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Comms Coach Podcast
Welcome to Comms Coach, the podcast that delves deep into the world of training and quality assurance for 9-1-1. Your host, Lori Henricksen, is a veteran in the field with more than 30 years experience as a dispatcher, trainer and high school teacher who started one of the country's first 9-1-1 Dispatch programs for High School students in Las Vegas, Nevada. In each episode, a lineup of expert guests dive into the critical aspects of emergency communications training, quality assurance and improvement. They share valuable insights, techniques, and best practices to help today's trainers and the next generation of unsung heroes. So whether you're an experienced dispatcher, leader, trainer or simply curious about how to set up and run training or QA programs in your center or school, get ready to embark on a journey of knowledge, growth, and inspiration. This is Comms Coach, building the strength behind every call.
Comms Coach Podcast
Season 2 Episode 2 Kimberly Govea - Boost Your Training
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What if the secret to better 911 training didn't require a bigger budget—just a little more creativity and a genuine commitment to doing the job well? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Kimberly Gouvea, retired LVMPD dispatcher and trainer with 20 years on the floor, for a conversation packed with practical, adaptable ideas that any comm center can start using right away.
Kim has spent her career thinking about how people learn—and more importantly, how to reach the ones who don't learn the way a standard training program assumes they will. She and Lori dig into why understanding the difference between visual, auditory, and hands-on learners isn't just a nice-to-have, it's the difference between a trainee who thrives and one who washes out. And they make the case that teaching the "why" behind codes, protocols, and policies doesn't slow training down—it builds the kind of decision-making that holds up when things get complicated on a real call.
The episode is full of training ideas you might not have tried: turning code memorization into rhymes and games, using typing competitions to build speed, having trainees draw maps from memory and follow pursuits on paper, even bringing flashcards and location-based games home so family members become part of the learning process. It sounds unconventional—and it works.
Kim also makes a passionate case for ride-alongs and cross-training with field units. When dispatchers take the same patrol, K-9, and air unit classes designed for officers, something shifts. They stop just processing calls and start truly understanding what's happening on the other end of that radio. Better anticipation. Sharper awareness. Fewer gaps between the console and the street.
They don't sidestep the hard realities either—staffing shortages, time pressure, burnout, and the temptation to treat training as something to get through rather than invest in. Kim's argument is straightforward: agencies that prioritize creative, continuous training see it come back in retention, morale, and performance. The ones that don't eventually pay a different kind of price.
If you're looking for fresh ideas to bring back to your training program—and proof that most of them don't cost a thing—this episode delivers.
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