John Ferraro, ENP (Emergency Number Professional) is the Executive Director of Northwest Central Dispatch System (NWCDS) in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and has been an active member of the public safety community since 1993. In his current position, John oversees a 9-1-1 PSAP that handles police, fire, and EMS dispatch for 11 suburban communities of Chicago and serves about 500,000 citizens.
According to NENA (National Emergency Number Association), after serving in the United States Coast Guard, John started his career as a Telecommunicator at NWCDS, advancing to the role of Operations Manager. From there, John took a position at DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU-COMM) as the consolidated PSAP’s Deputy Director, managing six Operations Managers, six Operators-in-Charge, one Training Manager, and a full-time staff of 68 Telecommunicators. Before becoming NWCDS’ Executive Director, John also served in the same role at the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center in River Forest, Illinois, for three years.
John proudly sits on NENA’s Education Advisory Board and other NENA Standards Committees. He is also an Adjunct-Faculty member at the William Rainey Harper College, teaching telecommunicator courses, and serves as a Certified Emergency Telecommunicator Instructor for the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch. Since 2005, John has regularly presented at both state and national 9-1-1 conferences. According to NENA, Ferraro loves teaching for NENA in the areas he is most passionate about include customer service and quality assurance.
SOURCE:
NENA The 9-1-1 Association