Douglas Babcock

Doug Babcock is a lifelong public safety servant and leader with both broad experience and deep expertise in policing, EMS, fire service, emergency management, leadership, physical security, public safety, campus safety, business continuity and more. As the Founder and Principal of Counterparts Coaching and Consulting, he develops values-based leadership and emotional intelligence in established and emerging leaders.

During his 19 years as a sworn police officer, Doug served as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant, traffic crash reconstructionist, death investigator and tactical team medic. He instructed at the police academy, earned his Master’s in Business Administration, credentials in security and emergency management and was the Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management at Saint Michael’s College, where he taught multiple courses. Doug was the Associate Director of Safety and Security at Dartmouth College before leaving to start his own coaching and consulting company.

The road he traveled to become a coach is different than most and the lessons he learned were forged under pressure that most never know. From his first role as an emergency medical technician through his time as a police sergeant to the roles as director and associate director of campus safety agencies, communication, conflict management and strategic thinking were not tools to be used once in a while, but the very framework of every challenge he met and every success he had. As a business owner and an executive board member, he made the hard decisions, set out the vision and helped others to develop to not only continue the organization, but thrive and grow after he left.

Coupling that experience with an MBA from the Robert P. Stiller School of Business and certification from the International Coaching Federation as an Associate Certified Coach (A.C.C.), he provides insight, challenges perspectives, and offers unique growth opportunities for his audiences and clients. Because his experience is based in practice, he measures success with clients based on tangible results. Here is what a client, the Executive Director of Public Safety from a state university system, experienced after working with him, “I am much more conscious of the space between stimulus and response, I’m quicker to recognize when I’m reacting vs actively leading. … It’s been empowering! … I am comfortable ‘owning the misses’ and giving the wins to my team. That has made a big impact on how I look at leading.”

Doug spent his career focused on values-based leadership and emotional intelligence to drive progress for individuals and organizations. He uses a calm, systems-oriented and inclusive approach to problem solving. He now leads Counterparts Coaching and Consulting, providing leader and executive coaching for individual and institutional success, group and team development programs, and seminar and keynote presentations.