I started my career in Public safety in 1977 as a dispatcher for the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department in Syracuse NY. I progressed up through the ranks to a supervisor. In 1992 dispatch services were consolidated and Fire/EMS and Police were all dispatched from our Center. I remained employed with the Department of Emergency Communications and was appointed as their Deputy Commissioner in 2006. In March of 2010 I became the Director of the Department of Emergency Communications in Alexandria VA.
Educational pursuits include a BS and Master's degree in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University. I also completed APCO's RPL Course in October 2009. I am a certified Paralegal and also an Assessor for CALEA.
I worked on the Focus Group for the development of the 2nd Edition CALEA Standards for Communications. I have served on focus groups to update the following training programs of APCO consisting of Basic Telecommunicator, Fire Dispatcher and Supervisory Course. I served as both a member and Chairperson of the Institute ADCOMM Committee, and Awards Committee.
All of my education and committee work has enhanced my learning curve and has proven to be invaluable to aiding in my career growth within the industry.