Matthew Harwell, MS, MA, CPE, ENP started in public safety in April 2016, with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) in Fort Collins, CO, as an Emergency Communications Operator. He was selected as an Emergency Communications Supervisor in October 2018. During his time with the LCSO, he was on the SWAT Team (Tactical Dispatcher), the Public Information Officer Team, the Peer Support Team, Recruitment Team, and the Oral Board Team. He also served as a wildland firefighter and a Reserve Patrol Deputy in Larimer County. Though he enjoys volunteering his time in the field as a firefighter or deputy, his real joy is the Emergency Communications Center! In September of 2023, he joined the Lincoln (NE) Emergency Communications Center (LECC) as a supervisor and is now the Operations Manager. He supervises the LECC Supervisor team, the Academy and training program, QA/QI programs, and other operational aspects of the LECC’s work with the community and partner organizations.
He is highly involved at the state-level with APCO (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials) and NENA (National Emergency Number Association) and serves on many Committees, Boards, working groups and standards development processes with APCO International and NENA.
He is a lifelong learner. So, this means he loves attending conferences and trainings, planning conferences and trainings, and speaking at conferences and trainings – overall, he loves to share about the amazing work of ECCs and finding the next nexus for which to help someone better understand the work of public safety telecommunicators! He has two daughters and is nearly finished with his PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in Organizational Change and Performance. He also teaches at Southeast Community College in NE and in the MBA program at Concordia University in WI.
Outside of work, he loves coffee, craft beer, conversation, creativity (music/art), and challenging himself in outdoor activities (yes, it was a stretch to get another “C” item, but he loves alliteration).
