Elizabeth Ulmer is the Senior Public Safety Dispatcher for the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center. The Lincoln Emergency Communications Center dispatches Police, Fire and EMS for Lincoln and Lancaster County, a combined population of over 300,000 citizens. Elizabeth works in all four areas of the center: call taking, law enforcement dispatch, fire dispatch and NCIC/warrants. She also trains new employees in all of these areas. Fellow members of her center describe Elizabeth as exemplifying “excellence and self-initiative in the workplace”. She was promoted to a supervisory role in December of 2020 and has continued to seek out learning opportunities, both for herself and other members of her center. Elizabeth is a “hard worker who provides a high level of service, while providing compassion, to both dispatchers and callers.”
Elizabeth began her career rather unconventionally in her opinion. She got her start in September of 2011 when she was met with a challenge from an acquaintance at the time. She was at a point in her life where she didn’t know which path she would be venturing down. A chance encounter, combined with her own competitive nature, started her on the journey to being a 9-1-1 dispatcher. At the time, she did not know what this career had in store for her, but she was sure that she would not let anyone “define [her] limits”. What started as proving something to naysayers, and herself, quickly developed into a passion and career for Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly realized the limitless effect she would have on citizens, field units, other agencies and fellow 9-1-1 heroes. She was drawn in by the “opportunity to positively impact lives”. “Few people can say when they go home every day that they made a difference for someone,” says Elizabeth, “but as a dispatcher, it’s an emphatic ‘yes’ that rings true every day.”
When asked where she sees herself in five years, Elizabeth answers that she will be found, not only, with a headset on but also still consistently working to improve the workplace for future generations of 9-1-1 heroes. Elizabeth finds strength in the work she does and uses the traits she learns on the job to further her own personal growth. According to Elizabeth, “the longer [she] works in this field, the more resilient and empathetic [she] becomes.” She hopes to continue to use these traits to “create the best workplace” for everyone at her center, both current and future. Elizabeth thinks that opportunities for growth are vital, and that each change that someone faces should be viewed as an opportunity and not a roadblock. In this ever-changing field, Elizabeth hopes to “always be at the forefront of positive changes for our profession.” Elizabeth is ready to face any challenges coming her way- whether they relate to best practices, policies, legislation, or daily operations.
Elizabeth finds that she thrives on change. The constantly changing environment is one of the aspects that originally drew her to this profession and it continues to be one of her favorite things about the job. Elizabeth remains inspired by change both in her day to day tasks and on the larger scale of the 9-1-1 profession as a whole. While many people find change uncomfortable, Elizabeth says that she “finds the challenge to attain mastery under different circumstances or with different tools exciting”. A typical shift for Elizabeth involves working two to four hour segments in different assignments throughout the room. She may spend a couple hours call taking then move over to a primary law enforcement channel where she oversees 17-30 officers at a time. In 2021, Elizabeth worked alongside her medical director on a special project that involved reviewing, recognizing, and providing additional coaching on dispatcher-assisted CPR calls. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of Elizabeth and her team, Lincoln is ranked nationally for their survival rates on witnessed cardiac arrests!
Elizabeth feels that the future of this profession lies with the young professionals, both those currently in this field and the ones that will eventually join us. Elizabeth has many ideas on how to draw, and maintain, young 9-1-1 heroes. One idea is that centers could look outside the box when it comes to scheduling and make an attempt to move away from traditional shifts and schedules they may be accustomed to. She recognizes that more and more people are looking for flexible schedules to balance their work and home lives. Accepting and recognizing that could be a way for centers to find more applicants, as well as, retaining ones they currently have. Elizabeth also urges others to recognize that each individual person can bring a “unique perspective that is valuable to our agency and there is no need to ‘earn’ the ability to share that perspective”. Whether an individual is new or tenured, their input could lead to positive changes in the center. “Starting positive conversations with management and among our peers about making positive changes in our centers feels daunting,” says Elizabeth,” until we realize the importance of being and creating the change we want to see”.
Elizabeth also recognizes how important it is to recognize our fellow telecommunicators for the jobs they do. For Elizabeth, her focus “has always been on the people in this profession and celebrating them”. This field is constantly evolving, from new equipment to new geo location services to the future of Next Generation 9-1-1 services; people in this field have a lot of growth and change to come. All of these changes “highlight, more than ever, the need for dispatchers to be nationally recognized as first responders,” according to Elizabeth. With this recognition, dispatchers will be able to get the “best mental health help for the trauma we experience in our line of work,” says Elizabeth. Elizabeth further urges everyone to break the cycle of negativity that can be found in centers. “A natural response to being under recognized and underappreciated in our field is to do the same to our peers.” She calls for everyone to break that norm, celebrate those around you, and never be afraid to “shine the spotlight on their excellence”.
“Be good to citizens and user agencies, but give your best to the other 9-1-1 dispatchers sitting shoulder to shoulder with you.”- Elizabeth Ulmer
Join us in celebrating Elizabeth Ulmer as our Young Professional Spotlight. If you know of a young professional that deserves recognition, nominate them using this form.
