Caring for those who care for others.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kimberly has served the public as a law enforcement professional for the past quarter century. Kim has experience on both sides of the radio. As a sworn police officer in the city of Inglewood, she worked as a patrol officer, field training officer, and detective assigned to the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Unit. After retiring from the field, she worked as a dispatcher and supervisor at the San José Police Department – Communications Division, where she was also a member of the Dispatch Response Team and the Training Unit.
Kim is currently the Communications Administrator for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department where she is responsible for over 200 dispatch personnel. She is also certified as a Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) as a Master Instructor, Class 10. Kim also holds several degrees including a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Loyola Marymount University, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Science in Justice Studies from San José State University, where her thesis focused on the effects of stress on 9-1-1 dispatchers. In addition to these accomplishments, Kim is a published author and this year partnered with two major universities to embark on a research project incorporating all 454-public safety answering points in the State of California, focusing on the effects of stress and public safety dispatchers.
As a law enforcement professional, Kim has successfully combined practical work experience and advanced education to create progressive paradigm shifts in local policing training models that facilitate inclusiveness and stakeholder representation.
My research focuses on cognitive and emotional processing factors that enhance risk for post-trauma psychopathology, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and somatic complaints. I have an established publication record in the area of mediating and moderating variables that predict adverse health in a number of trauma-exposed populations, including 9-1-1 telecommunicators, victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), and interpersonal trauma survivors across community and university settings. I have conducted and published a series of studies with experienced 9-1-1 telecommunicators that focuses on the impact of duty-related trauma exposure and emotional processing variables on risk for PTSD, depression, physical health complaints, and obesity. For the past two years, I have been a Co-Investigator on a NIOSH-funded R01 award with Dr. Meischke and collaborators at University of Washington. With this support, we have developed an online mindfulness-based intervention tailored for 9-1-1 telecommunicators (MBI-911). At the present time, we are testing whether MBI-911 enhances mindfulness and reduces stress in a sample of telecommunicators.
To date, I have 36 articles published or in press in peer-reviewed journals that involve trauma-exposed samples. Further, I am a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois with a background in providing intervention for trauma-exposed populations, and am Co-Director of the Trauma Services Clinic housed within the Psychological Services Center (PSC) at NIU. As a licensed psychologist, I am fully trained in assessment of psychopathology, ethical decision-making in research and clinical care, healthcare delivery, and health assessment, as well as empirically supported treatments for psychopathology, particularly in the aftermath of trauma exposure.
Tigran Topadzhikyan, MPA was born in Yerevan, Armenia and moved to the United States of America in 1980. His family settled in Los Angeles and eventually moved and planted roots in Glendale. Tigran was a Cub Scout, attended the public-school systems, learned English and Spanish, worked at the YMCA as a lifeguard and swim instructor, volunteered in his community as a police explorer and continually mentors’ others.
In 1993, he graduated from Hoover High School and while in high school; he joined the Glendale Police Explorer program. Tigran earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1998 and in 2001; he earned his master’s degree in Public Administration both from the California State University at Northridge. Tigran is a graduate of the Supervisory Leadership Institute, Glendale Supervisory Academy, FBI National Academy, and the Glendale Chamber of Commerce “Leadership Glendale”. In December 2013, obtained his second master’s degree in Security Studies from the Naval Post-Graduate School for Homeland Defense and Security in Monterey, California. His thesis; “School Shootings: Law Enforcement and School District Networking,” served as a basis for proposed school safety legislation requiring mandatory interagency cross-reporting via SB-1091 authored by Senator Portantino.
Tigran began his law enforcement career as a police cadet, reserve officer, and graduated from Rio Hondo Police Academy in 1997 beginning his full-time policing career. Interestingly, soon after graduation, Tigran was reassigned from patrol to work with the infamous “Angel of Death” Homicide Task Force and served as a liaison to the many Armenian families impacted by this high-profile criminal investigation. Throughout Tigran’s career, his bilingual skills have helped many law enforcement organizations. He has travelled to Armenia on three occasions to assist local law enforcement in criminal investigations. He has also been a presenter at the United States Embassy in Armenia on anti-corruption.
After his tenure in Patrol, he was transferred to the Financial Crimes Detail as a Detective. While working as a Detective, he also served as a Tactical Flight Observer with the Heliport and was also a member of the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team.
In 2007, Tigran was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to Patrol. In 2013, he was transferred as the Supervisor of a newly formed AB-109 Taskforce that supervises the early release of felons from California prisons. The task force is comprised of Investigators from the Glendale, San Fernando, Burbank Police Departments, and the Los Angeles County Probation Department. The goal of the taskforce is to supervise and track parolees in Glendale and surrounding cities.
In November 2013, Tigran was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the Watch Commander and the Area Commander for the west side of the city. In 2014, Tigran was assigned to the Los Angeles Interagency Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT) as a Deputy Director to be part of the executive management team as the first ever Lieutenant from the Glendale Police Department. While at LA IMPACT, Tigran was responsible for overseeing three AB-109 teams, a grant funded methamphetamine team, the only clandestine laboratory response team in Los Angeles County, the Air Support unit, and the Los Angeles City Attorney Abatement unit. Tigran worked with federal, state, county, and local law enforcement entities, as well as the Department of Child and Family Services Drug Endangered Children’s team. Tigran and his family sponsored several families for the holidays, and he proposed ideas to build a cache of toys for the minor children affected.
After his four-year tour at LA IMPACT, Tigran was hand selected to be the Commander of the Glendale Police Department’s Communications and Technology Bureau where he currently oversees the 911 dispatch center.
In July 2018, Tigran was bestowed the “Award for Excellence” by the Executive Office of The President of The United States for his leadership and significant contributions to the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
Tigran works for the National Basketball Association as an Alternate Security Representative. He is responsible for conducting audits to ensure venues are meeting NBA security protocol, ensuring the safety of the fans, employees, and players.
Tigran is married to Carla and is a proud father of their 4-year-old son Matthew Armen. Tigran’s hobbies include fishing, hiking, boating, cooking/grilling, and scuba diving. He enjoys spending time with friends and family.