For the first time ever, there will be someone besides Barry Halling who will be serving as Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator. Before he starts, though, we wanted to introduce you to Austen “A.J.” Seely.

Seely has been working in emergency services in some capacity since 2012. The 24-year-old says he’s had a lifelong interest in the field, in particular how it relates to community preparedness. Out of high school, he attended Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, where he obtained an Associates Degree in applied fire science. He then moved to the University of Iowa, where he became a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic. He then got a paramedic job with Iowa County, as well as a firefighter/paramedic position with the Hiawatha Fire Department.

Seely wasn’t finished there, however, as he next attended Upper Iowa University and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, with a major in Emergency Management. Once his degree was complete, in February of 2017 he was appointed the Emergency Management Coordinator for Chickasaw County, in northeastern Iowa. He has served in that role ever since, but will now make the move to central Iowa to become just the second Emergency Management Coordinator in Dallas County’s history.

Seely will officially start on Wednesday, September 19th. He says he looks forward to moving emergency management and preparedness forward in Dallas County, using community outreach, local support, and emergency operations coordination.