Nate Hill’s talent for managing and analyzing complex situations is helping him flourish in his new role at Lincoln Public Schools.
Hill is combining his leadership, communication and threat assessment skills as the LPS director of security. The 26-year Lincoln Police Department (LPD) veteran began serving in the position after former security director Joseph Wright retired in June. He oversees a department that works on threat assessment and prevention, standard response protocols, crisis response plans and school safety education.
Hill said he enjoys partnering with students, staff and community members across the city.
“I like the fact that I get to go out and meet with people in the schools,” Hill said. “I love getting to meet with teachers and administrators and be able to help them solve problems. I get to help them with traffic plans or concerns about locks on their doors or the SEM (secured entrance monitor) setup. It’s all about helping people, problem solving, working on a team and just really helping the community.”
LPS Director of Student Services Ryan Zabawa said Hill has made a seamless transition into his new spot.
“Nate has made an immediate impact in his first five months,” Zabawa said. “He is highly responsive, communicates effectively and thoroughly follows through on every challenge. Navigating a new organization like Lincoln Public Schools can be difficult, but Nate has adapted remarkably well – learning quickly while actively asking the right questions to understand our internal systems and processes.”
Hill grew up in Lincoln and attended Pershing Elementary School, Mickle Middle School and Northeast High School. He joined the school district after a decorated LPD career that began on May 11, 2000. He earned the LPD Life Saving Award in 2010, 2012 and 2015 and was honored with the LPD Exceptional Duty Award in 2016, 2022, 2024 and 2025. He was a member of the LPD Honor Guard for 17 years, and he was a multi-year recipient of the LPD Safe Driving Award.
Hill developed strong connections with Lincoln residents during his time on community police teams. He patrolled the southeast, northwest, northeast and center sections of the city through the first half of 2018. Those experiences helped him become familiar with the close relationships that Lincoln schools and neighborhoods share.
“Working in the different areas of town has helped me have a better understanding of where all of the schools are,” Hill said. “When I hear the name Roper, I know Roper Elementary is out west, or when I hear Goodrich, I know it’s on the north side. That’s helping me in this job tremendously.”
Hill spent nine of those years as a school resource officer (SRO) at Northeast High School and Dawes and Goodrich middle schools. He began his first SRO role in 2004 and had two additional assignments through 2017.
Hill said his SRO duties gave him valuable skills he now uses as security director. The National Association of School Resource Officers and Region 5 Systems of Health provide training to all local SROs. LPD officers also complete mandatory in-service training on communicating with juveniles, cultural competency, de-escalation techniques and juvenile mental health.
“It gave me a strong appreciation for the work that goes on in this school district,” Hill said. “You get to develop relationships with the people who work here. We’re there to help them along the way as a resource officer. We’re a partner with them.”
Hill switched to a role as a threat assessment investigator with the LPD criminal investigations team in June 2018. He became the first person to work in the position, which was created through the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal (SSKI) Agreement between LPS and the City of Lincoln.
Hill led comprehensive threat assessments for high-risk individuals and situations at schools across the city. He coordinated efforts among LPS administrators, school personnel, mental health professionals, law enforcement and community members to evaluate threats and prevent them from happening. He also led training sessions on the topics of conflict resolution, violence prevention and emergency response protocols.
The job gave him a deeper understanding of the award-winning school safety and security efforts at LPS. The school district has formed a central team that includes two school social workers, a violence prevention psychotherapist, two security coordinators, a threat assessment investigator, an office professional and a security director. He said his admiration for their work has grown even more after becoming a full-time LPS employee.
“I interacted with this team quite a bit, and I knew they were busy, but now that I’m in this position and I see the work that this team does every single day, I’m just so impressed,” Hill said. “It’s just amazing what they do. They’re so dedicated to school safety and safe learning environments.”
Hill said he believes LPS will maintain that standard of safety excellence. The school district has invited world leaders in behavioral threat assessment to speak to employees, and it has developed detailed standard response protocol messaging for families. The security team has also worked with performing arts teachers, athletics staff members and school administrators to make LPS activities safer for everyone.
“I think we have the most incredible school safety and security team,” Hill said. “Every single one of the people on our team is the absolute best person you could have in that role. Period. Everybody on the team is perfect for their job. It’s definitely an honor to get to work with them.”
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