Dr. Brian Brauer is the associate director for infrastructure and special projects at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI). He joined the IFSI field staff in 1998. Brauer has volunteered as a fire officer and EMT since 1990. He is the chairman of the committee on accreditation and sits on the board of directors of the Pro Board Fire Service Professional Qualifications System. Brauer is active with the North American Fire Training Directors and is a registered nurse. In each of these roles, he leverages his formal education to implement sustained organizational change. Brauer earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a master’s degree in global human resource education from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in policy and organizational leadership from UIC. Since February 2020, hehas served as an emergency operations center manager for the University of Illinois and Champaign County response to the COVID-19 pandemic.