Badge and Calling: Leadership and Legacy

In this episode, Colonel Matthew Birmingham, Director of the Vermont State Police and General Chair of the IACP State and Provincial Division, joins Mike Wagers for a candid conversation about what it means to lead a statewide law enforcement agency through one of the most turbulent decades in modern policing. Colonel Birmingham traces his path from road trooper to narcotics investigator to agency director, reflecting on how each chapter shaped his people-first approach to leadership. They discuss the weight of navigating COVID-19, the aftermath of George Floyd, and how both tested the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The conversation covers officer wellness and peer support, embedding mental health crisis workers directly in barracks, the unique staffing pressures of policing 200 of Vermont’s 251 towns, and the growing complexity of northern border crime.