An Emergency Dispatcher, Saving Lives, One Call at a Time (PA)
As part of a weekly series, we’re profiling women who stepped up at a moment of crisis and filled gaps in the labor market during the pandemic.
Elyce Rivera became a 911 operator at a time when emergency response phone services had become lifelines for the millions of Americans sequestered at home — and as centers across the country struggled to hire and retain new employees.
Alongside a job working for the city of Philadelphia, Ms. Rivera, 30, was doing hair at home to make ends meet in the year before the pandemic hit. She was motivated to change professions by her family’s tangible financial needs. Her partner, Bennie Tucker, 30, had lost his job, and she wanted to provide a better life for their daughters, Nyelah, 9, and Ryelee, 3…
