The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners has named Jacqueline K. “Jackie” Vaughan director of the county Department of Public Safety. The Jan. 4 appointment follows Vaughan’s service as acting director of the department beginning in April 2010.


Vaughan has nearly 30 years of experience as a public safety professional for Calvert County government. She began her career in 1982 as a dispatcher in the Calvert Control Center and was promoted through the ranks, eventually reaching Division Chief of Communications in 2006. Vaughan has served as a volunteer with county fire departments and rescue squads and continues to serve on the Fire Rescue Commission, the Chief’s Council, the Executive Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT) Committee and in the Emergency Operations Center.

“Jackie brings wide-ranging experience and first-hand working knowledge to the leadership of the county’s Department of Public Safety,” said Board of County Commissioners President Susan Shaw. “She has dedicated her career to public safety and has extensive knowledge of local emergency management. We are proud to have her lead this vitally important function of county government.”

As director of the Department of Public Safety, Vaughan leads the 9-1-1 emergency call center – known as the Calvert Control Center – along with the Emergency Management and Safety Division, the Fire-Rescue-EMS Division, the Hazardous Materials Response Team and the False Alarm Reduction Unit. The department works to mitigate manmade, technological and/or natural disasters and respond to emergency needs through the county’s 100 percent volunteer fire-rescue-EMS service. The Department of Public Safety also serves as the local representative for homeland security issues, assists both the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police and works closely with Constellation Energy on emergency planning for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.

“Calvert County has a very skillful and dedicated group of professionals working to maintain public safety,” Vaughan said. “I am proud to work with them in this new capacity. This is a wonderful opportunity and I thank the Board of County Commissioners for its confidence in entrusting me with the position.”

For more information on the Calvert County Department of Public Safety, visit www.co.cal.md.us/government/departments/safety/.