Meet Our First Contact 9-1-1 Instructional Services Team

 

"It's the people that make the dream...into a reality..." - Walt Disney


 


Jerry Boyd from Baker City,Oregon is Communications Director for Baker County’s Consolidated 9-1-1 Dispatch Center.  Jerry is also concurrently the Deputy Chief of the Baker County Fire Authority and the Deputy Director of the Baker County Office of Homeland Security.  Jerry recently managed the complete remodeling and expansion of their 9-1-1 PSAP.

Jerry has been the Chief of Fire Company 50, Shasta County, CA Fire Department (1999-2003), the Chief of Police / Director of Emergency Management of Martinez, CA (1991-1996) and the Chief of Police of Coronado, CA (1981-1991).  Jerry is no stranger to Law Enforcement, having been a Police Lieutenant / SWAT Commander with the Irvine, CA Police Department, and a Deputy Sheriff / Sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Jerry has designed, fabricated and staffed Mobile Incident Command Units for over 25 years. He is well versed in Tactical and Special Operations deployments.

Considered an expert in the field of PSAP Management and Supervision, Jerry holds Basic through Management POST Certificates and is a popular Police and Fire Academy Instructor.  He has written five books, including three on Emergency Communications subjects and over three dozen articles in professional journals.  He is the co-author of "Incident Dispatcher: A Guide for the Professional Tactical and Incident Dispatcher".

In his free time, Jerry raises horses on his ranch in rural Baker County, Oregon.

     
Captain George Bradford from Mancos, Colorado is a retired fire officer with the San Jose (CA) Fire Department.  Besides working on some of the department’s busiest engine companies, he was an instructor at several fire service academies throughout central California. In the 1970’s he was also a founding member of California Fire Service Instructors, who brought live fire extinguisher training to industrial emergency response teams through the local community colleges.

 

In the 1980’s, George took an administrative assignment to assist his Communications Center with the development of an Incident Dispatcher (IDT) program, the design and building of a Communication van, as well as the certification and integration of the Incident Command System (ICS) into his department's organization. The resulting efforts got the department on the way to using a standardized scene organization that included direct command post support by Public Safety Dispatchers who would respond in the department’s new Communication Mobile Command Unit. The success of the program lead to the development of a Calltakers Wildland Fire Orientation and IDT Fire Behavior and Survival segment being added to the curriculum used by several multi-agency Public Safety Dispatcher academies.

 

After retirement, George wrote "Structure Protection in the I-Zone" (PennWell Publishing, 2001), based on increasing situational awareness and implementing lessons identified in After Action reports.


George spends much of his free time tending cattle on a high mountain ranch with his wife, Peggy.





George has also developed a new response manual for the public - "Self-Reliance during Natural Disasters and Civil Unrest".
Available through Paladin Press, the book will give you the knowledge to handle nine basic crises that typically follow a disaster, and motivate you to assist your family and neighbors should a large-scale catastrophe strike your community.

While 9-1-1 professionals know what to do when disaster struikes, they frequently have not trained their loved ones in emergency procedures.  Knowing in advance that your family knew what to do in an emergency will make you a better responder.


A review of the book from Paladin Press, along with ordering information, can be found here.


  

Jon Davis from Des Moines, Iowa is Deputy Director of the Polk County Office of Emergency Management.  Jon started in public safety in 1992 as a volunteer firefighter. In 1994, while still serving as a firefighter, he began working in emergency communications. The ensuing years saw him serve as a Telecommunicator with the Ankeny Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol and the Des Moines Police Department.


He has served as a trainer for various communications centers for over 10 years, and has been an Adjunct Instructor for the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy since June of 2004.  Since 2003, he has been a Communications Specialist with Nebraska’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1. His responses with the US&R Task Force include responses to New Orleans, Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005, to Fort Worth, Texas for Hurricane Dean in August of 2007, as well as Hurricane Ike in the summer of 2008.

 

Jon is a certified Reserve Police Officer, Firefighter I, Fire Instructor I, has certification as a Hazardous Materials Technician, is rated as a Weapons of Mass Destruction First Responder, and is considered a Subject Matter Expert in Critical Incident Stress Management. Jon is a member of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator.




    
Dave Dooley from Aurora, Colorado has over 35 years of experience in emergency communications.  Dave has been a Tactical (SWAT) Dispatcher, Dispatch Supervisor, Communications Center Manager, and has been a Dispatch Communications Training Officer since 1992.


Dave has held a Fire Supervisor Certificate since 1984 and has assisted in the construction of two separate Communication Centers.  He is EMD certified through the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch and is an experienced Communications Hardware Technician.  In May of 2006, Dave was promoted to Shift Supervisor with the Aurora (CO) Public Safety Communications Center.

 


Gil Emery, Jr. from Portsmouth, New Hampshire is the Communications Manager for the Portsmouth Police Department. He has over twenty years dispatch and communications experience, of which the last ten have been supervisory.

Gil has been involved in the building of two Communication Centers for the City of Portsmouth. He is currently Communications Coordinator for the Seacoast Emergency Response Team, and is a member of the Portsmouth Police Department's Tactical Dispatcher Team.


In his free time, Gil likes to spend time with his wife, Karen, daughter Kelsey, and attends various events in the
NASCAR stock car racing circuit.




Steve Frederick from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania currently serves as Susquehanna County's 9-1-1 Center Training Officer. Steve comes to us with a 27 year background in Emergency Services, including 27 years an a EMS provider, 11 years as a firefighter and rescue technician, 10 years in the private security field, 9 years as an Emergency Services Instructor, including Fire, EMS, CPR and Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Water Rescue Instructor.

Steve has been with the Susquehanna County 9-1-1 Center for 12 years and has worked his way through the ranks to Training Officer. Steve is a Tactical Incident Dispatcher and in his early years in EMS worked many sporting events including New York Jets minor league football games, Harlem Globetrotter basketball events, as well as numerous other sporting events and rock concerts.


Steve's hobbies include cooking fastastic meals at home (and for his partners in the Center...), woodworking, and volunteering his time with his local fire department and the Water Rescue Team as Captain, Fire Safety Officer, Training Officer and Fire Prevention Officer.




Cathy 'C.J.' Jones-Gooding from Lakewood, Colorado
is the Deputy Communications Supervisor for Littleton Fire-Rescue, in Littleton, Colorado, with more thirteen years experience in the field.  Presently, in addition to supervising the evening and night dispatchers, she is in charge of Quality Assurance for fire and medical calls and serves as the center’s Training Coordinator.  She designs and delivers continuing education programs for the Center, and has spoken at several national and local emergency dispatch conferences.  Cathy has had articles published in industry trade publications, and compiles a monthly newsletter for the dispatch center.


Cathy’s certifications include Emergency Medical Dispatcher (with honors) and a Quality Assurance certificate, both through the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch; NIMS IS-700 and 800 through FEMA; and has completed the Communications Center Supervisor Course through APCO.  She is a member of APCO and NENA, and is one of three dispatchers who serve on the department’s Critical Incident Dispatch Team.


Cathy is also a former firefighter/EMT, and serves as a commissioner on the City of Lakewood’s Commission on Cultural Diversity and Human Relations. She holds a Bachelors Degree in German and Political Science, and is currently pursuing her MBA.





Randall Larson from Eureka, California has more than 27 years experience in emergency communications for both police and fire, most of it spent comfortably on the midnight shift.  Randall is a former Technical Information Specialist with California Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 3, and served with the Olympic Public Safety Command at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Randall is a Founding Member of the National Incident Dispatchers Association, the California Fire Chiefs Association, Communications
Section (Northern Division), and is one of the state’s leading Incident Dispatch instructors. 


Randall has published numerous articles in the fire service,
homeland protection, and public safety communications publications and has been the Editor of 9-1-1 Magazine since 1995. A recipient of the 2005 Higgins and Langley Swiftwater Rescue Media Award from the National Association of Search and Rescue, Randall is a prolific writer in several fields of interest.  He is an online music columnist and reviewer, and has written six books on a variety of subjects.



   
Dave Larton from Morgan Hill, California is Coastal Region ACS Officer for the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA).  Based at CalEMA's Regional Emergency Operations Center in Oakland, Dave currently manages the staff of a sixteen County area ranging from the Oregon border to the Monterey County line.  


Dave has more than thirty-five years of emergency services experience, including thirteen as a Dispatcher/Trainer for the Gilroy, (CA) 9-1-1 Communications Center.  He was named the 1999 recipient of the Ramona Raymond Pillar of Excellence Training Award by the Santa Clara County Public Safety Communications Managers Association, and was twice named the Department's Dispatcher of the Year.


A nine-year veteran of the Department’s Hostage Negotiation Team, Dave has served as a Tactical Dispatcher, a certified Basic and Advanced Hostage Negotiator and Technical Specialist. He is a California POST certified Peer Crisis Counselor, and is a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).  He is a certified S-258 Communications Incident Technician (COM-T) as well as an Incident Communications Center Manager (INCM).  He is also a certified Basic Law Enforcement Instructor with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE).

As a Communications Specialist with California’s Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 3, Dave responded to the World Trade Center in September of 2001.  Dave also served with the Olympic Public Safety Command at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He is rated as a Weapons of Mass Destruction First Responder, and is a graduate of the Federal Department of Homeland Security’s COBRA WMD School in Anniston, Alabama.

Dave is a Founding Member of the National Incident Dispatchers Association, a member of the California Association of Hostage Negotiators, NENA, APCO, a former Vice President of the California Fire Chiefs Association (Communications Section, Northern Division), the California Tactical Dispatchers Association, the California Association of Police Training Officers, and the National Association of Field Training Officers.  Dave is a Commercial Regional Vice President for NENA's California State Chapter, CALNENA. He is the Associate Editor of 9-1-1 Magazine, and has been a contributing author for Homeland Protection Professional magazine.


He is the co-author of "Incident Dispatcher: A Guide for the Professional Tactical and Incident Dispatcher".  Dave has been a technical consultant to the media, including script preparation for the ‘Ally McBeal’ television show and the History Channel.  A popular national 9-1-1 Instructor and Trainer, Dave serves First Contact 9-1-1 as its Operations Section Chief.




   
Perrin Larton from Morgan Hill, California has been a Manager of Medical Research for the last sixteen years with a nationally known medical biotech company.  Perrin is a member of the American Association of Tissue Banks and is a Certified Tissue Bank Specialist, and her current medical research includes the development of future medical treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. 


Perrin brings to First Contact 9-1-1 a specialty in Human Resource Management, including the writing of Policy and Procedure Manuals, HIPAA standards management in Emergency Services, and the development of Homeland Security - related grant proposals.  She is a frequent speaker at 9-1-1 Conferences, where she teaches 9-1-1 Ethics and Liability, Leadership and Management and Disaster Preparedness classes.


An experienced Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillation medic, Perrin has more than 15 years of experience in Emergency Medical Services aboard an ambulance in San Benito and Santa Clara County, California.  As well as being a former 9-1-1 dispatcher, Perrin is a popular EMT / Paramedic Adjunct Instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area. 


With what little free time she has, Perrin likes to cook fantastic meals for her family, tends to her backyard collection of fragrant tree roses and rides herd on her ten grandchildren.  She is currently writing a book on her family's genealogy. Perrin's vision originally established First Contact 9-1-1, and she currently leads the company's Instructional Services Team, as well as serving as its Finance/Administration Section Chief.



  

Paul Logan from Madison,Wisconsin has more than 22 years of dispatch experience including nearly 15 years with the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center in Madison, where he currently serves as Support Services Manager. Paul has earned the professional designation of Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) from APCO, and is President of the Wisconsin chapter of APCO. 

 

Paul served as a Communications Specialist, assigned to Aviation Security Operations at Hill Air Force Base as a member of the Olympic Public Safety Command, for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.


A former EMT, Paramedic & Firefighter, from 1989-1991 Paul was an Emergency Medical Services Specialist (EMT-D) with New York City, NY EMS.  He is currently certified as an EFD, EMD & EMD-Q by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch, and  has extensive experience in EMD Quality Assurance / Quality Improvement (QA/QI). He is a certified Public Information Officer through FEMA. 


An NAED Certified Instructor of the 40-hour Emergency Telecommunicator Course, Paul is also a popular instructor of Telecommunicator Stress Management.  He is a frequent contributing author for 9-1-1 Magazine as well as a popular presenter at local, state and national conferences. Paul supports First Contact 9-1-1 as its Logistics Section Chief and Public Information Officer.

 

Paul and his wife, Beverly, spend their free time trying to stay one step ahead of their son, Kelly.



Helen Straughn from Ormond Beach, Florida started her career in public safety at the Florida State University Police Department, where she worked for two years.  She transferred to the Tallahassee Police Department. At TPD, she held positions including Telecommunicator, Communications Training Officer, Shift Supervisor, and Communications Training Coordinator.  Helen assisted in developing the inaugural Communications Training Program at TPD and taught numerous classes to field and communications personnel.

Helen then joined the APCO Institute Online, where she was responsible for all its aspects, including scheduling instructors and classes, instructing courses as needed, and reviewing and updating course materials and presentation platforms. The AIO averaged 20% yearly growth under her direction. 

Helen also worked for JHT, Inc., in Orlando, Florida.  She reviewed web-based military training material for consistency and accuracy of grammar, format, graphic design, and navigational interface while using a courseware development tool specifically developed for that purpose.


Helen also serves as Training Manager for CAUSE, Inc., a business owned by her and her husband, Bob. CAUSE, Inc. specializes in adaptive technology for the blind.  She and Bob are licensed amateur radio operators and are active volunteers in their church. Helen serves First Contact 9-1-1 as our Instructional Design Coordinator and IT Specialist.



    
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