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Career Spotlight: Chris Callsen (C'85)
Assistant Director, EMS Operations
Describe your current position and what led you to your job?
I serve as the Assistant Director, EMS Operations for Austin, Travis County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Austin, Texas. In my position, I am responsible for the day to day management of a public safety organization providing emergency medical and rescue response services, both via ground ambulance services as well as via one of the country’s few public safety air medical programs providing medical, rescue, law enforcement, and fire response.
The division I lead, EMS Operations, has a budget of about $35M annually and we provide these services with 367 personnel. The challenges are substantial in any given year and it is an amazing responsibility and honor to serve our citizens through this critical service.
What has been the most rewarding moment in your career?
There have been many amazing and rewarding moments throughout 25 years of EMS service (which began on the campus of Georgetown I might add as a founding member of GERMS). They have been as personal as the look on the face of a patient who survived a life threatening event when they meet you later to the excitement that comes with seeing the ongoing success enjoyed by GERMS.
But perhaps the event that most impacted me and that I am most proud of was managing the refugee reception operation at the Austin airport during the exodus of New Orleans residents following Hurricane Katrina. I had never seen such despair and hopelessness on the faces of people…and our efforts, which frequently put smiles on those faces, was the most satisfying thing I have ever done in emergency services.
What is the best career advice you have received?
Well, I have never experienced that moment of sudden clarity when everything came into focus (I still hope that may happen some day) but several things have provided me a strong sense of direction… Manage and lead from the heart, practice listening, protect your integrity, and be accountable for your decisions.
What would you recommend to someone interested in working in your field?
A strong liberal arts based education is critical if you want to move into a leadership position within any government organization. The ability to communicate effectively and in a public setting is also critical and, unfortunately, very rare in my experience.
Perhaps the most important advice, however, is pursuing your passion. Know what moves you and drives you and find a way to make that your career.
What challenges have you faced and how did you successfully manage one situation?
In my current position, we are currently undergoing our greatest agency challenge and my personal challenge as I write this. We are drastically changing our method of scheduling field response personnel and this has created huge internal issues for the organization and strained relationships throughout our agency.
We have attempted, with mixed success, to foster our communications in an open and productive manner. What made this particularly difficult for me was moving into this very divisive change with less than one month in my current position. We will undoubtedly succeed, but this will definitely be the challenge that I remember for years to come.
What skills are necessary or what prepared you the most for your career?
Besides the general skills that make leaders successful (and I am constantly working on these…a great reference is Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner) my career choice requires that I have to be able to switch into a more decisive and directive "command" mode when needed. This is can be a challenge, especially when you need to break out of that style. People in public safety tend to be fairly self assured and confident, which can make us a challenge to lead.
What professional associations have aided in your professional development?
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, most especially the Chief’s, Officer’s, and Administrators Division, has been a tremendous resource for me over the years.