Jackie Fama has provided regional safety services for Putnam Northern Westchester (PNW) BOCES as a regional safety technician for the past seven years, but wanted to bring her expertise closer to home in Dutchess County.
At Dutchess BOCES July 9 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved Fama, a Fishkill resident, to serve as its first director of safety & security effective Sept. 1.
“I live in Dutchess, this is my community,” Fama said. “This is where I want to be and I know that this region is ready for this step.”
After consulting with administration, former PNW BOCES Assistant Superintendent John McCarthy recommended creating the positon to support both BOCES’ and the region’s needs. Assistant Superintendent for Business Services & Operations Mike Skerritt noted that no one is better prepared for the role than Fama.
“We have done a lot of work in this region in safety and security,” Fama said. “The goal is really to just branch out and create something even bigger, regionally, and have that within this county and be able to serve our component districts.”
Fama will work with Day Automation on implementing new physical security measures across campus, while building level teams and staff will receive training and professional development to ensure safety procedures and protocols are up-to-date, bringing BOCES’ safety and security to the highest level. Skerritt noted that Fama will then offer security services and recommendations to BOCES’ component districts. “She could also ensure they’ve got the latest and greatest materials from New York State and the industry so that districts that may not necessarily have a dedicated security team can benefit from her knowledge,” Skerritt said of Fama and the component districts. “Jackie sees the blank canvas and can be creative in building this service from the ground up.”
Fama considers her security journey different than others as she started working with students with emotional disabilities, where she became familiar with crisis prevention and behavioral threat assessment in New York City and later at Pawling Elementary School. Coming from an educational background gives Fama a helpful lens when seeing how any enhancements make sense. “It definitely helps to speak that educator language and just know how we can make that work here,” Fama said. “I love being that liaison between law enforcement and agencies to the school districts.”
Outside of work, she loves traveling and going out to restaurants and keeps active by hiking, running and going to the gym.
“I love to do a lot of different things,” Fama said. “I love the outdoors.”