Podcast – Partnerships in Preparedness: Kali Dawkins on Technology, Trust, and Response

In this podcast episode of Domestic Preparedness: The Podcast, host Nicolette Casey Phillips has a conversation with Kali Dawkins, principal manager solutions architect at Verizon, who shares how public/private collaboration can keep responders connected before, during, and after disaster. From hurricane recovery to planning for FIFA 2026, discover how Dawkins feels technology and trust build stronger, safer communities.

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Nicolette Casey Phillips

Hello, and welcome to Domestic Preparedness: The Podcast, where we bring you the voices of preparedness. I’m your host, Nicolette Casey Phillips, and in this episode we are diving into the critical issues of the emergency preparedness field. We are talking to leaders in the field, experienced practitioners, and dedicated officials who are shaping policies, practices, all to strengthen community preparedness across the country. I’m joined today by Kali Dawkins from Verizon, a sponsor of this podcast and a long-time partner in emergency communications and technology. We are exploring how public-private partnerships strengthen emergency management, not just in response but in planning and recovery, too.

From improved communication frameworks to the tech behind coordination, Verizon plays a key role in keeping responders connected when it matters the most. Now, can you walk us through what a successful public-private partnership looks like before and after a disaster?

Kali Dawkins

Absolutely. So one thing we want to take our approach as, is the why, right? Verizon is a trusted partner when it comes to partnering with our public safety and our first responders, and what that means is, the critical nature of communications for first responders and how Verizon recognizes and embraces that responsibility.

It’s been 30 years in the game for us, even though the name Verizon has been around for about 25 years. I think one of its core competencies, even before Verizon became Verizon, was its commitment and its partnership with our public safety and our first responders.

Phillips

Beautifully sad. Now, what do you think makes those partnerships sustainable long-term?

Dawkins

I think the, the approach that we take to, to make sure that they understand when they think of the name Verizon as a disaster happens, the time through the disaster and the recovery efforts behind it, is what Verizon brings. Our approach to where we would like to be in that thought process, we just we want it to be like turning the faucet water on, understanding Verizon’s here, and this is what they’re bringing, and knowing that we’re going to be there every time regardless of what happens. Those recovery efforts will be supported by Verizon because it’s our approach to that, our partnership. We understand there are gaps, and we do not want to leave any municipalities, any of those counties, any of those first responders on their own, you know, to try to solve those issues when we have the resources available in our book of business.

Phillips

Incredible answer. Now how does Verizon work with agencies ahead of an emergency to ensure infrastructure is in place?

Dawkins

So in that space, we like to sit at that table, call it a training top exercise, so, or a tabletop exercise and understand we partake in that, right. So when you turn to us, it’s happening right now as we prepare for FIFA, hurricane season, right, we want you to understand, when we have these conversations, when you have them, we’re going to be an active participant in the planning phase. So when you’re in your emergency operations, a plan of operations, there’s a section for Verizon, their call and response. So if part of that tabletop exercise, we go through the process of, when the disaster happens, what is activated in the Verizon space? Obviously, it’s a network approach to see what, where the challenges are after the storm, how long it’s going to take to bring everything back up. And while that is happening, how can we mitigate with some tools and some assets to make sure operations to bring everything back up is not halted or delayed.

Phillips

Can you tell me a little bit about FIFA and the planning and what’s going into that, because that’s happening here locally in Austin, Texas? We’re a nationwide podcast, but I feel like we’re pretty proud that that’s happening here. Now what is the relationship happening here?

Dawkins

Yes. So our name is synonymous with FIFA in 2026.

Phillips

Amazing. I didn’t know that. Okay.

Dawkins

Yes, ma’am. And what is going to happen during that planning phase is already happening. There are recommendations being made for solutions that we feel will keep those first responders in the public safety support, whether or not they’re sworn officers or citizens that have volunteered their time and efforts to support the event in their local communities. You have those individuals who take pride and take great pride in making sure their city is shown in a positive light, so that when they lend, they’re willing to lend their time and their effort to support those agencies, there are good relationships like that out there. So within, so behind those solutions, those recommended solutions, is our network preparedness, right? We take the approach to ensure our network is fortified, and where there may be gaps, we try to move things forward to make sure those gaps are closed. If that’s not possible, we have some solutions in place for long-term, which is essentially about a month, maybe a month and a half, before and after, before, during, and after the event that will close those gaps. So we’re at the table with decision makers in the different cities. For myself, it’s the City of Houston, Harris County, and the surrounding areas.

Phillips

Shout out, Houston!

Dawkins

Shout out, Houston! So in those spaces where we’ll have fan fests in those spaces, where we’ll have countries come in and set up their base camps, we have to take the approach of, we know they’re bringing their pride and, and that pride is represented in those cities and those citizens that make the trip across the globe to support, right? So we want to make sure they have a positive experience when it comes to communications, and we know specifically in the City of Houston, Verizon has made a extensive investment when it comes to network resiliency, with it being the fourth largest city, going on third, depending on who you ask, it takes that to make sure the city operates efficiently. So as a part of that planning, you have identifying where the events are going to be happening. We understand it’s going to be described as a month of Super Bowls.

Phillips

Oh wow, really?

Dawkins

So, it is a lot that goes into it for an extended period of time. Think about how much those in a place where they host Super, Super Bowl host cities. And how long it takes, and then you extend that by 30 days because over the course of that period, you have all of these countries converging, and you have to be there, make sure the city that understands, okay, what can you bring to the table? What are you already doing that we’re not even having to ask? Share that information and then make intelligent recommendations. So they’re not making the wrong decisions, having to double-back, waste valuable resources to the course-correct.

Phillips

Wow. Okay, now what type of technologies are you most excited about when it comes to disaster communications? What’s on the horizon for Verizon and us?

Dawkins

So the backbone of Verizon and what they present to both their first responders, their public safety agencies, is their network. That is the biggest investment that is made when it comes to presenting Verizon as a effective solution in the hands of those that need it and when they need it the most. So as that network matures over the last 10 years or so, we’ve had LTE technology that’s allowed us to take the smartphones live stream, you know, look at communications when it comes to situational awareness, visibility where you may just have a camera. You don’t have to necessarily put an officer, you know, in harm’s way when you can set up a camera. What does that camera ride on? Is the network… over the past 10 years, we’ve had LTE or long-term evolution technology support those efforts. And over the past five years or so, we are looking at 5G technology. Now there are concerns about, you know, how 5G may impact and may affect, but Verizon’s approach from a secure and strategic standpoint, we try to make sure it is safe and secure. On top of that comes the applications, and as that network matures, what those applications are riding on, is evident, right? So, as it relates to specifically public safety and first responders, you have priority and preemption. So what that means is, first access to our network for critical applications. That has now evolved into what we call Verizon Frontline network slicing. That is a virtual slice of dedicated network resources at all times to our public safety and first responders. So it is a coast-to-coast effort now to make sure that 5G technology in a dedicated space is available, and what that means is, it enhances, and it makes sure those applications are operating optimally, flawlessly, and it’s something that we’re very excited about, and we are ready to put it in the hands of our first responders because it is something that we’ve been working on for the past couple of years.

Phillips

Wow, I love the passion and the drive behind it and just how important and essential that you guys are to emergency preparedness.

Dawkins

Yes, ma’am. That and it’s the idea of the future being now and making these ideas that used to be big ideas, practical, and, and it, and it then becomes our partnerships with the different vendors that are producing these solutions, making sure that they’re optimized for the Verizon network.

Phillips

Excellent. Now how do you balance at Verizon innovation with reliability in high-stake environments?

Dawkins

So we have spaces where, while we’re innovating, we have, we have the ability to incubate some of these solutions, so in designated spaces, before they hit production, we’re able to test, make sure that they’re tried and true, stay close to the partners in terms of development, go through an extensive certification process to, once it does hit the hands of our first responders and our public safety agencies, it’s fully baked out and ready to roll. So on top of that, we make sure that they’re involved. We reach out to those that are ready and willing to put them through the test and make sure that they actually are purpose-filled and they’re used, and they’re useful for those events, and they’re useful for what they’re actually supposed to be used for. So I think I think as you go through the process of releasing these types of items, it’s very, in these solutions, it’s very important to involve your public safety agencies and first responders and those tech guys in those spaces, to make sure that they’re able to share the message with the decision-makers and make sure that those decision-makers are comfortable with deciding on and when to go with certain technologies and the network that they ride on.

Phillips

So true, that makes so much sense. Now, is there a specific example where that balance made a big difference in the field?

Dawkins

Absolutely. So in our efforts to recover from Hurricane Harvey, specifically at the City of Houston, there’s critical infrastructure that was heavily impacted. I think they described it as 1000-year hurricane.

Phillips

Okay. Oh wow.

Dawkins

Which means once it would happen, basically once every thousand years, so something like that happening again, it’s a very slim chance. So our response and our recovery efforts during that really pointed out and highlight our network resiliency, how we fortify our network in terms of backup power, the construction that it’s built on, the category hurricanes that it’s ready and built to withstand were realized during Hurricane Harvey. They shared with us projects that we had rolled out only being up and operational because of the Verizon network, and it was through very simple hardware and use cases. But it gave them the trust that they needed to move forward when it comes to their partnership with Verizon, like things that were already in place when it comes to operating on things that weren’t on the Verizon network went down, and the only thing that gave them visibility during and after Hurricane Harvey was the Verizon network and solutions that they had in place that were riding on their network, and they thanked us dearly for, they were flabbergasted that the fact that, man, this, this simple device, because it was riding on the Verizon network, obviously it wasn’t in harm’s way, but the infrastructure that it rolled on, stayed in place and allowed it to remain operational and give them some visibility, when it does come to critical infrastructure, city operation, so that means water, power, drinking water, wastewater, things like that. They were able to maintain visibility to keep their citizens safe, when it comes to those things that they were using in their day-to-day lives, as they were working through recovering from Harvey.

Phillips

Wow. Can you share what stood out to you most about how responders were able to use that technology better in that moment? I think you touched on that, but can you expand on that for the audience?

Dawkins

Yes, so in addition to those recovery efforts during Harvey, especially when it comes to the City of Houston about this time every year, we have events to bring to their attention. Hey, this is what we’re doing to prepare for this disaster season.  

Phillips

Right, hurricane season, right?

Dawkins

Hurricane season.

Phillips

It’s here.

Dawkins

We hope it doesn’t happen, but when it does, you can depend on us, and what we do is we bring in partners, we work through the challenges that we’ve had in the past that help us prepare for what’s to come in the future. As it happens, last year, Hurricane Beryl, we were able to reach out. Things that we have in place from a solution standpoint, from a network relationship standpoint, we were able to keep leaders within the city abreast of what was going on with the network. They were to keep us abreast on where resources were needed, and then we would deploy based on their recommendation.

In addition to that, we were in the emergency operations centers, tag-teaming in terms of resources from Verizon to make sure they had somebody that they didn’t have to chase down. They were sitting at that, in that situation room ready to call and respond with requested information. So as we work through this, how they use some of those solutions, it’s real-time, or I would say, near real-time within a matter of seconds or minutes, so they can, they can reallocate resources, that they’re in charge and responsible for, so they don’t put any of their own personnel in harm’s way.

Phillips

Okay, now, if you could leave one little slice of the importance of Verizon and, and the part that it plays during these disasters to someone who maybe is new to the field that doesn’t understand or is aware of the impact, what would you say to them?

Dawkins

I think what I would say to them, I would start with the importance of partnerships and community engagement, and it’s not just during times of disaster and recovery preparedness, how does Verizon partner, or how does the partners that you choose to work with show up every day? Not just during times of disaster. So the longstanding relationships, we’ve been around supporting agencies, over 40,000 agencies across the country, for over 30 years.

Phillips

Wow.

Dawkins

So that shows and proves that we’re able to consistently show up, provide the appropriate solutions and the network. In addition to that, we’re there for you, as you’re working through and you’re ramping up your individuals, side by side with you during training, during drill activity, so as you, your muscle memory, it now includes understanding where Verizon is going to be when it comes to those recovery efforts and those day-to-day operations.

And then from a cost standpoint, we know Verizon is in it for, you know, to make money, but we work with those public safety agencies, part of our commitment is making sure pricing is palatable. We want to make sure that they’re able to onboard some of these new technologies, even though what it may cost Verizon, it may not translate to what we’re doing within our partnership, but it’s important to make sure that these public safety and these first responder agencies are operational during both just blue sky days and dark sky days. So from a cost standpoint, during blue sky days, we try to keep you at the forefront, make sure it’s in respect to the budget. During gray sky days, we paused those costs. So what we’re able to provide during recovery efforts is no cost to these agencies, and they don’t have to be Verizon customers, that they can be part of the community, they can have other services that they use during normal day-to-day operations. Because the most important thing is making sure everything gets back to normalcy, and then we can work with you moving forward. But for the cost that is what’s most important for us. Understanding how it impacts your ability to recover. Last thing is outreach, things like this, this platform, and thank you so much for this community. And then just shaking hands, maintaining relationships on a face-to-face basis, standing up, disaster preparedness events for communities to come so they can understand. Okay, Verizon is in it to win it, but they’re also in it to make sure we win as well because these communities are very important to the fabric of society. So with that four-legged approach, or that four-pronged approach, is how we make sure they understand where Verizon is when it comes to maintaining this partnership and this relationship.

Phillips

Thank you so much for sharing all of that with us. It’s impressive, and we’re proud to work with you all truly.

Dawkins

Yes, ma’am. Thank you for the opportunity. We very much value your partnership as well. We want to see a team win.

Phillips

Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure talking to you. It truly has. We’ll have to do this again sometime.

Dawkins

Yes, ma’am. Likewise. Thank you. And we will.

Phillips

Yes, we will. All right. So that’s a wrap for this episode of Domestic Preparedness: The Podcast. Now until next time, stay safe. Stay ready. And thank you for listening.