About Our Team
Shawn Thomas
Shawn is the founder of 1st Responder Conferences and a retired deputy from the King County Sheriff's Office in Seattle, WA. Shawn retired in 2022 after 25 years of service as a Wellness and Resiliency Detective and a therapy K9 handler. During her career, Shawn worked patrol, as an undercover detective, a detective in the warrant unit, transit patrol and as an explosive K9 handler. She was also on the peer support team for 16 years and was a team lead for several of those. Shawn is married to Jeff who is a retired King County Sheriff’s Office Deputy and they have two handsome young men, Andrew who is a volunteer firefighter and Cooper who will be going into the Army ROTC program in the fall of 2023.
Founder and CEO
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas is a retired deputy for the King County Sheriff's Office. He worked for the King County Sheriff's Office for 32 years. Jeff worked in many units throughout his career, which includes an 18 year stint as a member of the entry unit on the county SWAT team. Jeff has held several training positions within the sheriff’s office to include Field Training Officer, Firearms Instructor, State qualified Swat instructor, Motor Instructor, as well as a Taser Instructor. He also was a member of the King County Honor Guard for 16 years. Jeff is the co-founder of First Responder Conferences and supports Shawn with her passion to support our Everyday Heroes!
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Executive Director
Amanda Brumbaugh
Assistant Director
Amanda is a State of Idaho Elevator Program Supervisor and Inspector, Wife of a Garden City Police Detective, Mother of two wonderful daughters, Grammie to one grandson and a Navy Veteran. Her family is a very proud Navy family with five generations including her oldest daughter and son-in-law who both currently serve.
Amanda constantly volunteers throughout her community by serving with a variety of non-profits, giving her time to organizations that serve local and national Law Enforcement, Military and Veteran communities. In 2018, Amanda was presented the Lt Governor’s Award for Idaho’s Brightest Stars which is awarded “for exemplary volunteer service in the State of Idaho and fostering an ethic of service in others”. Besides volunteering and helping others, Amanda is a longtime quilter and most of her quilts are donated to various organizations including Quilts for Cops who send quilts to injured First Responders throughout the country.
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Amanda states, “I truly believe I get back way more than I give, when I volunteer my time and talents!”
1st Responder Conferences have been valuable in Amanda’s life as it serves to help her and her husband along with her First Responder Community with valuable tools and resources. The friendships made and the conversations had throughout the conferences have really shown how the conferences are making a difference one First Responder at a time!
Nicole Stevenson
Executive Assistant
Nicole Stevenson is an LPN at St. Luke’s Health System in Twin Falls, Idaho, as well as a nanny and bookkeeper for MVA, LLC. Prior to nursing, she was an administrative assistant for a railroad company. Nicole is also a volunteer for Twin Falls Police Department helping with community events and keeping the equipment/supply room organized. She attended her first conference in Twin Falls in 2019 and joined the team as a volunteer shortly after attending. Her current position with 1RC allows her to help with all aspects of the conferences. Nicole is passionate about 1RC’s mission to bring mental health and wellness education to First Responders, as she watched some of her dear friends suffer from the effects of being first responders.
Jae Dobbs
Volunteer
Jae works as a Community Corrections Officer with the Department of Corrections (DOC) in Spokane, WA. She is also a Certified Peer Support Counselor within her department. Jae enjoys giving back to her community, and volunteers with the local Medical Reserve Corps and the Disaster Assistance Response Team. Because of her deep respect for 1st Responders, she also spends time volunteering for 1st Responder Conferences to help promote health & wellness. Additionally, Jae supports her co-workers by working toward curtailing the stigma associated with mental health in the Corrections field.
Volunteer
Toree Boyle
Toree is an Aviation Ordnanceman in the U.S. Navy, wife to a Navy sailor, daughter to a police detective, and mother to one handsome son. Toree has been active-duty Navy for 10 years and is in it for the full 20. She is currently working on her master’s degree in forensic psychology to further her education and prepare herself for life after the military. Toree and her husband are constantly busy between work, volunteering, and chasing their little one around.
She attended her first conference in Ocean City 2021 to assist her mom (Amanda) and decided to join the team. Toree decided to join the 1stRC team to learn more about the resources out there for first responders and military. Being a part of the team gives her an opportunity to learn and share health and wellness to those in the military who are unaware of the resources available to them.
Volunteer
Amanda Fowell
Amanda began volunteering with 1st Responder Conferences in June 2022 as a way to give back to the first responder community. She was a probation officer for eight years and vice president of her employee association before making a career switch to pursue a law degree. While working as a probation officer she held various assignments which included the multi-agency Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team (SAFE) and the gang task force. She was a frequent guest-lecturer in the Criminal Justice Department at California State University, Sacramento, her alma mater.
Amanda works part time at a law firm with future plans to represent public safety professionals. She is the wife of a sheriff’s deputy and army veteran in California and has several close friends and family members in public safety. Her husband has been involved in several traumatic experiences while on duty and she understands the importance of having a strong support system and the tools needed to navigate an often challenging, yet extremely rewarding profession. Amanda is passionate about supporting first responders and their families.
Volunteer
Daniel Rossetti
Daniel is a 911 Dispatcher in Washington County, Oregon. He also has six years of experience with Washington County Sheriff Office Search and Rescue. Before being a Dispatcher he worked as an Assistant Manager at a care facility and worked on his family farm. Daniel attended his first conference in 2022, at Marietta, Georgia, and discovered a passion for helping other First Responders. In his free time, Daniel runs his own business and enjoys exploring the outdoors.
In Daniel's own words "I volunteer with 1st Responder Conferences because I enjoy helping other First Responders in hopes of making an impact to someone's life and career. The 1st Responders Conferences team is a highly driven and motivated team and I couldn't ask for a better group to volunteer with."
Volunteer
NeShawn Jubilee
Neshawn is a Police Corporal with the Ocean City Police Department in Ocean City, Maryland where he serves as a member of the department’s Peer Support Team. Neshawn is also the Vice President of Behind the Line Inc in Salisbury, Maryland which is a corporation that provides services and support to First Responders/Public Safety, Veterans and their families to promote wellness and support after emotionally distressing events. He also served as a volunteer fireman for 15 years in his community.
Neshawn has a passion for serving the community in any way that he can and has a desire for helping people. He attended his first conference in 2021 in Ocean City, Maryland and decided to join the 1stRC team after attending his second conference in 2023.
He aims to help the officers within his agency to see the importance of mental health and wellness and to share the valuable resources and tools learned in the 1st Responder Conferences.
In his own words, “I am excited to be a part of the family and am ready to help in any way that I can.”