APCO INSTITUTE ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR SITE

The APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor Corps is an elite group of Instructors, hand picked by the APCO Institute to serve as Ambassadors in delivering training and education to public safety communications personnel throughout the world.

These Instructors are the “best of the best” and must pass a stringent application and review process that requires demonstration of an above average knowledge of the subject matter and the embodiment of professionalism in their conduct - both in and out of the classroom.

If you think you have the experience and qualifications to meet the challenge of becoming an APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor, contact us at APCO Institute for more information.

Adjunct Instructor Corps

Diane Beatty
Diane has been in public safety for over 20 years. She started out as a dispatcher and worked her way through the ranks to supervisor, trainer, operations manager and the 9-1-1 Communications Manager. She currently serves as Training Coordinator for Allegheny County 9-1-1 in Pittsburgh, PA, which will have almost 200 employees staffing 63 dispatch positions, for 130 municipalities, over 200 fire departments, over 20 EMS Agencies the County Police and Sheriff's Departments later this year. Diane has been involved with APCO Institute since the inception of the APCO Institute Online and participated in the first APCO Institute Online class.

Art Braunschweiger
Art Braunschweiger is a full-time dispatcher, dispatch supervisor and training supervisor for CenCom, a regional 6-county EMS, Fire and Aeromedical dispatch agency in Summit, New Jersey. He is an EMT and has been in public safety communications for ten years, and teaches Public Safety Communications and Emergency Medical Dispatch at the student level for the Essex County Police Academy in Cedar Grove, NJ. Art has been an adjunct instructor with APCO since 1998. In addition to teaching for APCO at public safety agencies in 10 states, Art has held APCO courses for the US Military Police and representatives of the Health Ministry of Kuwait.

Sandy Campbell
Sandy is a full time dispatcher with the Delaware County Emergency Communication Center. Delaware County ECC is a consolidated dispatch center for Police, Fire, and EMS, which is located in Muncie, Indiana. Sandy brings over two decades of experience in public safety communications to her position as an APCO Adjunct Instructor. Sandy has held several positions, from dispatcher, assistant shift supervisor, shift supervisor, training supervisor, and coordinated the agency's EMD program. Sandy was a member of the Muncie Police Reserve Department, for nine years and held the rank of Sergeant assigned to the Uniform Division. Sandy has been an active member of APCO for two years. Sandy has been closely affiliated with the APCO Institute, and has served on the APCO Homeland Security Committee.

Bernard Brown
911 Operations Manager
Greene County, Virginia
Bernard Brown is currently the 911 Operations Manager for Greene County, Virginia. He has been in Emergency Services for over 20 years and has served in almost every capacity from EMT to 911 Dispatcher, to his current position as 911 Operations Manager. Bernard is also a General Instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice in Virginia. He has been involved in the Volunteer Fire and Rescue service since 1983.

Kimberly Burdick
Kimberly Burdick has been with the Chouteau County Sheriffs Office in Fort Benton, Montana since 1989 and is currently the 9-1-1 Communications Supervisor. She also teaches at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. Prior to her position as 911 Supervisor, she was a Communications Training Officer and Communications Supervisor. She won the Montana Chapter Supervisor of the Year Award in 2005 and currently serves on the Legislative Committee and Training and Standards Committee. Kimberly has served as a co-chair on the APCO Conference committee for Montana for the past 3 years and been serving as the APCO Montana Executive Council Representative since 2004.
Kimberly is a graduate of the first APCO Institute Leadership Certificate Program and received the Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL) Designation in August 2007.She has an Associates Degree in Public Safety Telecommunications from Jacksonville State University and is currently working towards her Bachelors Degree in Emergency Management.

Leslie Carroll
Training and Administrative Supervisor
Emergency Communications Department, Cambridge, MA
Leslie has over 20 years experience in many facets of public safety. She began her career at the Boston Police Department as a communications equipment operator and a trainer. She became the first recipient in Massachusetts to receive the Jeff Grossman 9-1-1 Award in 1994. Leslie served as President of the Massachusetts Communications Supervisor Association from 2003-2005 and remains active in promoting training and development of dispatchers statewide. Leslie has been an APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor for 12 years and has taught throughout the New England area sharing her police, fire and EMS experiences. She served on the Conference Committee for the APCO International Conference held in Boston in 2000. Leslie recently joined the Emergency Communications Department in Cambridge, Massachusetts located in Harvard Square as the Training and Administrative Supervisor.

Cindy Cline
Cindy Cline has been in Public Safety dispatch for 33 years, the last 28 years with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Golden, CO. She has worked her way through the “ranks”, being promoted to a shift supervisor in 1984. She has designed and implemented a Basic Public Safety Dispatch Academy which is open to all agencies throughout the State of Colorado. Cindy is very active in working towards getting mandated training standards in place in the State of Colorado and is on committees working to get the State of Colorado to recognize Emergency Medical Dispatching as a requirement. Currently, Cindy is the Immediate Past President of the Colorado Chapter of APCO.

Fonda Dixon
Fonda M. Dixon has been with the Pennsylvania State Police for 29 years. For 22 years, she was a Police Communications Operator (PCO) for the State Police Station in Clearfield, PA. Fonda became a Police Communications Operator Instructor in 1994 and in 1997 was selected as the PCO of the Year for the Pennsylvania State Police. In 2004 she was promoted to Supervisor for Employee Training Section. She is a past secretary for the PA Chapter of APCO.

David Dodd
David Dodd is the Communications Director at Cleveland County 911 Communications in North Carolina. He has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, from Gardner-Webb University, has been an active APCO member since the 1980's and is a Past President of the NC APCO Chapter. David became an Adjunct Instructor in 1997, with the creation of the APCO Institute Online.

Tracy Ertl
Brown County Green Bay, WI
Tracy Ertl has been a 9-1-1 dispatcher/telecommunicator with Brown County Public Safety Communications in Green Bay, Wisconsin for over 15 years. Brown County is a joint dispatch center serving 43 agencies with a dispatch/telecom staff of 57. Tracy has been utilized by her agency as a shift lead, acting lead, trainer, instructor (both internal and regional), mentor and quality assurance reviewer. Peers and management named her Brown County's 2004 Telecommunicator of the Year. She was selected by the United States Olympics Committee for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy where she served as a communications specialist because of her public safety and writing experience. Tracy has an ongoing crime series at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and enjoys bringing online classes to life with her writing. She is a former EMT with special interest in fire dispatch and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications.

Brian Geraghty
Brian Geraghty joined the Plymouth County Massachusetts Sheriff's Department Communications Center in 1992 after a decade of EMS service in the city of Boston. He has served the Sheriff's Department as Communications Training Officer, Sheriff's Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director, Staff Instructor, In-Service Training Program Coordinator and currently serves as Director of Training. Brian is currently the Secretary of the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association Education & Training Committee, an adjunct professor for Cape Cod Community College and has taught at the Ronald Reagan Institute for Emergency Medicine at George Washington University. Brian has been an APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor for over a decade and his experience in public safety issues has allowed him to teach students from 30 states and 3 foreign countries.

Patricia A. Hall
Pat has conducted Public Safety Communications courses on a local, state and national level since 1981. A strong advocate of telecommunicator training, Pat has served on various state and national committees. Pat has since retired after 29 years as Communications Manager from the City of Dothan, Alabama. She began her career as a Telecommunicator, became a Shift Supervisor & Trainer and then Communications Manager in 1987.
An active member of APCO since 1985, Pat presently serves as Alabama’s Executive Council Representative. Pat received the APCO Intl. Life Member Award in 2006.

Sheila Hanna-Wiles
Sheila has been Training Coordinator for Laurens County 9-1-1 in South Carolina since 2003. Prior to coming to Laurens County, she was the 9-1-1 Coordinator for Abbeville County 9-1-1 in South Carolina and has been an APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor since 2000. Sheila also served as President of the South Carolina APCO Chapter from 2002 to 2004.

Carol Janssen
Carol works for Allegheny County Emergency Services in Pennsylvania, which serves 1.3 million residents, including the City of Pittsburgh. She has been a telecommunicator since 1985 and has served as her center's training coordinator, police liaison and shift supervisor and has been an Adjunct Instructor for the APCO Institute since 1995.

Chad Kellum
Chad currently serves as the EMS Training Coordinator for Abbeville County, SC Emergency Management. The department houses EMS, Emergency Preparedness, and the 911 center. Chad also assists in the daily operations of EMS and Emergency Preparedness and is a Deputy Chief with Northwest Fire Department. In addition, Chad is an EMT Intermediate and Paramedic Instructor with Midlands Regional EMS Council.

Frank Kiernan
Frank is currently the Director of Emergency Communications for the City of Meriden, CT. Prior to taking the position as Director in Meriden, Frank served the Town of Greenwich, CT for over 20 years, starting as a civilian dispatcher in 1986, becoming a police officer in 1988 and finishing his career by developing the town’s Dispatch Training Program.. In addition to be being a certified instructor with the APCO Institute, Frank is a P.O.S.T. Certified Instructor for Radio and Telephone and a State Certified Telecommunications Instructor. Frank is also a member of the APCO Standards Development Committee and the APCO Atlantic Chapter. This 20 year plus career began with answering an add for Ambulance Driver/ Dispatcher, he wanted to drive the ambulance.

Steve McDade
Steve has been the Director of Abbeville County Emergency Management in South Carolina since March 1998. He is a nationally registered paramedic, whose background includes four years in the U.S. Navy as a shipboard firefighter and Command Basic Life Support Instructor. In addition to his extensive experience and background in public safety, the South Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services named Steve “Director of the Year” in 1999 and again in 2004. Steve has been an APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor since 2000.

George Meister
George has been associated with APCO International for 17 years, and served for 5 years on the APCO Institute Advisory Committee. He is retired from the City of Port Orange, Florida as Director of Communications for Police, Fire and EMS and has degrees in Fire Science Technology and Business Administration and Management. George has taught in the Fire Science Program at Daytona Beach Community College and served as an adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD. He also served on the Communication Committee for the IAFC, and assisted in writing NFPA 1221 "Fire Service Communications". A frequent contributor to Fire Chief Magazine and Public Safety Communications/APCO Bulletin, George has been involved in public safety for over 40 years.

Sharmel Miller
An APCO Institute Adjunct Instructor since 2005, Sharmel has been with Abbeville County E-911 in South Carolina since 1998 and currently holds the position of 9-1-1 Coordinator.

Bill Packard
Bill has worked for Johnson County Emergency Communications Center in Johnson County, Kansas for fifteen years, the last nine years as Training Manager. He began his public safety career twenty-nine years ago; fourteen years in law enforcement which included ten years as a police officer and four years in police communications. Bill has been an APCO member for eight years and an Adjunct Instructor for four.

Erica Reuter
Erica Reuter has been working in public safety since 1997. After serving as an EMT in Atlanta, Ga., she transitioned into a 9-1-1 dispatch position. Since then she has served as a training officer, supervisor, and manager within 9-1-1 Communications. Erica is currently a state trainer for the Florida Association of Public Safety Communications Officers, trained hostage negotiator, a law enforcement consortium instructor, a tactical dispatcher for high risk fire and SWAT incidents, and contributor to the regional domestic security task force. She is an active member of APCO International and the National Association of Female Executives; and was recently listed in Who's Who among Female Executives. Her bachelor's degree was received from Jacksonville State University.

Dean Rohan
Communications Training Coordinator
Academy Instructor
University of Maryland Police Department
Dean is currently the Training Coordinator and Shift Supervisor at the University of Maryland College Park Police Department and has been there for 5 years. Prior to his position at the University of Maryland Dean was a campus police officer at Georgetown University and also was a corrections officer for the MD State Division of Corrections. Dean is an M.P.T.C. certified police academy instructor, a Dispatcher of the Year recipient and a Certified First Responder. He is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Homeland Security Management.

Mathew Shenk
Matt Shenk is currently a radio room Supervisor for Lancaster County-wide Communications, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Matt began working for Lancaster County in 1984 as a Telecommunicator and has worked as an Assistant Supervisor or a Primary Supervisor for the last 20 years. Matt has an extensive background in fire and EMS. He is also an active EMT and volunteer firefighter. Matt is a primary responder for Lancaster County's Field Communications Unit. Matt was on the scene for the Nickel Mines Amish School Shooting, as well as other police, hazmat, fire and major events in South Central PA., as a responder with the Communications Unit.

Jay Somerville
With more than 20 years of public-safety communications experience, I am currently the Director of the Technical Services Bureau of the Dublin Ohio Division of Police. We are a CALEA accredited law enforcement agency of 68 officers just northwest of Columbus Ohio. I am commander of a bureau that includes 14 telecommunicators and 2 supervisors serving in the police, fire and EMS communications center, 3 clerks and 1 property technician serving in the Records Bureau and 1 training sergeant who serves as the agencies accreditation manager.
I started my career as a law enforcement explorer and dispatcher for the Lima Ohio Police Department in 1985 where I served until taking a dispatcher position with Dublin in 1992. I was promoted to communications supervisor in 1994 and served until I was promoted to my current position as the first civilian police bureau commander in Ohio in 2005. I have been an APCO member since 1987, serving as 2nd vice-president of the Ohio Chapter from 1999 to 2001, and president of the chapter from 2001 to 2006. I have been and adjunct instructor for the institute since 1997 specializing in teaching the CTO, Supervisor and Manager courses.

Gary Thomas
Gary is the Director of Emergency Communications for Union County North Carolina. He has been involved in public safety communications since 1984 and has been a member of the volunteer fire service since 1981, serving several ranks including Assistant Fire Chief. Gary has a B.S. Degree in Aeronautical Science and attained an Associates Degree in Public Safety Communications as an inaugural student enrolled in the APCO Virtual College. He has been an Adjunct Instructor for APCO Institute since 2000, conducting classes both live and through APCO Institute Online.

Lori Van Gilder
Lori has worked for the Lake Mary Police Department in Florida for over 16 years and has served the City of Lake Mary as a volunteer firefighter for 8 years.
Lori has been active with the Florida Chapter of APCO since 1992 serving on the Training Committee (including Chairperson for five years) and Board Officer for 3 years. Lori holds a Bachelors degree in Vocational Education and Industry Training from the University of Central Florida, with an area of specialization in Public Safety Telecommunications, and is pursuing her Masters Degrees in Instructional Design, Crime Analysis and Criminal Justice.

Jack Varnado
Jack Varnado has served as Deputy Director at St. Tammany Parish Communications District in Covington, Louisiana since March 2004. His responsibilities include being the staff contact with seven (7) PSAPs, training, overseeing the GIS and MSAG maintenance and public education. Jack was previously employed by East Baton Rouge Parish EMS/9-1-1 serving in the positions of Chief of Communications, Shift Supervisor, Communications Training Officer and Emergency Communications Officer and Medical Response Manager for the East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness. He has been affiliated with APCO since 1992 and became an Adjunct Instructor in 2003. He has also served as a contributing editor on several APCO Institute Courses and regularly conducts training sessions at the Annual APCO International Conference and Exposition. In 2002, Jack obtained his Associates Degree in Public Safety Telecommunications through the APCO Virtual College.

Robert Vawser
Rob works for St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, where he is a communications specialist in the air ambulance program. He has been a communications specialist since 1986 and has worked in the fire service, law enforcement and EMS. Rob has been an Adjunct Instructor for APCO Institute since 1998.

Tom White
Tom retired in 1996 from the US Army after a twenty-two year career. He is the Director of the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency in Missouri. In his current position, Tom directs operations for a twenty-four hour Emergency Operations/9-1-1 Communications Center and a Mobile Command Center; he also serves as the County Floodplain Manager, GIS Coordinator, IT Coordinator, LEPC and Citizen Corps Chairman. Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Columbia College and has been an Adjunct Instructor with APCO Institute since 1998.

APCO INSTITUTE ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR SITE