It’s Not the Calls: First Responder Mental Health and Organizational Leadership

This Webcast highlights the connection between leadership and the mental health of our members. Building on Chief David Rhodes’ FDIC International 2023 address, Dena Ali examines how mental health challenges among first responders goes beyond mitigating exposure to traumatic events. Instead, effective support involves fostering a culture of psychological well-being within organizations through strong leadership, open communication, training, trust, and proactive measures. Ensuring our cultures support optimal performance of our members starts with the leader modeling the behaviors that we expect. The presentation will provide case studies from high-performance organizations that have leveraged the power of effective leadership, ensuring that belongingness and vulnerability became cultural norms.