14 Apr 2009

The NFPA have awarded 8 Harvard program fellowships to fire officials
Senior industry leaders awarded prestigious fellowships

Eight senior fire officials were awarded fellowships co-sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to participate in the Harvard University Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.

Each year, the NFPA partners with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) to provide fellowships to the Harvard Program.

 The 2009 awardees are:  

  • Rebecca Denlinger, Fire Commissioner, Province of British Columbia, Victoria, Canada
  • Mark Carr, Fire Chief, City of New Britain Fire Department, New Britain, Connecticut
  • Sheldon Gilbert, Fire Chief, Alameda County Fire Department, San Leandro, California
  • Jeffrey Clark, Fire Chief, City of Chandler Fire Department, Chandler, Arizona
  • John Caufield, Fire Chief, City of Rochester Fire Department, Rochester, New York
  • Drusilla Martin, Executive Administrator, Nashville Fire Department, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Ernest Hargett, Deputy Fire Commissioner, City of Philadelphia Fire Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • John Searing, Deputy Fire Commissioner, Suffolk County Fire and Rescue Services, Yaphank, New York

The fellowship recipients will participate in the three-week program this summer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. The program will focus on ensuring that public officials are equipped to be effective public leaders.

"As a graduate of the program, I know first-hand that this program offers an outstanding learning experience," said Chief Russ Sanders, NFPA's central regional manager, executive secretary of the Metropolitan "Metro" Chiefs Association, and NFPA's representative on the selection committee. "Support for this program is just one more way that NFPA continues its commitment to fire service professionals in the United States, Canada and beyond."

"On behalf of my colleagues at NFPA, I offer congratulations to the men and women selected to attend the 2009 program."