Tim O'Shea, KY7Y, is a Depiction Preferred Consultant located in Reno, Nevada. Currently Tim is the Assistant Emergency Coordinator and Public Information Officer for the Washoe County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) in Reno. He is also associated with the American Radio Relay League as the Nevada State Government Liaison. Last month, Tim started up the monthly Depiction and EmComm webinar series. The next installment is at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT on August 11.

Interview with Tim O'Shea

Can you tell folks a bit about yourself and your background?

Currently, I'm the Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Washoe County ARES/RACES and the Nevada State Government liaison for ARRL, where I represent the legislative needs of amateur radio. That's kept me pretty busy the last few months, but fortunately the Nevada legislature only meets once every two years, so I've got the next year and a half off from that. In addition, I'm responsible for training at Washoe County ARES/RACES, which is very intensive. We have a wide range of ham radio operators, from extremely experienced to completely novice.

I spent 12 years in the military, until a parachuting accident cut that short. I spent the first 3 years in the military as a MP investigator, and the remaining portion as an infantryman and a Ranger, so I've got a broad-based background in law enforcement and the military.

After leaving the military, I became involved in the computer industry in the early 80's. I was one of the first Novell network engineers in the country, and have been involved in both the computer consulting & networking business. From there I was recruited to the Washoe county Sherriff's office, where I served in various positions such as SAR technician and reserve deputy sheriff, and then went on to start my own company, Convergence Management Group.

This was a convention management company, in which I set up meetings and conventions across the country. At that point, I specialized in safety and OSHA-related training scenarios, both setting up and performing much of the training. Eventually I sold the company to a larger training company, and then I became the safety officer and engineering manager for a large casino in the Reno, Nevada area.

I'm currently the president of NVMapping, providing unique mapping solutions to emergency managers, corporate entities and volunteer organizations who need them.

The rest of the interview will be available next month. To register for August's Depiction & EmComm webinar click here.