Although she didn't grow up in a family of doctors or first responders, Jennifer Ekizian found her calling in the realm of public health.

This was after she set off to become a nurse but ended up obtaining an emergency medical technician license and a master’s degree in public safety and leadership with an emphasis on fire and working in law enforcement and fire dispatch.

“However, I ended up doing my internship with the Office of Emergency Management," she said Wednesday in her Panhandle Health District office in Hayden. "That was my first exposure to emergency preparedness.”

While continuing her emergency response training and experience, she spent years working in real estate, which wasn't a truly fulfilling career for her.

“I just got to a point in my life when I wanted to help peo

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