Cleo Subido was appointed by Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser to serve as the Interim Director of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) in January 2021. A renowned public safety professional with over 32 years of law enforcement and emergency medical dispatching experience, Ms. Subido began her career as an Emergency 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Seattle Police Department (SPD).  During her time there, while ascending through the ranks and ultimately serving as the Department’s Training Supervisor, she also obtained a Washington State Emergency Medical Technician certification and a National Fire Academy Master Trainer license. Following her transition from the SPD, Cleo accepted a position as the Emergency Medical Dispatch Program Administrator for Public Health Seattle and King County, Washington.  In this role, her passionate work related to public health equity and social justice in 9-1-1, emergency medical services (EMS) and public safety response directly influenced the administration of public safety communications and patient outcomes for nearly 3 million residents in those jurisdictions.   

Until her appointment by Mayor Bowser as the OUC’s Interim Director, Cleo had meritoriously served the District in her role as Professional Standards and Development Chief and was responsible for all new employee training, as well as continuing education and developmental training for incumbent employees, from call takers to executive management. She also instituted a quality assurance and performance improvement program which, in tandem with her strategic employee development work, has yielded a highly functional workforce within the agency that is able to provide superior service to the residents and visitors of the District of Columbia. Director Subido continues to be a life-long learner with a passion for quality improvement through emergency preparedness training.