Search Results

Todd Bowman is a nationally registered and flight paramedic with more than 18 years of prehospital experience in Maryland. He attended Hagerstown Community College for his paramedic education and later obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. His experience ranges from rural, metro and aviation-based EMS. He is an experienced EMS manager, public information officer and instructor. Follow him on social media at @_toddbowman.

Ed Sherman, Psy.D., is an organizational consultant, executive coach and leadership development specialist with 40 years of experience in public safety. Sherman initially performed fire suppression, rescue and EMS duties in the New York City area, and later worked in law enforcement in San Diego. He also worked as a criminal intelligence supervisor for the California Department of Justice where he coordinated a joint federal, state and local law enforcement investigative group.

Dr. Sherman was trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and has performed critical incident stress debriefings, defusings, demobilizations and individual peer support for first responders and other personnel in situations involving line-of-duty deaths, suicides and other traumatic events. He is a graduate of the San Diego State University Trauma Recovery Services certificate program and was appointed as a member of the advisory board. Dr. Sherman has performed workplace violence threat assessments, served as the primary violence threat assessor for the County of San Diego, and coordinated risk management activities related to maintaining a safe and secure work environment.

In his work as an organizational consultant and executive coach, Dr. Sherman has provided services including assessment, training, team building, and process improvement facilitation for staff at all levels including executives and boards of directors.

Dr. Sherman received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Alliant International University, California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, and holds master’s degrees in management and psychology.

Contact him at ed@shermanconsulting.org or via LinkedIn.

Sean Gray is a fire captain with Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services in metro Atlanta. Gray has been a member of multiple technical panels involving firefighter safety research and is an appointed member of UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute advisory board. He is also an NFPA committee member for Fire Hose and Fire Service Training Facilities. Gray’s work has been featured in multiple fire service publications, and he recently co-authored the book “The Evolving Fireground.” He operates the website StopBelievingStartKnowing.com, and delivers evidence-based tactics training courses across the country. Gray has a bachelor’s degree in fire safety engineering and is currently working on his master’s degree at the Naval Post Graduate School.

Leila Merrill served as an assistant editor for FireRescue1 and EMS1. Merrill has worked as a writer, editor, copy editor, digital producer, journalist and communications professional for the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle and other companies. She double-majored in English and communications at Trinity University.

Scott Wilkinson is a 30-year veteran of the fire and paramedic service, currently serving as an assistant chief with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service in Manitoba, Canada. Wilkinson previously served as the project manager for Training and Safety Equipment for the WFPS. He is a primary care paramedic and previously managed the WFPS officer and chief officer development programs in his role as senior training officer. Wilkinson is the former peer support coordinator for the WFPS and continues to work with the department’s behavioral health and wellness programs. Wilkinson serves on the NFPA Fire Officer Professional Qualifications Technical Committee and is the developer and program manager of the WFPS R.P.A.S. program, the first 24/7 immediate response first responder drone program in Canada. He is the vice-chair of the Canadian Emergency Responders Robotics Association (CERRA) and the co-chair of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) RPAS/Robotics Committee.

F.I.E.R.O. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving firefighter health and safety through education and research. F.I.E.R.O. operates under the guidance of an all-volunteer board of directors made up of both active and retired fire service members. F.I.E.R.O. hosts educational conferences and regional workshops related to PPE and fire station design, and participates in fire-related research projects. Learn more about F.I.E.R.O.

Bassel Ibrahim is a 17-year student of the fire service, currently serving as the company officer of Tower 1 on the Orlando (Florida) Fire Department. Ibrahim started his career in Volusia County, Florida, and spent most of his time on Special Operations units (Orlando Heavy Rescue 1 & Tower 6, Volusia Squad 35 & 23). He was also a member of Florida Task Force 9 for 7 years. Ibrahim is a Florida Smoke Diver/instructor and a Georgia F.L.A.M.E.S graduate, and teaches Truck School, VES and RIT operations at many conferences around the country. He is the owner and lead instructor of PRO (Proactive Rescue Operations), an international training company that focuses on RIT, Survival and Truck operations.

Michael Benson is a retired fire chief and co-owner of Command Consulting LLC, a company focusing on municipal electrification. Benson has a master’s degree in administration from Anna Maria College in Massachusetts, a professional certificate in energy innovation and emerging technologies from Stanford University in California, and a bachelor’s degree in fire and safety engineering technology from the University of Cincinnati, and he is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Green Energy Ohio, a member of the Critical Services Microgrid Group in Asheville, N.C., and a volunteer member of Drive Electric Ohio.

Julie Downey is the fire chief for Davie (Florida) Fire Rescue. She has been a certified firefighter/paramedic for 40 years and a chief officer for 17 years. Chief Downey has been involved with MCI training for 25 years and has conducted more than 300 exercises across the country. She has been recognized by the White House for her initiatives in the Stop the Bleed program. Chief Downey is the interim chair and technical committee member for NFPA 3000: Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program and serves as the chair of the State of Florida Disaster Response Committee. She is also the author of the State of Florida MCI Procedure and MCI Field Operations Guides and has authored or co-authored over $3 million in grant funding for MCI/ASHE-related equipment and training.

Missy Morris started in public safety as a juvenile probation worker after graduating from University of California Santa Barbara in 1991 with a degree in behavioral psychology. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work in probation before quickly transitioning to police work. She spent three years with the Palo Alto and Mountain View police departments as a patrol officer. She spent the following 22 years of her 28-year career at the City of Roseville. Missy worked in critical incident negotiations, eventually becoming the multi-city team leader and serving seven years on the state board of hostage negotiators. Missy feels her greatest assignment was a five-year stint as a traffic motor officer riding a BMW and working fatal accidents. She held several special assignments before retiring in 2020 as a lieutenant. Missy now works with the Lexipol Professional Services Team, working closely with Cordico wellness solution.