Prior to that, Melissa worked at Orange County Emergency Services (NY) where she spent most of her tenure in the Training Division. She is also an Adjunct Instructor with APCO International for the last several years. Her passion is teaching dispatchers how to improve their performance, focusing specifically on topics like Active Shooter Incidents, Crisis Negotiations, and the core telecommunicator classes. Melissa is a recognized 911 subject matter expert who has presented at various national dispatch conferences around the Country, speaking on a variety of leadership principles.

Melissa is a graduate of Marist College (NY) with a BS in Psychology and has completed her MS in Criminal Justice/Public Safety Leadership from Mercer University. She has achieved the professional designations of Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL) and Certified Public Safety Executive (CPE). Her focus and priority is to be a mentor, coach, leader and positive role model to members of the 911 community. Melissa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety and as the Vice President for the GA 911 Directors Association – Metro Region. She is an experienced instructor, conference coordinator and participant in several public safety areas.

Melissa is also serving on the NENA Wellness Acute Stress Standard Workgroup, APCO Professional Developments and Events Committee, and the Co-Chair of APCO’s new Health and Wellness Committee.

In her spare time, Melissa enjoys family gatherings, volunteer work and quality time with her dog.

In this role, she leads the effort to ensure that first responders are able to use the solutions of their choice on the FirstNet network to access actionable information they need, when, where, how and for how long they need it. Additionally, enabling their ability to share needed information from between solutions on the FirstNet network and with their colleagues from their agency or cooperating agencies. The focus of this effort is to make all this happen in a manner that is securely easy for first responders by ensuring single sign-on enabled access to information.

Learning from experts from the public safety and technology worlds is key for accomplishing this and she is am excited to be part of this APCO panel. She draws from my 30 years of technical R&D and Product Management background in the telecom industry and stays grateful to the immense contributions of first responders every minute, everywhere.

It was here where he first met Jim Marshall from the 911 Training Institute and became involved with Peer Support. After relocating to Georgia in 2013, He began to work for Cobb County 911 where he continued his passion for Peer Support. His training includes The 911 Certified Peer Supporter, International Critical Stress Foundation Group Crisis Intervention and Assisting Individuals in Crisis (ICISF) and a Crisis Intervention Trainer through National Alliance on Mental Health Wellness (NAMI).

He is a certified Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) Instructor and International Academy of Emergency Dispatch Telecommunicator Instructor. He is an active member of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Georgia Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). He enjoy spending time with his family and rooting for his hometown (Wisconsin) sports teams.

Prior to that, he served as Deputy Manager/Director for the 911 Public Safety Communications Center of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA – Ronald Reagan National & Dulles International Airports) for 4 ½ years. He also worked for the Prince Georges County, MD Fire & Police Department as a 911 Emergency Equipment Dispatcher for 7 years. He was a police officer for 25 years before retiring.

He has been an active volunteer firefighter/EMT/Officer for 40 years and is an active member of APCO, NENA, IACP, IAFC and NFPA.

His leadership and professional training and certifications include:

• APCO – Certified Public Safety Executive (CPE) – (Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials)
• APCO – Certified Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL) – (Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials)
• NENA – Certified Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP)
• University of Richmond – Public Safety Professional Executive Leadership School graduate (PELS)
• The Disney Institute – Walt Disney’s Approach to Quality Assurance and Customer Service graduate
•  Numerous other leadership & administrative courses

Prior to joining APCO, Jeff served as a detailee from the Federal Communications Commission to the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. While on the Hill, Jeff was one of the authors of the FirstNet public safety legislation enacted in February 2012. At the FCC, Jeff was Senior Legal Counsel to the Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Before his move to the federal government, Jeff was a partner at the Washington, DC telecommunications law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, where he worked over ten years on wireless regulatory matters since graduating from the George Washington University Law School with honors in 1994.

Jeff also holds a B.S. cum laude in electrical engineering from the George Washington University. Jeff is a recipient of the FCC’s Silver Medal Award, APCO’s Leadership in Regulatory Service Award, and the National Emergency Number Association’s Presidential Award.

Mandy actively engages with radio administrators and other members within the public safety market to find new and unique ways to enhance the user experience.

Mandy has been with L3Harris for 6 years where she has managed product portfolios from L3Harris partners as well as internally developed portfolios. Her latest experience is in cloud-based software-as-a-service solutions and how these resonate with customers and their day to day tasks.

From there, he moved to the private sector where he managed a national security operations center (SOC) for a healthcare security company. Andrew now serves Denver’s 9-1-1 personnel as the Director of Emergency Communications for the City and County of Denver. He has a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Colorado State University, and an M.A. in International Security from the University of Denver.

Mr. Furth served as Acting Bureau Chief from January to July 2009. From September, 2006 through January, 2009, Mr. Furth was an Associate Bureau Chief. In this capacity, he was responsible for a variety of legal and policy issues in the Bureau, most notably the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding. From March 2003 to September 2006, Mr. Furth was Associate Bureau Chief and Counsel in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Since joining the Commission in 1992, Mr. Furth has served as an attorney in the Private Radio Bureau and the Wireless Bureau, Legal Advisor to Commissioner Rachelle Chong, Deputy Chief and Chief of the Commercial Wireless Division, and Senior Legal Advisor in the Wireless Bureau. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Furth was in private law practice in Washington, DC and San Francisco, California. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Previously, she was the Director of 911 and Emergency Communications in Baltimore, Maryland. She began her public safety career as a member of the Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department and transitioned to public safety communications in 2008. Director Gordon holds a Master of Business Administration from Trinity University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center, Public Safety Senior Executive Institute. Director Gordon is also a graduate of the University of Richmond Professional Executive Leadership School and is an industry leader empowering her organization as a certified professional in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She holds several International Public Safety Certifications to include the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), International Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL), Certified Public-Safety Executive (CPE) and the National Emergency Number’s Association (NENA), Emergency Number Professional (ENP).

He served in numerous capacities during his tenure as a law enforcement officer including Sr. Police Officer, Detective, and Crime Scene Investigator. During Alex’s time in investigations he worked cases ranging from property crimes to homicides. Mr. Hamlin graduated from Georgia Piedmont College Law Enforcement Academy (Criminal Justice), is a private aircraft pilot and founder/president of Flyt Aviation.

Previously, Amy served as a public safety products manager and senior technical consultant for Motorola Solutions for 23 years focused on RMS and CAD programs​. She also served as a 911 Dispatcher/Senior Telecommunications Specialist for the Boulder Police Department for eight years.

Before becoming Senior Director of Roadmap, he was the FirstNet Authority’s Director of State Plans. In this role, he led the development of 56 individual buildout plans for the state and territory governors to make an informed decision about the FirstNet network.

Prior to joining the FirstNet Authority, Travis was a Project Engineering Manager and General Atomics and integrated systems into unmanned aircraft systems for DHS, CBP, and Missile Defense Agency programs. Travis lives in Washington State and is a canine handler with the Kitsap County Search Dog team and also a member of the SAR dive unit.

Prior to his assignment to the Field Operations Bureau, Deputy Chief Kelley commanded the police department’s Administrative Bureau. The Administrative Services Bureau includes the Communications and Technology Division and the Standards, Records, and Training Division.

Deputy Chief Kelley began his career with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office in December 1996. He served as a Communications Officer, Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD), and Training Officer. He was employed by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in November 1999 as a Communications Officer. He rose through the ranks and was appointed to the rank of Police Captain in 2015.

Deputy Chief Kelley has been responsible for many of the technological aspects of the police department. He spearheaded the implementation of numerous new technologies within the ACCPD including CAD/RMS/Mobile system upgrades, 911 telephone systems, various software systems, public safety camera solutions, ALPR systems, the implementation of sUAS (drone) technologies, significant upgrades to the department’s mobile command center, creation of a video integration center, a secondary communications center, and the formation of a tactical dispatch team. Deputy Chief Kelley is a certified CALEA Accreditation Manager and has overseen four highly successful CALEA on-site accreditations during his command over the Communications and Technology Division.

Deputy Chief Kelley is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the IACP’s Midsize Cities Division, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP), the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

In January 2018 Deputy Chief Kelley was appointed to the IACP’s Communications and Technology Committee and appointed as a vice chair in 2021. He also serves as chair of the IACP’s NG911 subcommittee and serves on the IACP’s sUAS (drone) subcommittee. Deputy Chief Kelley is the IACP’s representative on the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition, a group of national public safety organizations united to promote legislative principles that address the needs and concerns of public safety.

Deputy Chief Kelley is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College, the 79th session of the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute of Policing (SMIP), IACP’s Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) command training, and the 87th Session of the NENA Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP). Deputy Chief Kelley has a Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership Studies from Piedmont College. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Safety Administration though Columbus State University’s Law Enforcement Command College. Deputy Chief Kelley also holds an active FAA Part 107 sUAS pilot certificate.

Deputy Chief Kelley also holds Fire and EMS certifications. He has served with Oconee County (GA) Fire-Rescue for over 25 years. He currently serves as Station Chief of Station 8, which is the primary response station for the busy and rapidly growing Epps Bridge Parkway-Oconee Connector area.

Mr. Kerr’s areas of responsibility include working with the various components of the FirstNet Central Portal (Uplift Request Tool, Network Status Map, FirstNet Assist app), and support for internal functional communities in the disciplines of Emergency Management and 9-1-1/Emergency Communications Centers.

Mr. Kerr’s public safety experience includes serving and retiring as a Law Enforcement Captain/Technical Services Division Commander responsible for a multi-discipline 9-1-1 public safety communications center in north Florida, as well as a variety of other operational and technical functions within the Sheriff’s Office. Prior to joining the FirstNet Authority, Mr. Kerr also served as a communications SME supporting the DHS CISA Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program.

He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Safety NG9-1-1 Coalition promoting legislation in support of funding and coordinating interoperable Next Generation 9-1-1 across the United States. He is the Project Manager for the Countywide Public Safety P25 Radio System ensuring interoperable communications for more than 70 agencies, 3,500 first responders and serving a population of more than 1.2 million people in southeast Michigan.

Captain Maier has a Bachelor of Science Degree and a 2000 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Staff and Command. He has represented the Major County Sheriffs’ of America as the FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee-Vice Chair and Homeland Security’s “SAFECOM” Emergency Response Council having served as Chair of the Funding & Sustainment Subcommittee.

He serves as the Chair of Radio Oversight, served as Co-Chair of both the County PSAP Coordinators Subcommittee and the County Radio Policy Subcommittee, as well as the SE Michigan Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Regional Interoperable Communications Subcommittee. He has also been recognized for his leadership role in statewide emergency 911 communications as past President of the Michigan Communication Directors Association (MCDA).

He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Safety NG9-1-1 Coalition promoting legislation in support of funding and coordinating interoperable Next Generation 9-1-1 across the United States. He is the Project Manager for the Countywide Public Safety P25 Radio System ensuring interoperable communications for more than 70 agencies, 3,500 first responders and serving a population of more than 1.2 million people in southeast Michigan.

Two days after his enlistment ended, he found himself in the police academy in Utah. Over the next 23-years, he worked for the Utah Highway Patrol as a State Trooper, Federal Aviation Administration as a Federal Air Marshal, Orem Police Department (UT) as a Captain, and retired as the Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police in Springville (UT). He is a graduate of the FBINA session #275 and Northwestern University SPSC #423.

He served with the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency as the District’s Statewide Interoperability Coordinator, and now serves as the Administrator of the Arlington County Emergency Communications (9-1-1) Center since May 2017. He has contributed significantly in advancing public safety communications with emphasis on forward vision and collaboration through his public safety technology leadership roles with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments  and as a senior public safety communications and technology expert for numerous organizations to include the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute, Law Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council, and National Public Safety Telecommunications Council. He is an APCO Registered Public Safety Leader, a graduate of the NENA Center Manager Certification Program, and holds certifications as a Project Management Professional and Business Process Management Professional in addition to many others. He will receive a M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology in May 2021.

As a retired Major, Nutter has over 25 years of progressive leadership and management experience in the United States Army and experience in leading and managing law enforcement, investigation, and emergency service organizations. He is skilled in emergency management and law enforcement policy planning and development across multi-jurisdictional local, state, and federal areas of support. He is also a member of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

Dominick has master’s degrees in Criminal justice and Public Administration from Troy University as well as a great deal of training and certifications in emergency management and emergency communications.  He is a graduate of the Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL) and Certified Public-Safety Executive Program (CPSE).

Starting as a telecommunicator on midnight shift, Jamison continued to serve as a trainer, supervisor, and director of operations. Most recently, he served as the Statewide Training Coordinator for Tennessee, supporting the needs of the state’s 2,400+ telecommunicators.

Jamison’s commitment to servant-based leadership and communication skills are evidenced through many awards, including TN-APCO Director of the Year, the Senator Joe Haynes Award for Excellence, and the NENA Hall of Fame award.

Jamison’s life-long passion is growing a culture of compassion and collaboration within public safety organizations.

Price holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from California State University Hayward. He is a California State Certified Fire Chief and is an internationally certified Chief Fire Officer (CFO). In 2009 Price completed the four- year Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.

Price is a graduate of the Harvard University Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the Kennedy School of Government and the Strategic Management of Public Organizations Program at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. In 2011 Price graduated from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

He’s been a member of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad since 2007, volunteering 20-30 hours per week at a station that responds to motor-vehicle accidents, structure fires, and medical emergencies in the metro DC area. During law school, Mark worked as a law clerk in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and as an intern in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission.

Prior to law school, Mark served as a research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health. He conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments related to autism spectrum disorder and semantic organization in the brain. Mark earned a B.A. in psychology, summa cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law where he served as an editor on the Jessup International Moot Court board.

She was promoted to Watch Officer in 2013 where she was involved in the implementation of the program that has been running successfully for eight years.  In 2014 she was promoted to Operations Shift Supervisor and has been serving as the 9-1-1 Systems Manager since 2016. Raised in the age of technology, Angelina is excited to bring Arlington County’s 9-1-1 System into the next generation with the implementation of the ESInet and the development of the Remote Telecommunicator program.

Mr. Rhoads leads Nationwide Governance team, that provides support to SAFECOM, the National Council of Statewide Interoperable Coordinators (NCSWIC), the Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communications (FPIC), and the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center (ECPC) and international / border support including the Southwest Border Communications Working Group (SWBCWG), and the Canadian / United States Communications Interoperable Working Group (CANUS CIWG.) These groups improve emergency communications capabilities across the Nation by working collaboratively to develop and provide policy and guidance to all disciplines across all levels of government. Nationwide Governance is also the lead in developing and supporting emergency communication capabilities along the borders with Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Rhoads has served on various committees and working groups representing DHS, including the FCC Task Force on Optimization of PSAP Architecture (TFOPA), the NPSTC Assessment of Future Spectrum and Technology, the FCC Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability, and the NPSTC Broadband High Level Launch Requirements. He also supported the development of policy with the office of Vice President Biden to implement the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (FirstNet.)

Prior to joining DHS, Dusty served nearly 30 years with the Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department before retiring as a Battalion Fire Chief in 2008. He also served as a senior-systems engineer in the private sector developing requirements, integrating, testing, and deploying public safety voice and data communication systems and applications.

For the last 14 years, he has been committed to advancing NG911 initiatives across the United States, advising Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) and state 911 authorities in their planning, procurement and implementation of NG911 services. Dave was a technical contributor in the creation of the 2018 NG911 Cost Estimate to Congress and is a Commissioner on the NG911 Interoperability Oversight Commission. As RapidSOS’ Director of NG911 Strategy & Partnerships, Dave is responsible for creating alliances that enable the delivery of life-saving emergency response data to ECCs.

Commissioner Simington brings both private and public-sector experience to the Commission. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA.) In this role, he worked on many aspects of telecommunications policy, including spectrum allocation and planning, broadband access, and the US Government’s role in the Internet. Prior to joining the Commission, he was senior counsel to Brightstar Corp., an international mobile device services company. In this capacity, he led and negotiated telecommunications equipment and services transactions with leading providers in over twenty countries. Prior to joining Brightstar, he worked as an attorney in private practice.

Commissioner Simington is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. He also holds degrees from the University of Rochester and Lawrence University.
Commissioner Simington grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. He became a United States citizen and now lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife and three children.

Adam also serves as Director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

From 2014-2016, he was a Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In that role, he helped provide strategic direction, policy advice, management oversight, and operational coordination for eleven agencies with an overall budget of more than $3.1B and 30,000 employees. Deputy Secretary Thiel was directly responsible for the Departments of: Emergency Management, Fire Programs (including the State Fire Marshal’s Office), Military Affairs (Virginia Army/Air National Guard), and State Police, along with the state’s Homeland Security and Resilience portfolio.

Adam also served as the Governor’s deputy Homeland Security Advisor (dHSA), deputy Chief Resilience Officer (dCRO), Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC), and FirstNet State Single Point of Contact (SPOC). He facilitated the Secure Commonwealth Panel and Rail Safety/Security Task Force, co-led the state’s National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) project team to a $121M Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant award, and collaborated with myriad local, state, federal, NGO, private-sector, and other partners across all aspects of Virginia’s homeland security enterprise.

Commissioner Thiel was the fire chief for the City of Alexandria, Virginia from 2007-2014 and chaired the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS) Steering Committee. Adam’s 29 years’ experience spans five states (MD, NC, VA, AZ, and PA) as a chief fire officer, incident commander, company officer, fire and emergency services instructor, hazardous materials team leader, paramedic, technical rescuer, structural/wildland firefighter, swiftwater rescuer, and rescue SCUBA diver; he has directly participated in planning, response, and recovery efforts for multiple Presidentially-declared disasters and National Special Security Events (NSSEs), including the 9/11 tragedy, hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, an earthquake, major blizzards, international sporting competitions, and political events.

In addition to public service, he co-founded two successful consulting practices advising a wide range of clients on crisis management, leadership, organizational development, risk analysis, and strategy. Adam is a widely published author and has spoken at events around the globe; he has also developed and taught college courses at multiple universities.

Commissioner Thiel is currently enrolled in the Organizational Dynamics graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania; he completed doctoral coursework in Public Administration and Public Policy at Arizona State University (ABD) and George Mason University, respectively; earned his M.P.A. degree from George Mason University; received a B.S. in Fire Science from the University of Maryland University College; and earned his B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, he has completed the Virginia Executive Institute, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government, and the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program.

Adam is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (FIFireE), a former Certified Emergency Manager® (CEM), and holds several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-standard professional qualifications. He currently serves on multiple boards and committees, including: the NFPA Technical Committee on Emergency Service Organization Risk Management; Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Fire Council and Firefighter Safety Research Institute; Auburn University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security Board; the American Red Cross Eastern Pennsylvania Region Board; and the Philadelphia Police Athletic League Board. Commissioner Thiel is a former chair of the National Fire Academy Board of Visitors and served on the NFPA Fire Service Section Board. Adam is a 2017 Leadership Philadelphia Fellow and a 2018 USA Eisenhower Fellow.

At NGA 911, he is a member of an unparalleled team of industry experts engineering Next Generation 9-1-1 for the Cloud, where it belongs.