Lisabeth EddyLis obtained a BA in Speech-Communications from the University of Washington. She was hired by the Seattle Police department as an officer in 1979. She retired after thirty-one years of service. As a police officer, she worked over 10 years in the parol division, as well as working as an officer-dispatcher in the communications division. In 1988 Lis was assigned to the basic training division, where she taught Criminal Law. In 1992, Lis was promoted, and went back to patrol as a sergeant. In addition to being a patrol supervisor, and a Community Policing Team supervisor, she served in the Internal Investigations Division and as a Detective Sergeant in the Domestic Violence Unit. In addition to these regular assigned duties, Lis was a member of the Hostage Negotiations Team, since 1981, and became the team leader in 1992. As a Hostage Negotiator, Lis has been involved in numerous incidents involving persons in crisis. She has attended basic and advanced hostage negotiators schools, in addition to annual training seminars in negotiating crisis situations. Lis was selected to attend the two-week Crisis Negotiations School, sponsored by the FBI in Quantico, VA. To increase her skills in communication with those in crisis, Lis worked over six years as a volunteer phone worker for the King County Crisis Clinic, eventually being asked to serve on their board of trustees. Because of her involvement with the Hostage Negotiations Team, and her experience in dealing with persons in crisis, Lis was chosen to be a member of the committee that developed and implemented the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program on the Seattle Police Department in 1997. This unit trains officers on suggestions and options to use when encountering persons who are in crisis due to emotional disturbance or mental illness. Lis was selected to be the CIT coordinator in January of 2000. As a result of this involvement, Lis developed a strong partnership with the National Advocates for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) to explore a better response for law enforcement in dealing with mentally ill individuals. In 2002, Lis received the Jefferson Award for her contributions to the community in working to assist mentally ill persons to reduce their involvement with the police, and ensure their safety, and the safety of the community. She was recognized in 2003 by Good Housekeeping magazine, as one of the recipients of their annual Women in Government awards. Most recently, she has served as a consultant to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission to assist in the development and implementation of the CIT training for all law enforcement officers in King County. Lis is considered to be a nationally recognized expert on issues involving police response to dealing with the mentally ill. She has participated in national panels exploring best practices (PERF) involving police interactions with both mentally ill individuals as well as working effectively with the mental health system. She has been consulted as a subject matter expert by the United States Department of Justice concerning the effective utilization of resources in setting up CIT programs. Lis has participated internationally, as well, having presented at Police/Mental Health conferences in England and Australia. Read More Read Less