And I think as law enforcement officers, we get really hyper focused on solving the case, and...holding offenders accountable."
She said the program grew from a desire to address not only investigations and accountability, but also the needs of victims' families left behind after acts of violence.
As she prepares to move to Durham, Mardis said building relationships with both residents and officers will be a top priority.
She pledged to be visible and accessible in the community and said she wants residents and department employees to get to know her personally as she begins her tenure.
Mardis also said she hopes to bring lessons learned throughout her career to Durham while working alongside community leaders to address issues such as gun violence and public safety.
"I am just extremely humbled and grateful to start this chapter and join a community that's progressive and really involved and engaged," she said."I love the excitement and the collaboration that I'm seeing surrounding the concerns of gun violence, and I want to be a part of that, and I want to take the tools that I've learned over these years and contribute to this community."
Download the ABC11 App for breaking news and weather alerts