Shannon Polito

Shannon Polito began her dispatching career for Scotts Valley Police Department in 2008 and learned the foundations of dispatching, as well as beginning her foray into more than a passing interest in CLETS. She transitioned to working for Santa Clara County Communications in 2010, where she still currently works as a Communications Dispatcher for the Law, Fire, and EMS communities. She began teaching in her agency’s in-house academy, revamped the CLETS training program and rewrote the curriculum from the ground up with a heavy focus on incorporating Adult Learning theories. She attended and continues to attend DOJ training in all subjects and became a POST recognized Subject Matter Expert in the topic. She has served as CTO for the last seven years and has developed curriculum for the initial training of new CTOs and the ongoing training for the more seasoned CTOs. Shannon was chosen by her peers as Dispatcher of the Year in 2019 for her work in the various training avenues at her department. 

Shannon received her AICC (POST Academy Instructor Course Certification) and has worked closely with POST on developing several different courses and curriculums for both her agency’s in-house training, as well as her instructing outside of County Communications. She currently continues to instruct at the Santa Clara County Communications academy, as well as teaching Interpersonal Communications, Wellness, and CLETS at the POST Basic Dispatch Academy at South Bay Regional Training Consortium.  Shannon is also an instructor for the CCUG (California CLETS Users Group) at their chapter trainings and annual seminar where she teaches her own POST approved curriculum: “How to Make Teaching CLETS Fun” and “Cumulative PTSD in the Dispatch Environment”