Services

I specialize in training and consulting services for 911 dispatch professionals and agencies.
With a deep understanding of their unique challenges, I offer workshops, hands-on sessions, and curriculum development to enhance their skills and knowledge. My goal is to equip dispatchers with the tools they need to handle high-pressure situations effectively and improve center wellness, morale and ultimately retention.

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Training Sessions I Offer

The Individual Impact: Shaping Culture in 911 
This course empowers 911 dispatchers to shape a healthier, more resilient control room culture by emphasizing the impact of individual behavior, emotional intelligence, and leadership at all levels. Students will explore how personal responsibility, communication, and mindset influence the workplace environment, while also examining the toll of chronic stress and trauma exposure. Through guided reflection and practical application, they will learn evidence-based wellness strategies to build resilience, lead by example, and foster psychological safety and trust within their teams. The course also underscores the importance of both formal and informal coaching and mentoring, guiding students to create a personalized plan for ongoing growth, peer support, and meaningful contributions to a cohesive and supportive work culture.
8hrs
For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified

Communications Training Officer Wellness
This course is designed to bring attention to the additional stressors faced by individuals in CTO roles, amplifying the inherent challenges of their already demanding jobs. Given the prevalent staffing shortages, CTOs are now experiencing an unprecedented demand to train a continuous influx of new hires aimed at addressing understaffing issues. Consequently, this heightened responsibility is leading to significant CTO burnout, decision fatigue, and trainee compassion fatigue. The course recognizes the reality where refusing to train another individual is not a viable option, compelling CTOs to navigate and address their struggles through choices that extend beyond basic self-care practices. Its focus is specifically tailored to address the mental, emotional, and physical needs of CTOs both as individuals and as integral members of their training teams. 8hrs
For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified
 
How To Make Teaching CLETS Fun
​Join us and discover the exciting world of learning! You’ll be shown the many ways people learn, making your training experience more engaging and boosting your retention. Dive into the world of adult learner characteristics and learn how to tailor your training to make it truly effective. Get ready to participate in fun (I promise!) group activities and create innovative engagement methods for your agency!
4hrs, 8hrs
 For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified 


Cumulative PTSI in a Dispatch Environment
Cumulative PTSI significantly impacts emergency dispatchers, affecting their physical, mental, and emotional well-being in the long and short term. This can lead to reduced life satisfaction, low morale, and decreased work motivation, causing staffing retention issues. Students will learn to identify and mitigate Cumulative PTSI's negative effects, making informed choices to reduce their occurrence and impact. .
2hrs *online version available*
For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified
 
Leading Without a Title
Believing we need official titles to effect change or lead is a common misconception. This session emphasizes individual responsibility, mindset, emotional intelligence, communication, and mentoring. With these skills, students can improve their environment, boost morale, create a healthier workplace, and increase retention.
2hrs
For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified
 
Realistic Wellness for First Responders
We often reach a critical point of experiencing emotional and mental fatigue at such levels that we stop caring about making the right choices for ourselves. Too often we are told to be healthier without any guidance or we are given extreme choices to make that don’t account for the nature of this job. This course will provide realistic wellness goals that will allow you to be the best dispatcher you can be, by being the healthiest and most resilient person you can be.
2hrs  *online version available*
For California Agencies: POST and CalOES ATA certified

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The items listed below have a duration of approximately one hour each. They can be combined to create a longer training session if needed, extended to be longer than an hour if desired, or adjusted according to the specific preferences of the agency:
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• Undoing the Damage of the Compartmentalization Culture - First responders adopt a culture of compartmentalization, suppressing the impact of their job and experiences. This has led to immense stress and unacknowledged trauma injuries. Listening to our bodies is vital to reduce further stress and trauma.

 

• Fostering a Revolution: The Power of Coaching and Mentoring in Shaping Healthy Dispatch Environments Establishing a dual foundation of coaching and mentoring holds the potential to revolutionize the often toxic work environment. Coaching, built on the belief that individuals are whole and creative, aims to demonstrate how this perspective translates into the workplace. Meanwhile, mentoring provides personalized support, guiding dispatchers through the challenges of being a first responder. Together, these approaches enhance performance, ensure ongoing investment, and prioritize the well-being of those committed to this calling, fostering resilience and adaptability. The result is a supportive control room environment, leading to improved morale and staff retention

 

• Training - It's Not Them, It's You - With staffing shortages at a critical high, we must reexamine dispatcher training for better retention and investment. Focus on trainees' learning methods rather than trainers' approaches. This session explores adult learning methods and theory, emphasizing the need to train our trainers and promote mentorship and work community inclusion. Let's shift the training mindset for long-term agency benefits.

 

• Emotional Intelligence - the Foundation of a Healthy Dispatch Center - Emotional Intelligence is the cornerstone of a thriving dispatch center. Recognizing and understanding both personal and others' emotions fosters a mindful pause between triggers and reactions. This skill transforms often toxic dispatch atmospheres. It reveals strengths, weaknesses, and focus areas, empowering students to take responsibility for actions and emotions. Equipped with self-awareness, they cultivate a positive work environment, demonstrating the transformative impact of Emotional Intelligence.   

 

• Morale Boosters - From Ideas to Implementation - In this session, we'll address the staffing crises and wellness neglect in our control centers, and explore practical, cost-effective ideas. We'll discuss necessary supplies, their procurement, and create a manageable "booster" calendar.

 

• Learning and Training Can Be Fun For Everyone! Let's embrace Adult Learning Theory (ALT) to improve training effectiveness. Instead of traditional lecture and PowerPoint, we'll make it engaging for both trainers and learners to boost information retention and staff engagement. Let's shake things up and have some fun while learning!

 

• Driven by Purpose: Cultivating Inner Resolve When Your Spirit is Weary - Many of us aren’t drawn to this job for outside recognition. Instead, we do the demanding work of a 911 dispatcher because we love it, fueled by a deep inner drive. This is what keeps us going through long hours, endless grief, and often, lack of support. But how do you continue when it feels like no one and nothing is on your side? How do you not only survive the challenging days on the floor, but find the strength to go beyond, sharing what you've learned with others outside your control room? This session will offer tools to manage all of this, as well as develop their own plans to maintain resilience and the heart to serve.  
  
  
• Survival Mode Wasn’t Meant to be a Lifestyle - The demands of this job—staffing challenges, critical incidents, the calls we hear, the things we cannot unhear—combined with the stresses of our personal lives, often leave us stuck in survival mode. Survival mode isn’t just a phrase; it’s a physiological response meant for short-term situations, not something we should endure every day for years. In this session, we will explore what happens to our bodies in survival mode and learn actionable steps to shift into healing and resilience, fostering long-term well-being.  

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• From Overlooked to Essential: Energizing Peer Support Teams - Peer support teams are consistently recognized as the most impactful factor in improving an agency’s mental and emotional well-being, significantly influencing agency culture and operational effectiveness. When actively engaged, these teams build trust, reduce stress and trauma, enhance morale, and improve retention, fostering healthier first responders. However, inactivity or lack of trust within a team can harm morale and negate their potential. Success lies in being a visible, reliable presence that prioritizes strong, supportive relationships. 

• ​Beyond CISM: Proactive Strategies for Building Resilience After Critical Incidents - Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has traditionally been the standard approach for supporting first responders after critical incidents. However, recent research suggests that while CISM can have positive effects, there are more effective methods for fostering mental and emotional resilience in response to such events. In this session, we will explore a clear and authentic definition of a critical incident and discuss how proactive strategies—such as providing Psychological First Aid education in advance, ensuring immediate connection and support after an incident, and offering ongoing resources—can significantly reduce stress and trauma injuries while strengthening resilience.

 
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Consulting

I provide consultation services in three main areas: center wellness, curriculum creation, and conference breakout sessions. Each consultation service is tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual or agency seeking assistance. In other words, the approach and focus of the consultation will vary depending on the unique requirements and objectives of the agency.

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Testimonials from participants after attending a training or session conducted by Shannon: ​

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""Thank you for such a fun and informative session! I learned a lot and came back to work excited to implement some of your games into our training program." Donna Dudek - Travis County Sheriff's Office
Course Attended: Learning and Training Can Be Fun
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"I attended CalNena and took your breakout session Morale and Wellness Boosters and I loved it! Thank you for all your handouts and freebies you gave out, I really enjoyed your class and the ideas you had." Majken Huston - Placer County Sheriff's Office
Course Attended: Morale and Wellness Boosters

"I attended your INCREDIBLE session at Navigator! I wanted to say thank you for your passion for great training!" Carrie Bare - Johnson County Emergency Communications
Course Attended: Learning and Training Can Be Fun 

"I took your class at CCUG and it was the best class I have taken in 21 years of dispatching...would love to have every one of my dispatchers and supervisors attend your class. I think it is vital for their mental well being and understanding why we as dispatchers are the way we are and how we cope." - Carla Even - Chula Vista Police Department 
Course Attended: Cumulative PTSI in a Dispatch Environment

"Your class was amazing. Lots of fun ways to engage different trainers and the many styles of learning. I plan on implementing these when I get back to my center." Ashley Lowery - Calvert Emergency Communications
Course Attended: Learning and Training Can Be Fun

"Thank you for putting together a course that is relatable, non-judgmental, and applicable to our daily lives. You touched on a couple of topics that I struggle with, and you gave me some ideas about how I can slowly make some changes to have a better quality of life and continue to love what I do for work."  Anonymous survey response
Course Attended: Help for the Headset - Realistic Wellness

​"I’m so glad I chose this breakout. I originally thought it was part of T4T but it was so much more. This was really a great session and it really helped to boost and give more knowledge of CLETS." Michelle Johnson - Fresno County Probation
Course Attended: How To Make Teaching CLETS Fun

​" I really enjoyed your class; it was actually my favorite of the whole conference." Jennifer Tannous - Los Altos Police Department
Course Attended: Cumulative PTSI in a Dispatch Environment