🚧My “about me” section is currently under construction as I undergo some unexpected changes 🚧 During my career so far in public safety and emergency management I have had the privilege to work with and alongside some amazing leaders and brilliant minds in the industry. I have also had many proud moments where my hard work and dedication to my job directly led to positive outcomes for others. My 23 years as a volunteer firefighter taught me a lot about making split second decisions, jumping into action even in the middle of the night and provided me great training and skills that have carried with me.My time as a police, fire and EMS dispatcher taught me patience and calm under pressure, forced me to think and learn the skills of law enforcement so that I could be one step ahead of the needs of our officers and provided me with a chance to focus my deep passion for radios and communications.My first involvement with emergency management was really filled with roadblocks and failures. I tried and tried to get involved in EM activities but with no certifications to my name, no connections in the profession and not really knowing where to start I was unsuccessful at all my attempts.That all changed when I had a simple conversation with the fire chief/EM director asking for a chance to help him with anything emergency management related. Fast forward a year or so and boom, I was an EM Planner! The experience at the local level provided me with so much knowledge and showed me that others wanted to get involved in the EM process they just didn’t know how! The next 10 years of my career at the State level were some of the most accomplished of my time. I responded to many incidents, took many training classes, designed, controlled and evaluated dozens of exercises and got to really make a difference every step of the way. My goal to make a leap out of my comfort zone and into a place where I knew nobody and had made no pre-existing connections was probably one that I underestimated how challenging it would be. While I believe that I was successful at learning everything new all at once, that view wasn’t shared by everyone and I was forced to move onto new challenges. I will be successful, I am more determined and hungrier than I have ever been before and this time I have the training, education and experience on my side. My next chapter will be exceptional, it’s just a matter of who is ready for me to join forces with them!