Dru Clarke | From Call Taker to Assistant Director, Culture in 911, & Building with Fairfax

A dispatcher once posted in a 911 Facebook group that she was ready to quit the industry for good, until she heard Dru Clarke speak at a conference. She's still in the field today because of it. That's the kind of impact Dru's built a second career around, on top of his day job running one of the largest 911 centers in the country.In this episode of The Wilmac Wire, hosts Emily McNulty and Steve McDonnell sit down with Dru Clarke — Assistant Director of Operations at Fairfax County's 911 Center and founder of Change Talk, a leadership training firm for public safety professionals nationwide — for a conversation about the culture shift 911 needs and why the industry's staffing crisis is about more than pay, plus a look at how Fairfax is approaching AI without losing the human element that makes the job matter.Here's what you'll hear about:Dru's unlikely path into 911 (he originally wanted to be a coroner)How founding Change Talk started as a favor and turned into a second callingWhy "people before policy" means giving respect instead of making people earn itThe real cost of 911's staffing crisis, and what Fairfax is doing differentlyWhat actually separates a vendor from a partner, and the story behind Fairfax's partnership with Wilmac Continuity WFMHow Fairfax is approaching AI carefully, starting with non-emergency calls before anything elseThe drone-as-first-responder program aiming for a zero-minute response timeEpisode Breakdown: 0:00 Welcome and introducing Dru Clarke 0:44 Icebreaker: This or That 5:00 How Dru ended up in 911 instead of becoming a coroner 6:28 Working through every role at Fairfax 18:40 Founding Change Talk almost by accident 22:35 The story that keeps Dru doing this work 26:03 Why culture became his focus 30:14 The command-and-control culture holding 911 back 34:29 Balancing new technology with a people-first approach 37:18 What makes an industry partner, not just a vendor 39:56 The story behind Fairfax's partnership with Wilmac Continuity WFM 44:29 How Fairfax is approaching AI, carefully 52:05 Drones as first responders and the push toward zero-minute response 53:14 Where to find Dru and Fairfax CountyConnect with Dru on LinkedInListen to more episodes of The Wilmac Wire: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | iHeart | Riverside