December 18, 2024
On Wednesday, December 18, the Lake Consolidated Emergency Communications (LakeComm) Member Board of Directors appointed Jason E. Kern as the LakeComm Executive Director.
LakeComm, the new consolidated Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), is set to become fully operational in 2025. It will provide services to 30 agencies in Lake County. A PSAP is a 9-1-1 call center responsible for handling emergency calls for law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services.
Kern brings over 30 years of public service experience to the role, with a strong background in law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management, legislative work, project management, and, most notably, 9-1-1 public safety communications.
“On behalf of the LakeComm Member Board, I am very excited to welcome Jason as the founding Executive Director of LakeComm and as our first official employee,” said Kevin Timony, Chair of the LakeComm Member Board of Directors and Village Manager, Village of Vernon Hills. “I am confident that Jason’s many decades of experience in the public safety communications field will help LakeComm complete its transition to the new PSAP in 2025 and best position the agency for future success.”
Kern previously served as the longest-tenured Executive Director at Southeast Emergency Communications (SEECOM) in Crystal Lake, a regional consolidated emergency communications center (ECC) supporting 12 agencies across over 100 square miles and 200,000 residents.
Since joining SEECOM in 2015, Kern and his team have achieved significant milestones, including three consecutive accreditations for their emergency medical dispatch program through the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and three certifications of their training program through the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). Under his leadership, SEECOM fostered a culture of mentoring, training, and quality assurance, improving performance and preparing staff for leadership roles within the ECC and the industry.
“As a long-standing resident of Lake County and an industry professional, I’m excited to be a part of this project and to bring a decade’s worth of vision and collaboration over the finish line,” said Kern.
With Kern assuming his role on January 20, LakeComm will focus on launching consolidated operations at the new Regional Operations and Communications (ROC) Facility in 2025.
Learn more about LakeComm at lakecomm911.org