Comms Coach Podcast

What if the secret to better 911 training didn't require a bigger budget—just a little more creativity and a genuine commitment to doing the job well? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Kimberly Gouvea, retired LVMPD dispatcher and trainer with 20 years on the floor, for a conversation packed with practical, adaptable ideas that any comm center can start using right away.

Kim has spent her career thinking about how people learn—and more importantly, how to reach the ones who don't learn the way a standard training program assumes they will. She and Lori dig into why understanding the difference between visual, auditory, and hands-on learners isn't just a nice-to-have, it's the difference between a trainee who thrives and one who washes out. And they make the case that teaching the "why" behind codes, protocols, and policies doesn't slow training down—it builds the kind of decision-making that holds up when things get complicated on a real call.

The episode is full of training ideas you might not have tried: turning code memorization into rhymes and games, using typing competitions to build speed, having trainees draw maps from memory and follow pursuits on paper, even bringing flashcards and location-based games home so family members become part of the learning process. It sounds unconventional—and it works.

Kim also makes a passionate case for ride-alongs and cross-training with field units. When dispatchers take the same patrol, K-9, and air unit classes designed for officers, something shifts. They stop just processing calls and start truly understanding what's happening on the other end of that radio. Better anticipation. Sharper awareness. Fewer gaps between the console and the street.

They don't sidestep the hard realities either—staffing shortages, time pressure, burnout, and the temptation to treat training as something to get through rather than invest in. Kim's argument is straightforward: agencies that prioritize creative, continuous training see it come back in retention, morale, and performance. The ones that don't eventually pay a different kind of price.

If you're looking for fresh ideas to bring back to your training program—and proof that most of them don't cost a thing—this episode delivers.

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What happens when the person trained to help everyone else in crisis has been quietly falling apart themselves—and what does it take to come back from that? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Cassie Sexton, former dispatcher and law enforcement professional turned first responder wellness advocate, for one of the most honest and important conversations the show has had yet.

Cassie's story doesn't start with wellness—it starts with survival. She entered law enforcement at 19, fell into dispatch, and built what looked like a successful career while quietly carrying unresolved trauma she never had the tools to process. The "suck it up and keep going" culture did what it always does: it worked, until it didn't. Cassie opens up about burnout, suicidal ideation, and a suicide attempt that became the turning point that changed everything. What came after—treatment, new coping skills, peer support, CIT certification—eventually led her to a full-time career dedicated to the people who spend their lives helping others but rarely ask for help themselves.

The heart of this episode is Crisis Intervention Training and why it matters just as much for the dispatcher taking the call as it does for the officer walking through the door. Cassie breaks down what CIT actually teaches: how to recognize mental illness versus intoxication, how to shift from rapid-fire yes/no questions to the kind of open, empathetic conversation that actually builds trust with someone in crisis, and how a trained dispatcher can stay on the line—sometimes for an hour or more—and make a real difference in how that call ends. Better outcomes for callers. Safer scenes for responders. Fewer people with mental illness ending up in handcuffs instead of getting care.

They also don't shy away from what this work costs the people doing it. Cassie teaches a CIT block specifically on dispatcher wellness—recognizing PTSD and stress in yourself, grounding and regulation techniques, and how to think about mental illness as the invisible injury it is. Lori and Cassie talk about short staffing, the emotional weight of long high-intensity calls, and why leaders and peers need to be actively checking in—not waiting for someone to wave a flag.

If you work in a 911 center—on the floor, in a training room, or in a director's chair—this episode will challenge you, equip you, and remind you that the people taking the hardest calls deserve the same level of care they give to everyone else.

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What does it look like to chase excellence in a 911 center without letting the pursuit of perfection get in the way? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Erika Lakey—veteran dispatcher, trainer, and co-founder of Those 911 Girls—for a conversation about what it really takes to grow as a 911 professional and build a culture where the whole team is moving forward together.

Erika's path into emergency communications wasn't exactly a straight line—advertising, water parks, and a few unexpected turns brought her to a long-term career dispatching in Central Florida. She shares how discovering Lori's high school 911 dispatch program in Las Vegas lit a fire under her to raise the bar in her own agency and push for something better across the state of Florida.

The conversation covers a lot of ground. Lori and Erika dig into why curiosity and lifelong learning are non-negotiable for 911 professionals, how understanding the "why" behind policies makes you better at the job, and what it means to become a trainer who shares knowledge generously instead of gatekeeping it. They talk about building depth across a team so the center isn't held hostage when one person walks out the door.

They also get real about the obstacles—staffing shortages, tight budgets, limited training funds—and get practical about working around them through scholarships, virtual training, PTO swaps, and cross-agency collaboration. And because the job doesn't stay at the console, Erika speaks candidly about boundaries, mental health, hobbies, and the importance of friendships outside public safety.

Erika also introduces Those911Girls.com, a growing resource hub that aggregates free and paid training, scholarships, conferences, and professional development tools for 911 professionals—with plans to expand into state-specific pages. If you know of local opportunities worth adding, she wants to hear from you.

At its core, this episode is a reminder that excellence isn't built in a single shift—it's built day by day, through consistent effort, shared knowledge, and a genuine commitment to the people on your team and the communities on the other end of the line.

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What separates a 911 center that's just getting by from one that's genuinely excellent—and how do you close that gap? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Samantha Hawkins, a nationally recognized 911 trainer and QA evaluator with Motivations, to dig into what a real quality assurance program looks like in emergency communications and why it might be the most underutilized tool in the industry.

Samantha's path from Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications in metro Atlanta to her current role as a PSAP professional trainer, traveling dispatcher, and QA evaluator gives her a perspective that's both frontline and big-picture. She's seen what works, what doesn't, and what happens when centers skip the QA conversation altogether.

The episode unpacks what quality assurance in 911 actually means—think less "gotcha" culture, more coaching and continuous improvement. Samantha walks through what evaluators are really listening for: protocol adherence, tone and delivery, how call-takers handle confusion, whether they're keeping callers informed, and where freelancing creeps in and why it matters. She makes a compelling case for why standardized protocols—whether from APCO, IAED, PowerPhone, state POST, or your own agency SOPs—aren't bureaucratic overhead. They're your consistency and your liability protection.

She and Lori also get into the mechanics of building a program that actually sticks: how outsourcing QA can bring objectivity and reduce the burden on in-house staff, why feedback should always be private and coaching-focused rather than punitive, and the value of letting call-takers listen to their own calls. From dispatch review committees to refresher training, job aids, and documented sign-offs, the conversation is full of concrete ideas you can bring back to your center.

But the thread running through all of it is culture. The best QA programs aren't about catching people doing it wrong—they're about catching people doing it right, recognizing your headset heroes, and making every telecommunicator feel like a stakeholder in the quality of their center.

If you're a director, supervisor, trainer, QA staff member, or frontline telecommunicator who wants to strengthen your program and raise the standard of care in your comm center, this one's for you.

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What happens to the people who take the hardest calls—and who's there for them when the headset comes off? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Tina DeCola, Communications Supervisor with Las Vegas Fire & Rescue and trainer with the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, for a deeply personal and practical conversation about dispatcher wellness and what peer support actually looks like inside a 911 comm center.

Tina brings 21 years of emergency communications experience to this conversation—including a suicidal-caller incident that left a lasting mark, and the experience of supporting dispatchers in the aftermath of the October 1 Las Vegas mass shooting. She doesn't talk around the hard stuff. She talks through it, and that's what makes this episode worth your time.

She breaks down what a peer support program really is, why it matters that dispatchers—not just clinicians—are on the team, and how peer support helps call-takers work through critical incidents, child deaths, suicidal callers, and the kind of trauma that doesn't just disappear when the shift ends. She also gets into the warning signs that often go unaddressed: compassion fatigue, burnout, and PTSD in the people we call the "first, first responders."

And if you're wondering whether your center could actually build something like this—Tina has answers for that too. She walks through how peer teams are structured, vetted, and trained, why confidentiality is the foundation everything else is built on, and how agencies can develop real wellness programs without a big budget by tapping subject matter experts, neighboring fire and police departments, and community resources that are often free or low-cost.

If you lead a comm center, supervise a team, or work the floor yourself, this episode is a reminder that taking care of your people isn't a luxury—it's part of the job.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/

What does it actually mean to be a great CTO—and why does it matter so much more than most people realize? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Kris Nichols, a seasoned Communications Training Officer with New River Valley 911 Authority, for an honest, practical conversation about what it takes to train the next generation of 911 dispatchers and build comm centers worth being proud of.

Kris didn't set out to work in emergency telecommunications—but once she found it, she found her calling. She shares how that unexpected path led her to discover a passion not just for dispatching, but for training, and what it really means to be the person who guides new hires into one of the most demanding jobs there is. Spoiler: it's a lot more than grading calls. She breaks down the CTO role as it should be understood—mentoring, coaching, counseling, and modeling professionalism every single shift.

The conversation gets into the practical stuff, too: how to design training programs that actually work for different kinds of learners, why having trainees build their own "dispatch bibles" and study resources leads to better retention, and the case for rotating trainees across trainers and shifts so they graduate confident and well-rounded—not just checked off a list. Kris also doesn't shy away from the harder conversations, like how to handle trainee mistakes when the stakes are life and death, and why that accountability matters.

She's equally candid about the systemic gaps: the lack of national and statewide standardization in 911 and CTO training, the need for real promotion pathways and compensation that reflect the weight of the role, and how sharing homegrown tools—like her detailed ANI/ALI resource—can raise the bar for entire centers.

If you're a CTO, trainer, supervisor, or dispatcher who wants to strengthen your training program and take the professionalism of your center seriously, this episode delivers the kind of real-world insight you can put to work right away.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/

How did someone "accidentally" fall into 911 dispatch and end up becoming one of its most passionate advocates for professional development? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Halcyon Frank, Director of Training and Development for the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, for a conversation that challenges how the industry thinks about continuing dispatcher education.

Halcyon's path into dispatch training wasn't exactly planned, but it shaped a perspective that's hard to argue with: 911 is a true public safety career, and it deserves to be treated like one. She and Laurie get honest about the wild inconsistencies in dispatcher training across the U.S., where some agencies run 12 to 14-week academies and others offer a single day, or nothing at all. They talk about why ongoing training keeps getting deprioritized despite short staffing, tight budgets, and a workforce that's already stretched thin, and why that mindset is a problem the industry can't keep kicking down the road.

The conversation gets practical fast. Halcyon breaks down how virtual training, micro-sessions, briefing room moments, and even two-minute videos can start building a culture that actually values learning—without requiring a budget overhaul or a full restructure. She also gets into why refresher training for seasoned dispatchers isn't optional, how "drift" from best practices happens quietly over time, and how individual telecommunicators can develop real subject matter expertise in crisis intervention, mental health, domestic violence, fire, EMS, and more—even when their agency isn't offering formal support.

The episode closes with something worth sitting with: your education and your skills belong to you. No one can take them away. Whether you're brand new to a headset or you've been running a comm center for years, Halcyon makes a compelling case for taking ownership of your own growth—and why that investment pays off for everyone, including the people calling 911.

If you work in dispatch, train dispatchers, or lead a communications center, this one will make you rethink what professional development can look like in your world.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/

What does it really take to excel behind the headset—and what does it take to build a team of people who can? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Wendy Lotman, Fire Communications Chief at Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about what separates great 911 dispatchers from good ones, and what comm centers can do to find, train, and keep them.

Wendy brings decades of experience across call taking, dispatching, supervision, and training in both Portland and Las Vegas—giving her a perspective that stretches from the headset all the way to the chief's office. She and Lori get into the qualities that define top performers (think resiliency, adaptability, and genuine coachability), the very real mental health toll of the job, and why overtime culture and burnout are problems the industry can't afford to ignore. Wendy shares practical ways dispatchers can protect their wellbeing—from staying connected to a life outside the comm center to actually using the EAP and peer support resources available to them.

They also dig into recruitment: what hiring managers are really looking for, why video interviews say more than candidates realize, how customer-facing work experience translates to dispatch, and what "superstar applicants" do differently in an interview room. Spoiler—generic answers don't land.

And if training is your world, this episode is for you. Wendy makes a compelling case for structured, documented training programs—not just for dispatcher confidence, but for liability protection and public trust—while being refreshingly honest about the obstacles: staffing shortages, tech failures, pressure to rush the process, and the chronic underappreciation of trainers and CTOs.

Whether you're a dispatcher, a trainer, a CTO, a supervisor, or running a comm center, this one is packed with insight you can actually use.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/