Leadership Team
Director
Louie Chip Yarborough II, ENP is the Director of the Heartland Communications Facility Authority. Mr. Yarborough became the Director on August 25, 2008. Prior to coming to Heartland, Mr. Yarborough was the Support Services Manager for the City of Mountain View Police Department where he managed the Support Services Division, which included Communications, Records, Property & Evidence, Fleet, Management and Fiscal Services, and Animal Control.
Mr. Yarborough has been involved in Public Safety Dispatching for 29 years. He has worked as a Dispatcher, Dispatch Training Officer, Dispatch Supervisor, Training Manager, and Manager/Director. He has worked for small, medium and large 9-1-1 Centers throughout California.
Mr. Yarborough was appointed to serve on the State of California Governors 9-1-1 Advisory Board by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is a past President of CALNENA, and has served on many national committees dealing with 9-1-1. He is a certified Expert on 9-1-1 issues by the State of California Superior Court.
Mr. Yarborough has a Bachelor Degree from Saint Mary's College of California in Management, and a Master of Arts Degree from Saint Mary College in Leadership. He lives in San Diego. In his spare time he enjoys playing softball, and spending time at his Coachella Valley home on the weekends.
Senior Systems Technician
Carlos Castillo is the Senior Systems Technician for Heartland Communications Facility Authority.
Carlos has been with Heartland since April 10, 2006. Prior to coming to Heartland Carlos worked for The City of La Mesa supporting the City's network infrastructure and City departments. He has over eight years experience in the government sector and over 11 years in the IT field.
Mr. Castillo has a Bachelors of Science in Information Systems from the University of Phoenix, and is currently working on his Master's Degree. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional. He resides in La Mesa and enjoys playing golf, jogging and traveling.
Operations Supervisor Bio
Diane McClarty is the Operations Supervisor for Heartland Communications Facility Authority. She started as a full-time Fire Dispatcher on November 4,1990 just prior to the implementation of the 800 MHz radio system. In August of 2001 Diane was promoted to Communications Supervisor. During her nineteen years of service with Heartland Diane has worked as Division Scheduler for 15 years, Communications Training Officer, and Training Coordinator. Diane has been instrumental in the on-going development and implemenation of Heartland's Policy and Procedure Manual and Training Manual.
Diane came to Heartland with previous experience with the Ceres Police Department in their Neighborhood Watch and Crime Prevention programs. She also worked full-time for Turlock Police Department in the Records and Communications Division and worked closely with the dispach center on a daily basis.
Diane is a member of NENA, APCO, and CSFA. She is certified as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) through the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch and is CPR certified through the American Heart Association. Diane was an Adjunct Instructor for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District in the AOJ department for the past ten years. She has also served numerous times on the Heartland Fire Dispatchers' Association (HFDA) board as both President and Vice-President.
Diane has been married for twenty years and has three children, twins age 31 and a 28 year old daughter. In her spare time Diane enjoys football, swimming, reading, and spending time with her family, friends and dogs.
Fire Shift Supervisors
Guy Impastato
Guy Impastato is a Fire Communications Shift Supervisor, and has been with the Authority since 1995. He has been a supervisor since 2001. Prior to coming to Heartland, Guy worked in pre-hospital care working as an EMT, EMT Crew Chief, and Communications Dispatcher for Life Flight.
Guy oversees the Emergency Medical Dispatch Program at Heartland Fire Communications
He has three children, two boys 27 and 19, and a 23 year old daughter. He lives in Lakeside. His hobbies include watching the Chargers, playing softball, and enjoys spending time at his vacation home along the Colorado River in Ehrenberg, Arizona.
Debbie Elliott
Debbie Elliott has been at Heartland Communications since August 1993 and has been a Communications Supervisor since August 2001. Prior to transferring to Heartland, she was a Police Service Worker for the El Cajon Police Department's Primary PSAP for over two years. As the EMD Program Coordinator, Mrs. Elliott aided in the transition from Orange County pre-arrival instructions to the Medical Priority Dispatch System, which is a world recognized protocol. She is currently the Operations Liaison, and works with the OPS Chiefs to develop and implement essential policy and procedure changes.
Mrs. Elliott is an Advanced EMD with MDQ certification, auditing and recording experience. She has been instructed by USFS in Expanded Dispatch Recording with ROSS introduction. Mrs. Elliott has Lead Proctor Examiner Training, so she can administer POST exams for the San Diego Area Public Safety Dispatcher Testing Consortium. Since August of 2008, Mrs. Elliott has been an Adjunct Instructor for the Emergency Dispatch Course at Grossmont College. She specializes in teaching emergency call taking techniques and procedures and managing critical incident stress.
Mrs. Elliott has been married twenty-seven years to Todd Elliott, the Head of Marketing for an international aerospace company. They have two children. Her son is married, has a degree in Engineering Physics, and works in Environmental Health and Safety for The Scripps Research Institute; her daughter works for the California Conservation Corps.
As a Santee native, Mrs. Elliott enjoys golf, softball, scuba diving, playing the violin, quilting and traveling with her husband.
Amy Burningham
Amy Burningham is a Fire Communications Shift Supervisor and has been with Heartland since 2001. As the Division Scheduler, Amy is in charge of the day to day shift scheduling as well as Training and Special Assignments. This year she was able to implement new scheduling software which simplified one of Heartland's most tedious tasks. She has also worked as the Training Coordinator, overseeing the Training program and the Communications Training Officers. Prior to Heartland she worked for Mercer Island Police & Fire, Mercer Island WA & the City of Yuma Police & Fire in Yuma AZ.
Amy is a member of APCO, NENA & CSFA and She is a certified EMD-Q (Emergency Medical Dispatcher, Quality Assurance), thru the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch.
She is married to John Burningham, LMFD and between the two of them have 5 children. When not busy with the kids activities, she enjoys going to the gym, running & being in the sun! She likes desert camping/motorcycle riding, beach camping and riding her sea doo's with her family. She also loves BBQ'ing at her home in El Cajon with friends and family..
Nicole Lewis
Nicole is a Fire Communications Shift Supervisor and has been with Heartland since February 2007. As Training Coordinator, she is oversees the training program and coordinates quarterly training for all dispatchers. Prior to coming to Heartland, she worked as a 911 Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor for the County of Augusta, Virginia.
Nicole is a member of APCO, NENA and CSFA. She is also the President of the Heartland Fire Dispatchers Association. She is certified in EMD thru NAEMD, CPR, APCO Communications Center Supervisor, and has completed the FEMA Professional Development Series.
Nicole resides in El Cajon with her mischievous miniature dachshund named Carly. She enjoys watching football and is a devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan. She also enjoys trips to the dog park, Las Vegas and visiting her family back in Virginia.
