City of Las Vegas recently issued the following announcement.
In honor of Black History Month, we spotlight two of our city of Las Vegas leaders who started their careers in their respective fields many years ago and rose to the top because of their hard work and passion for helping others.
After the TV crew set up in the office of Assistant Fire Chief Ashanti Gray, I started the interview with the typical question of how she got started in Las Vegas Fire and Rescue’s 9-1-1 call center. I was expecting to hear it was a life-long dream or she was once saved by a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Instead Gray laughed and said she had no idea the Communication Specialist job she had applied for was answering emergency calls and saving lives over the phone.
“So, I come in to apply and go through the interview process and one of the items there was a phone and then a notepad,” Gray said. “I’m told to pick up the phone and write down the information I hear. So, I still think I’m applying for some kind of receptionist job. I pick up the phone and the person is screaming on the other end. I just start writing down the information but I think the look on my face stopped the Human Resources person. She paused the test and said, ‘Do you know what you’re applying for?’ I told her Communications Specialist. She said, ‘Yes, that’s in 9-1-1. Do you want to complete the test?’ I said I did and I finished it.”
She not only finished the test, she finished number one out of all the applicants, unexpectedly starting what ended up being her dream job! From the beginning she knew answering these calls for help and being able to actually save lives with her calm and commanding voice was nothing to take lightly. She recalls one woman who called because she was choking and alone in her house. Gray was able to determine she was choking through her wheezing and inability to speak. She talked her through the Heimlich maneuver and the grape that was stuck was dislodged before the paramedics arrived.
“At that moment, I became aware that people need somebody that can help them and not get tied in the moment,” Gray said. “I was able to stay separate. I’m sure my heart was racing but to know that I could have an impact on that person’s life and they’re alive today.”
Gray moved up the ladder at the department. She was the supervisor in the call center, then training specialist. When the position of Assistant Fire Chief opened she applied and the rest is history. She still oversees Communications as well as Fire Support Services. She feels she is able to make a significant impact at this level. Being a woman, being black and not coming from the fire suppression side of the department, she brings a different perspective to the table.
“One of the things I take pride in and participated in and had a major role in is our dispatch aided CPR,” Gray said. “We are at 70 percent of the people who call us and witness cardiac arrest, come out of the hospital neurologically in-tact.”
The national average is between 30 and 35 percent and that just wasn’t going to fly for this leader who lives by the motto: Be better. Be better every day.
Department of Public Safety Deputy Chief Danielle Davis was born and raised in Las Vegas’ Historic Westside. She says as she grew into her teen years she noticed inequities in the community and decided she wanted to do something in a field where she could help others.
“I always think back to when I was a teenager and things that I didn’t have and some of the resources and questions I felt were not answered and so it was my drive to get me to be a member of public safety and law enforcement,” Davis said.
While finishing up her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice, she found out the city’s Department of Public Safety was looking for Corrections Officers so she applied.
“A couple months into the job, I was like ‘I think this is a good fit’,” Davis said. “I knew I had a promising career working for this department.”
That was 20 years ago and a promising career is exactly what was ahead for her. She was promoted to Sergeant then Lieutenant and in October 2021 was named Deputy Chief over Detention Services. She said this role will enable her to help carry out the goal of the department to reduce recidivism by treating those leaving the detention center through a holistic approach, offering services and programs that will help them lead productive lives on the outside.
“Sometimes you don’t understand the systemic issues that cause an individual to become justice involved,” Davis said. “I’ve placed an emphasis on providing services and programs to those while they are still in our facility.”
She thinks back to many years ago when she was a Corrections Officer taking the time to talk with a young lady about to leave the detention center. Davis remembers the inmate was so open about her past and her struggles and just wanted someone to listen to her. Davis listened and helped her contact her family when she got out.
“It made her day and I just knew this is for me,” Davis said. “I’m in the right place and I am here to serve and help others.”
For the nearly 20 years since that epiphany, she doesn’t let a day go by without trying to do something good for someone. As she put it, “One of the things I try to do daily is just look in the mirror and say that you’re great and kind and you are here to do a great job. This is your story to write. This is your journey. You’ll be successful in the end.”
Original source can be found here.
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