The International Association of Fire Chiefs has launched a new mentoring program targeted to company officers as part of its continued efforts to expand professional-development opportunities.
"The greatest resource the IAFC has is the experience and skills of our members," said Chief Hank Clemmensen, IAFC president and chairman of the board. "We have seen tremendous success in sharing that wealth of knowledge in the classroom setting as part of our Officer Development Program. Mentoring builds on that success, offering new opportunities for both new and veteran leaders to engage on an interpersonal level with the next generation of chief officers."
The IAFC Company Officer Leadership Committee spearheaded the development of the program based on the expressed needs of their peers and the desire to create more opportunities to learn from the veteran members of the association.
The system is designed to be simple, allowing prospective mentees to go online and read the bios of each mentor, identify mentors by areas of interest and then electronically reach out to the prospective member through KnowledgeNet, the IAFC's private social network. Mentees and mentors can also determine the best method for interacting, whether in person or by phone, email, text or video chat.
Eleven IAFC members have stepped forward to serve as mentors for the program kick-off:
- Fire Chief David Burke, Duvall-King County Fire District, Washington
- Fire Chief Jim Harmes, Grand Blanc Fire, Michigan
- Battalion Chief Glenn Huffman, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Washington
- Fire Chief Tom Jenkins, Rogers Fire Department, Arkansas
- Battalion Chief Steve Kuhlmann, Emporia Fire Department, Kansas
- Fire Chief David Layman, Hampton Division of Fire & Rescue, Virginia
- Fire Chief John Miller, Orlando Fire Department, Florida
- Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant, Milpitas Fire Department, California
- Fire Chief Adam Thiel, Alexandria Fire Department, Virginia
- Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht, UC Davis Fire Department, California
- Division Chief Susanna Schmitt Williams, Jacksonville Fire Department, North Carolina
The Company Officer Leadership Committee will continue to reach out to and add more mentors as the program matures.
Learn more about the mentors and the mentoring program.