Leading the fire and emergency service to excellence
Leading the fire and emergency service to excellence
Education
Schedule
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| Wednesday, March 11, 2026 |
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| Time | Accreditation 101 |
Advanced Accreditation | Credentialing | CRR | Health and Safety |
Innovation Through Technology |
Leadership and Management |
| 8:00 am to 4:30 pm | Registration and Information Desk Open |
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| 8:00 am to 4:00 pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
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| 8:30 am to 4:00 pm | CFAI Hearings | ||||||
| 8:30 to 9:30 am | Acronym Soup (Grant Thomas and Christie Blazevich) |
Bringing Life to Accreditation: Gaining Operational Buy-In (Jonah Smith) |
CPC Panel | Battling Traumatic Stressors with Canine Engagement (Norvin Collins) |
AI With Intention: CPSE’s AI Discovery and Implementation Processes (Kelly Martin, FESA) |
The 8 Rules of a Winning Firehouse Culture – A Blueprint for Organizational Excellence (Matthew Caward, CTO, CFO, FO) |
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| 9:30 – 9:45 am | Break |
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| 9:45 – 10:45 am | Let’s Make a Plan (Kathryn Boyle) |
TAP Panel (Rich Merrell, FO, and Ernst Piercy, CFO, Facilitators |
Credentialing Process Explained (Matthew Jacoby, CFO) |
Conflict Resolution in the Emergency Response Community (Willie Williams) |
EMS CQI Unlocked: Harnessing Technology for Operational Excellence (Jessica Handoko Nelson, FESA and Jessica LeBlanc, FESA) |
Defining and Refining the Role(s) of the Fire Chief During a Crisis (Ashley McDonald, PIO) |
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| 10:45 – 11:00 am | Break |
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| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | CRA/SOC: It’s Overwhelming, But It Can Be Done (Randall Hanifen, CFO) |
Keeping the Strategic Plan Alive (Ernst Piercy, CFO) |
Encouraging You on Your Designation Journey (Kelly Hanink, CFO) |
IAFF Energy Hazard Resources and Training: A Practical Framework for Firefighter Safety (Jeffrey Richardson) |
Next-Gen Response: Integrating Drone Technology Across Fire, Police, and EMS (Kyle Fekete, CFO and Stephen Roederer) |
Building Leadership Through Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence (Elizabeth Bednarcik) |
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| 12:00 – 1:15 pm | Lunch |
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| 1:15 – 2:15 pm | The Art of Herding Cats (Kevin Sims, FO) |
Beyond the Performance Indicators: Turning Accreditation into Lasting Success (Brian Norris, CFO) |
Beyond the Minimum: Building Credentialing Packets that Reflect Professional Excellence (Matthew Caward, CFO, CTO, FO) |
Normalization of Deviance: What Flashing Red Light? (Part 1) (Grant Tinker, CTO, FO) |
Firefighter Turnover Intention and Toxic Leadership (Anthony Clinker and Patrick Boullion) |
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| 2:15 – 2:30 pm | Break |
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| 2:30 – 3:30 pm | A Continuous Model of Improvement (Program Appraisals) (Xavier Anderson and Rochelle Ortolano) |
Addressing 11th Edition Labor Management Criteria (Preet Bassi, Facilitator) |
Ask the Peer Reviewer Panel (Chris Angermuller, CEMSO, CFO, CTO Facilitator) |
CRR Unstructured (Karen Berard-Reed Facilitator) |
What (and Where) is the Next Edge? (John Sullivan, CFO and Carl Niedner) |
Sinkhole to Solid Ground: Is it Time for Culture Change? (Justin Brooks, CFO) |
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| 3:30 – 3:45 pm | Break |
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| 3:45 – 4:30 pm | NERIS (Tom Jenkins) |
Portfolio Integration: Using CPC Credentialing to Strengthen Promotional Assessment (Richard Llewellyn, CEMSO, CFO) |
Bruegman Award Recipient – Together We Stand: A Community Approach to Fall Prevention (Carly Shears) |
The Resilience Reckoning: Toughness, Wellness, and the Future of Firefighting (Jedediah Hyland and Eric Tade) |
Clinical Dispatch/H.E.L.P. Model (KC Tabrizi) |
Firefighter Fatigue: How Much is Too Much? (Wendy Korotkin, FESA, FO and Alex Stephenson) |
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| Thursday, March 12, 2026 |
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| Time | Accreditation 101 | Advanced Accreditation | Credentialing | Community Risk Reduction | Health and Safety | Innovation Through Technology | Leadership and Management |
| 8:00 am to 3:45 pm | Registration and Information Desk Open |
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| 8:30 to 10:55 am | CFAI Hearings | ||||||
| 8:30 to 9:30 am | Strategic Planning: Fact and Fiction (David Farnum, CFO) |
If it Ain’t Broke: How to Navigate Legacy Processes as the New Accreditation Manager (Kathryn Boyle) |
Roadmap to CTO: Professional Development for the Fire Service Instructor (Brad French, CTO) |
Deploying and Defending Data-Informed CRR Programs (Jessica LeBlanc, FESA and Karen Kovach) |
Igniting Change – Reimagining the IAFF/IAFC Wellness-Fitness Initiative (Dave Frost and Grady Valencis) |
From Tasks to Vision: Transitioning into Fire Service Leadership (Kevin Sims, FO) |
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| 9:30 – 9:45 am | Break | ||||||
| 9:45 – 10:45am | So You Say Your Fire Department is Good… (Randy Reeder) |
Navigating the New Application (Mike Higgins, CEMSO, CFO, CTO and Ben Stone, CEMSO, CFO) |
Building Readiness for CRR Success (Karen Berard-Reed and Landon Churchill, CEMSO, CFO, CTO) |
Normalization of Deviance: Too Close to Home (Part 2) (Grant Tinker, CTO, FO) |
One-Two Person Data Powerhouse (Henry Charles and Melissa Heiderman, FESAA) |
Let’s Do Crazy Stuff, Chief: Leading Change with Creativity, Flexibility, and Firefighter Energy (Rick Casler) |
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| 10:45 – 11:00 am | Break | ||||||
| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Preparing for a CFAI Site Visit (Rich Merrell, FO) |
Effective Response Force: Are We Measuring What We Think We’re Measuring? (Blake Boyd and Kathryn Boyle) |
From Overwhelmed to Outstanding: Conquering the FESA Application (Jessica Handoko Nelson, FESA) |
The Reinforcing Effect: How CRR and Accreditation Advance One Another (Chelsea Rubadou) |
Raising the Standard: Enhancing Occupational Health Programs to Detect for Life-Threatening Risks (Brian Edmonton, CEMSO, CFO and John Bulter, CEMSO, CFO, CTO, FM) |
Tropical Storm Helene Response. Leveraging Drone Technology in Emergency Operations (Wayne Bailey, CFO) |
Mission, Vision, & Values – Are They Just Words to You? (Daniel Curia, CFO and David Griffin, CFO, CTO) |
| 12:00 – 1:15 pm | Lunch |
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| 1:15 – 2:15 pm | Annual Program Appraisals in Fire and Emergency Services (Jim White, CFO) |
Annual Program Appraisals in Fire and Emergency Services (Jim White, CFO) |
Credentialing the Modern PIO: What Chiefs Need to Know, What PIOs Need to Do (Ashley McDonald, PIO) |
WIN in the WUI: Work Together – Innovate – Next Level Sustainability (Vince Anderson, FM and Melissa Mokry) |
Navigating Uncertainty: Futureproofing the Fire Service (Salvatore Scarpa, CFO) |
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| 2:15 – 2:30 pm | Break |
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| 2:30 – 3:30 pm | All Hands Available, all Hands Needed: What I wish I Knew Before Becoming an Accreditation Manager (David Hoppe, CFO, CTO, FO) |
Mind the Gap or Build the Bridge? Navigating Intergenerational Perspectives at Work (Kelly Martin, FESA) |
Ethics in Credentialing (Ben Stone, CEMSO, CFO) |
Risk, Resilience, and Reform: Calgary’s Evolving Approach to Community Safety (Mary Kupchenko Hill and Christopher Koch) |
Stuck in the Replay: Healing the Mind After a Traumatic Incident (Elizabeth Bednarcik) |
Public Policy Advocacy: The Role of the Fire Service Leader (Bob Horton, CFO and John Butler, CEMSO, CFO, CTO, FM) |
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| 3:30 – 3:45 pm | Break |
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| 3:45 – 4:30 pm | Case Study on 3-Axis Risk Analysis (Xavier Anderson and Rochelle Ortolano) |
Hiring 101: Code to Building the Best Team (John Morrison, CFO, FESA and Travis Preau) |
Designation in Prevention: Why Fire Marshal Credentialing Matters (Tom Maloney, CFO, FM) |
Numbers, Noncompliance and Nonsense: A Fire Marshal’s Reality Check (Christian Sliker, FM) |
When Plan A Fails (Matthew Jacoby, CFO) |
Internal Communications: Keeping Staff Informed and Engaged (Dawn Small, PIO and Tara Cardorso) |
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