1. Please share about your journey as a business leader. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

For a decade and a half, my professional tapestry unfolded within the corridors of law enforcement as a stalwart member of the North Las Vegas Police Department. My trajectory into the business sphere is a mosaic of unorthodox chapters. Fifteen years entrenched in the North Las Vegas Police Department laid the foundation for my narrative, a saga that later veered into a five-year tenure within the federal domain. Within the corridors of the Department of Commerce, I lent my expertise to the FirstNet Authority, extending support to first responders and public safety agencies nationwide.

Public service is incredibly important to me. Leaving law enforcement and government to join the private sector was a tough decision. I have always been passionate about problem-solving with the community, and building and strengthening relationships through trust and transparency while advancing the adoption of technology that improves public safety capabilities in a meaningful way for every community.

Helping agencies change how they do things, and adopt new and cutting edge technologies to support their mission is challenging, but very rewarding, work. Over the years, I’ve learned how to work alongside, partner with, and align industry, academia, and every level of government. Working alongside such incredible people and partners, has really taught me so much about what it takes to lead in an environment of strong leaders, while also continuing to manage and learn about the rapidly changing technology in the public safety environment.

2. Describe about the company as well as its mission and vision

At Mutualink, Inc., we support the mission of first responders and public safety agencies so they can better serve their communities, as well as those agencies and communities around them by bringing advanced communications technology that improves and integrates responses to critical incidents and emergencies. We’re helping them save seconds, so they can save lives.

We are working across state, local and federal government, as well as integrating with new leading-edge technology initiatives including 5G, smart cities and IoT to be that foundation that provides the bedrock for seamless information sharing and data interoperability.

Our vision is to create an environment where public safety and community services can coordinate across local, county or state borders to provide the resources a community needs to deliver the best possible response to every situation.

3. Can you please share how you made an impact in the public safety and technology industry through your work skills?

I’ve had the unique opportunity to experience the public safety, technology, and public safety technology industry from multiple perspectives. First as a Police Officer, then as a senior leader in the government, and now as an executive in private industry serving government customers. This has really helped me see and understand the challenges that each of those areas have when working to find the right solutions. It’s also shown me how important it is for them to all work together.

I’ve had the pleasure of helping to bridge the gap that exists between state and local public-safety, industry, and federal government, and bring together leaders from all of those areas, including academia, so that the right connections can be made to come up with the right solutions. Being able to act as a translator between each of those areas has helped industry better understand the needs of public-safety and how their technology will be used and has given a voice to public safety within industry. This has allowed me to bring solutions or challenges to light that might have otherwise been overlooked and create partnerships that would have otherwise not existed.

This has created a tremendous impact across all sectors and has been immensely valuable for everyone involved. I’m proud of the profound impact my work has had, and continues to have, across the public safety, technology, and government technology arenas.

4. Brief about the values and the work culture of the company.

I’m incredibly proud of the Mutualink, Inc. team, and the work we do. The experience that our team brings to the table is second-to-none. We understand the first-responder community, because a majority of us came directly from that. It’s been a critical component to our success and is key to what drives us in making sure that our commitment to our clients and the communities they serve is first and foremost in everything that we do.

With that in mind, we are able to innovate, push the technology boundaries, and continue to set the bar higher and higher as we look for new and expanded ways to serve those who serve our communities.

5. How are you leveraging technology to make your solutions resourceful?

Technology, especially now, is constantly evolving. Every day, new technology is being created and adopted. We are always looking at those new technologies and working to understand how they can be leveraged to provide a better Mutualink, Inc. capability or experience for our customers.

Beyond that, we invest heavily in technology innovation and development to support the next wave of advancements for things like 5G, smart cities, Artificial Intelligence, and Smart Automation using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Not only does that give us insight into how these technologies can best be integrated into our existing capabilities, but how we can look ahead and influence technology trends that benefit everyone- not just public safety.

6. What challenges does the public safety industry face? If given a chance, what thing you would like to improve in it?

Some of the biggest challenges to overcome in public-safety are the sheer number of entities, agencies, and communities using disparate technology systems, coupled with the use of legacy communications and data technology. This creates a huge challenge in unifying communications and data interoperability across agencies and communities.

I believe that by creating that fabric of interoperability, we can start to bring agencies and communities together, create that communications and data sharing framework that can be used to bridge the technology gaps, and pave the way for modernization. Not just technology modernization, but modernization in how agencies and communities are serving their citizens, as well as the skills communities and citizens will gain when engaging with the latest technologies, serving the broader community as whole.

7. According to you, which would be the next big change in the public safety space? How the company is preparing to be a part of that change?

As we look ahead to the horizon of public-safety technology, 5G and Smart City technologies that use intelligent sensor and IoT technologies to bring better situational awareness to a situation are poised to bring a paradigm shift to how public safety and communities interact, and how agencies and communities are notified of, respond to, and react to critical incidents.

Mutualink, Inc. is poised to meet these evolving technology needs. Communications interoperability and data sharing are at the core of what we do. So as communities, cities, and even citizens evolve to start adopting these new technologies, Mutualink, Inc. will be right there with them to make sure they get the most out of these new technologies and can use them to get the insight they need in order to respond safer and coordinate faster, making every second count, and ultimately saving lives.

8. Where do you see yourself in the upcoming years and what are your future goals of company?

As technology continues to evolve, I see myself continuing to pave the way for the creation and adoption of new and innovative technologies that will impact our daily lives. We will continue to partner with and help organizations with new and innovative solutions, bring those capabilities to those who would benefit most from them. I believe that the influence of my work will continue to be felt across the industry and within government and academia for a long time to come.

As Mutualink, Inc. continues to grow, my goal is to make Mutualink,Inc. the solution for public safety communications, making sure we are being agile with the needs of the technology environment we are in, while also ensuring that we are shaping the next technology evolution. We will be stepping into and developing broader solutions that expand, encompass, and support the technology footprint of entire communities, cities, states, and countries.

9. What advice you would like to give to emerging tech entrepreneurs?

A good idea marks a promising beginning, but it alone falls short. Belief in your idea necessitates dedicated effort for fruition. Delve deeply into all facets of your business, customers, end-users, and partners. Cultivate a caring culture for your team as they become your greatest asset and advocates. Learn and mentor from those around you, recognizing the invaluable gift of shared time, and perpetually embrace the pursuit of knowledge.