John Russ has over 20 years of fire service experience working for the Brentwood (TN) Fire & Rescue Department as a Lieutenant/Paramedic. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Company Officer Section. As Vice-Chair, he assists with multiple facets of the section, including FireRescue International (FRI) Programming with the IAFC’s Training and Education Development Committee. John is working on several programs to improve engagement with the Section, including the FRI Fail Fest, Company Officer Leaderships Symposium (COLS) Recognition Programming, and the CFSI Advocacy Network. John was the program manager for the IAFC’s Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System and is a Level 1 Peer Assessor with the CPSE. He is a student in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Officer Program, scheduled to graduate in May 2026. John has worked with the HERO Registry Ancillary Committee to review research proposals for COVID-19 studies and conducted curriculum reviews for the National Fire Academy’s Safety Program and Managing Officer Program. He has worked for numerous career and volunteer fire and emergency service providers, including prehospital emergency medical service providers, specialized technical rescue organizations, and risk management and prevention entities. He has a Master’s Degree in Professional Studies from Middle Tennessee State University and two Bachelor’s Degrees from Eastern Kentucky University, one in Fire and Safety Administration and one in Prehospital Emergency Care. John is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.