2018 Fire Service Executive Development Institute Participants Selected

Fairfax, Va. – The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today announced the participants accepted into the sixth-year of the prestigious Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI).

FSEDI is a yearlong leadership-development program developed by the IAFC to provide new and aspiring chiefs with the tools they need to have successful and productive tenures. The members of the cohort will meet in December 2017 for their first six-day session in addition to two other sessions in 2018 six months apart. They will also be attending Fire-Rescue International, August 8-11, in Dallas as part of the program.

The group will communicate between sessions using an online community. During the course, participants will learn from experts in the fire service a variety of ways to effectively lead in today’s modern fire departments and keep communities safe.

Once again, the Motorola Solutions Foundation has provided the IAFC with a grant to fund the program.

“Motorola Solutions Foundation recognizes the how these challenging times require a new breed of leader to head our local fire departments and national fire service,” said Matt Blakely, director of Motorola Solutions Foundation. “The foundation is dedicated to helping support the education of these leaders to ensure they have the skills necessary to meet these complex and emerging issues confronting our communities.”

Those accepted into the program include:

• Assistant Chief Laura Baker, Tucson (Arizona) Fire Department
• Chief James M. Cullinan, III, Spotsylvania County (Virginia) Dept. of Fire, Rescue & Emergency Management
• Assistant Chief Clint Fey, West Metro (Colorado) Fire Rescue
• Assistant Chief John F. Flynn, Yonkers (New York) Fire Department
• Division Chief Kenny Frentress, Tualatin Valley (Oregon) Fire & Rescue
• Assistant Chief Val H. Gale, Jr. Chandler (Arizona) Fire, Health and Medical Department
• Assistant Chief Kenneth Hedges, Denton (Texas) Fire Department
• Deputy Chief Richard Higgins, Ames (Iowa) Fire Department
• Deputy Chief Raymond Hill, Fort Worth (Texas) Fire Department
• Battalion Chief Marlene Kostyrka, City of Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Fire Department
• Deputy Fire Commissioner Gary Edward Loesch, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Fire Department
• District Chief Greg W. Main, Evansville (Indiana) Fire Department
• Deputy Chief James Martin Marugg, San Miguel (California) Fire & Rescue
• Chief Diana J. Matty, West Palm Beach (Florida) Fire Rescue
• Deputy Chief Marian McDaniel, Rockdale (Georgia) Fire Rescue Department
• Chief David Pennington, Springfield (Missouri) Fire Department
• Assistant Chief Douglas Riley, Lakeland (Florida) Fire Department
• Chief Brian Schaeffer, Spokane (Washington) Fire Department
• Assistant Chief James David Schultz, McAllen (Texas) Fire Department
• Chief Darin White, Oakland (California) Fire Department
• Division Chief Thomas M. Williams, Portland (Oregon) Fire & Rescue

“The IAFC is most pleased to be able to provide career- and leadership-development opportunities to these select individuals thanks to the generous support of the Motorola Solutions Foundation,” said Chief Thomas Jenkins, IAFC president and chairman of the board. “The program has become the premier development piece for chief officers transitioning to fire chief roles. Many officers from the previous programs have been successful in achieving fire chief positions and effectively leading their departments.”