Sam Heaton led the 1700+ personnel of Cobb County (GA) Department of Public Safety agencies which consist of Police, Fire & Emergency Services, 911 Communications, Emergency Management, and Animal Services. Cobb County is located northwest of Atlanta and is the third most populous county in the state with approximately 780,000 people.

Heaton began his career with Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services in October 1985. He worked his way through the ranks of the department from a firefighter/paramedic to his appointment to Chief of the Department in May 2008. After six successful years as the Fire Chief, he was appointed as the Director of Public Safety for Cobb County. This appointment was a first for the county as all previous Directors came from a law enforcement background. After five years as the Public Safety Director and 33+ years of total service, he retired in March 2019 and began consulting work with various Public Safety entities in the areas of leadership and management training, diversity training, and strategic planning. He is currently working with the City of Powder Springs overseeing the departments of Police, Parks, Code Enforcement, and Courts.

Heaton co-created a class titled “Courageous Conversation” and it continues to be shared with departments across the nation and at the IAFC Fire Service Executive program. He has also been instrumental in the continued growth of the Cobb County Safety Village which provides personal safety and fire life safety training to over 20,000 students each year.

Heaton has an associate’s degree in Fire Science and a bachelor’s degree in public safety administration. He is a graduate of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute and a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Government Management program. During his career he served in various roles with the Metro Atlanta Fire Chiefs Association and Georgia Fire Chiefs Association and in 2018 Governor Nathan Deal appointed him to serve on the Georgia Board of Public Safety where he served until his retirement.

Today Heaton continues to teach and serve through his consulting business and locally he serves as the President of the Cobb County Retired Employees Association, the Vice-Chair of the Cobb County Employees Pension Board, serves on the Board of the Marietta Youth Museum and the Cobb County Safety Village Foundation. When not working he spends time with his family (wife, three daughters, and four grandkids) and traveling.