Ty Wooten, Director of Government Affairs for the IAED, reminisces about his experience as the Director of Emergency Communications at the Indianapolis International Airport on September 11, 2001. He discusses the feelings of uncertainty, the acts of courage and grit, and the ways that the event has impacted all aspects of public safety, including emergency dispatch, ever since.
Joe Wassel, Founding CEO of Zero Nine Thirty-Seven and Principal Consultant with Deep Water Point & Associates, speaks about his experience as a member of the Department of Defense in the Pentagon when it was stuck on September 11th. He also discusses the important roles that leadership, partnerships, and friendships will play in handling the defining moments of your professional and personal life.
Chris Carver, Octave’s Director of Market Development, talks about his experience as an emergency dispatcher with the New York Fire Department (FDNY) during the September 11th attacks. He also discusses his role at Octave as well as the book he wrote about his illustrious career in public safety.
Bill Vedra, Director of the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) for the city of Cincinnati, discusses his agency’s re-implementation of the Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS). He discusses the circumstances surrounding the process, some obstacles in implementation and how they were overcome, and why the agency then aimed for accreditation status.
Jessica Hutchens and Jeri Phillips, training specialists with Guilford Metro 911, talk about the foundational training that all Emergency Dispatchers should receive. They discuss what skills are necessary for an Emergency Dispatcher to have, how those skills can be improved, and ways to make it easy and fun in your comm. center.
Jody Mader, Master ETC-I Instructor and 2025 Instructor of the Year, shares some insights she’s gained in her 18 years of experience in emergency telecommunications. She discusses how she became interested in adult education, how to customize the ETC curriculum while still meeting the training standards, and how you can start improving your program one change at a time.
Combined Regional Communications Authority (CRCA) 911’s Deputy Director Lindsay Hubbard talks all about their dispatch internship program—how it came to be, how it’s evolved over the past few years, and advice for people looking to start similar programs in their own agencies.
Bekah Haywood, Business Analyst for the Solutions Support Team, talks about all things FirstWatch. She discusses the upcoming high-acuity dashboard for Academy Analytics, the importance of peer support in the dispatch center, and how stories and data can work hand in hand.
Kathy Sukus, GM/OnStar Public Safety Engagement Leader, and Mitch Petterson, a member of the Outreach Team, discuss OnStar’s role as a Partner Sponsor of NAVIGATOR 2026. They highlight OnStar’s ACE status, their free public safety training, and the new Super Cruise feature.
Scott MacDonald, CEO of GovWorx, discusses the company’s sponsorship of NAVIGATOR 2026. He discusses where the company finds inspiration for supporting emergency dispatchers and talks about the CommsCoach Hiring and Retention platform, which will be demonstrated at the GovWorx booth.
