Season 1 Episode 1 Wendy Lotman

What does it really take to excel behind the headset—and what does it take to build a team of people who can? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Wendy Lotman, Fire Communications Chief at Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about what separates great 911 dispatchers from good ones, and what comm centers can do to find, train, and keep them.Wendy brings decades of experience across call taking, dispatching, supervision, and training in both Portland and Las Vegas—giving her a perspective that stretches from the headset all the way to the chief's office. She and Lori get into the qualities that define top performers (think resiliency, adaptability, and genuine coachability), the very real mental health toll of the job, and why overtime culture and burnout are problems the industry can't afford to ignore. Wendy shares practical ways dispatchers can protect their wellbeing—from staying connected to a life outside the comm center to actually using the EAP and peer support resources available to them.They also dig into recruitment: what hiring managers are really looking for, why video interviews say more than candidates realize, how customer-facing work experience translates to dispatch, and what "superstar applicants" do differently in an interview room. Spoiler—generic answers don't land.And if training is your world, this episode is for you. Wendy makes a compelling case for structured, documented training programs—not just for dispatcher confidence, but for liability protection and public trust—while being refreshingly honest about the obstacles: staffing shortages, tech failures, pressure to rush the process, and the chronic underappreciation of trainers and CTOs.Whether you're a dispatcher, a trainer, a CTO, a supervisor, or running a comm center, this one is packed with insight you can actually use.Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/