Control rooms  |  2024-07-12

NENA Appoints Melanie Jones as New President

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Jones is a 35-year public-safety veteran, having served as a 9-1-1 telecommunicator, shift supervisor, and operations manager.

Melanie Jones, ENP, is the new president of NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. A veteran of 9-1-1 operations in North Carolina, Jones now leads the organization’s more than 22,000 members in advancing NENA’s mission to improve 9-1-1 through research, standards development, training, education, outreach, and advocacy.

In remarks to NENA’s membership at the NENA 2024 Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, Jones issued a challenge to the association’s community of 9-1-1 professionals: “Be the reason people trust 9-1-1. I want that trust between 9-1-1 and the public to be rock solid. When an individual picks up the phone and dials 9-1-1, you are at the other end of the line. You are the trusted voice of help when help is needed the most.”

Jones is a 35-year public-safety veteran, having served as a 9-1-1 telecommunicator, shift supervisor, and operations manager. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Guilford Metro 911, one of the largest consolidated centers in North Carolina. 

Jones also shared her commitment to ensuring that NENA continues to lead on the issues that matter most to the 9-1-1 community: advocating for Next Generation 9-1-1 funding; seeing telecommunicators reclassified as a protective service occupation; furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion; helping everyone in 9-1-1 improve their wellness and resiliency; and addressing the 9-1-1 staffing crisis. 

“In addition to my challenge for you to be the reason people trust 9-1-1, I also want you to be the reason people want a career in 9-1-1,” she continued. “I loved being a call taker because it gave me the opportunity to help people every single day… We must all strive to be the reason someone is attracted to this profession.”

Eight other board members were also sworn in on July 2: 1st Vice President, Lee Ann Magoski, ENP; 2nd Vice President, Roxanne Van Gundy, ENP; Immediate Past President, Charles Cullen, ENP; Northeastern Director, Mark Fletcher, ENP; Southeastern Director, Cassondra Lowery, ENP; North Central Director, Leah Hornacek, ENP; Canadian Director, Holly Barkwell, ENP; and Private Sector Director, Karin Marquez, ENP.