This certification is the foundation of a historic, nationwide effort to advance how public safety develops and supports its people.

Over the next 32 months, the Initiative will train 350 first responders and the professionals who support them. Two hundred sworn officers—including chiefs, mid-level leaders, and peer support members—will become certified coaches embedded in leadership positions in agencies across the country. Alongside them, 150 support professionals will strengthen the work from outside the chain of command: 50 retired officers, 50 mental health professionals, and 50 external coaches trained in the same leadership coach approach.

The Initiative begins with law enforcement. It grew out of a New Jersey pilot in which participants reported a 60% reduction in stress, 70% improved hardiness, and 100% would recommend the program.

Every profession builds on its strengths as it grows. Public safety has always led with courage, commitment, and service. This Initiative adds professional coaching to that foundation. The leaders who take part will help shape and inform how first responders are developed, supported, and led for decades to come.

Be among the first. Founding participants receive special Initiative tuition during the nationwide rollout, with limited enrollment in each cohort.

Class Schedule | Curricular Activities

Most coach training programs teach coaching in general terms and leave participants to figure out how to turn what they have learned into real-world practice.

This program is built for public safety, by an institute that has spent decades developing coaching frameworks for the people who run toward crisis.

Participants complete more than the foundational coach training required within an ICF Level 1 Accredited program. They also complete two original specializations developed by Dr. Janine Elias and the Elias Institute of Professional Coaching. Each provides a distinct framework for applying professional coaching to the culture, challenges, and realities of public safety.

Class Schedule | Curricular Activities

Resiliency Leadership®

Resiliency Leadership® is an original leadership protocol that brings together psychological hardiness, adult learning, change, and human performance. It gives leaders a practical way to strengthen individual resilience while shaping a healthier organizational culture. It treats resilience as a leadership responsibility, not only a personal trait, and gives participants the coaching skills to build it in the people they lead.

Emotional Recovery for Crisis Response®

First responders are trained to survive the job. Emotional Recovery for Crisis Response® asks a different question: why survive when you can recover?

The framework honors the foundation laid by Dr. Kevin Gilmartin’s Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement and builds on it, moving from survival toward recovery. It began as a crisis response coach certification commissioned by a civilian-military support organization, was evaluated through doctoral research, and was later expanded into a full coaching specialization.

As a nonclinical coaching framework, it helps individuals make sense of and attach meaning to difficult experiences, identify their resources and coping strategies, and take their next workable step forward.

One Program, Two Settings

Graduates leave with a coaching approach they can use inside their agencies as leaders and outside the chain of command as culturally informed coaches, consultants, and support professionals.

Class Schedule | Curricular Activities

Seats in each cohort are limited to ensure every participant receives the individual attention, observed coaching, feedback, and mentor coaching that professional coach training requires. Special Initiative tuition is available for founding cohorts.

Step 1 — Learn More About the Program
Watch the Program Overview video or schedule a 30-minute briefing to learn more about the certification, training formats, upcoming cohorts, and the Nationwide First Responder Resiliency Leadership Initiative.

[ Watch the Program Overview ] [ Schedule a Briefing ]

Step 2 — Complete Your Application
Tell us about your professional background, current role, and what you hope to accomplish through the certification. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and cohorts fill as applicants are accepted.

[ Apply Now ]

Step 3 — Register and Save Your Seat
Once accepted, complete your registration and enrollment agreement and submit the required deposit or tuition payment to confirm your place in the cohort.

Agency & Group Enrollment
When agencies train together, they develop a shared language for leadership, coaching, and resilience that can take root throughout the organization.

• Groups of 6: Register six participants and pay for only five.
• Groups of 10 or more: Contact us for agency rates and dedicated cohort options.

[ Contact Us About Group Rates ]

Complete tuition, payment, cancellation, refund, partial completion, and agency participant transfer policies are provided in the Program Policies page.

Class Schedule | Curricular Activities