The Leader's Playbook: Insights from the Experts | S3 E31

Nick Paproski, LP, EMS-I, DICO-C, is an award-winning paramedic field provider and educator with over 18 years of experience working in municipal, fire based, commercial and volunteer EMS systems. Nick served as a career firemedic for the Ridgefield Fire Department from 2010-2020. Nick currently serves as the Director of Education, Safety and Wellness for Vintech Management Services, a 300 employee EMS staffing company based in CT. As a staunch advocate for provider mental health and wellness Nick routinely presents on the topic of PTSD for the Fairfield Country Trauma Response Team and has been interviewed for several podcasts and documentaries.

John Lynch has been a Police officer since 1985. He is a volunteer fireman, EMT, chief of police, emergency management director, and Region 1 ESF 13 representative. Chief Lynch has a Masters in Public Administration and Bachelors degree in criminal justice, and heads a police department with a 97% community approval rating.

Cristian Hinojosa has served the Dallas community as a public servant for 17 years. He currently serves the Dallas area as a Battalion Chief.

He has led the second largest DFD employee association, representing over 450 firefighters. This role has carried substantial political and administrative responsibilities and has included extensive interaction with DFD Command Staff, City Council, and the City Manager on a regular basis.

Chief Bobby Halton is currently editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering magazine and education director of FDIC. A native New Yorker, he began his career in structural firefighting with the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department and rose through the ranks to include chief of training. Bobby was chief of operations until his retirement from Albuquerque in 2004. He then became chief of the Coppell (TX) Fire Department, then Bobby left Coppell to assume the duties as editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering Magazine in 2009

Rommie Duckworth is a dedicated emergency responder, author, and educator with more than thirty years of experience working in career and volunteer fire departments, hospital healthcare systems, and private emergency medical services. Rom is currently a career fire captain and paramedic EMS Coordinator for Ridgefield (CT) Fire Department. Rom is the author of chapters in more than a dozen EMS, fire, rescue, and medical textbooks and over 100 published articles in fire and EMS magazines. A member of the NAEMT Board of Directors, as well as other national and international advocacy and advisory boards, Rom continues to work for the advancement of emergency services professions. http://www.rescuedigest.com/

Jonni Redick is a retired Assistant Chief with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), a 29-year veteran from one of the largest police agencies in the country with over 12,000 employees. Overseeing large-scale civil disturbance and officer-involved incidents; natural disaster response coordination and oversight; and managed hundreds of personnel within daily operations.

She is a graduate of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Command College, Class 56. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of San Diego (USD) and is also an adjunct professor at USD and for San Joaquin Delta College POST Academy.

Redick is a National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) member and is the current NOBLE National Chair for the Safety and Wellness Committee.

Chief Neil H. Gang has served in law enforcement for over 34 years and has been the Chief of Police for the Pinole Police Department since 2014. He is the Chairperson of the California Police Chiefs Association Organizational Wellness and Resiliency Committee, the Co-chair of the IACP Officer Safety & Wellness Committee, the author of the Asher Model-7 Point Approach to a Culture of Wellness, the host of the 6th Pillar Podcast, is a POST-Wellness Instructor and was named Public Safety Hero of the Year by the House of Representatives in 2020. His innovative work as a law enforcement leader has been featured in several national Police magazines. He is a graduate of the prestigious Northwestern School of Police Staff Command, where he was the president of the class and the recipient of the Franklin M. Kremel Award for excellence in the field of leadership.

Albe Bassett is the Fire Chief of the New Canaan (CT) Fire Department. He has 29 years of fire service experience, with many of those years training and developing firefighters and officers to become better for themselves and the communities in which they serve. Albe is certified as Fire Service Instructor 3 and holds a B.S. degree in Fire Technology and Administration, an MBA from the University of New Haven, and a Master of Science degree in I/O Psychology from Walden University. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Walden University.

I'm currently in my 20th year and hold the rank of Captain (overseeing both sworn/civilian personnel). I've blended my law enforcement career with that of a military beginning (US Army), college professor for 10+ years, and by serving as a motivational speaker. On
July 1st, I released my first book; "Copikaze", which is a series of lessons built to help navigate the career, while simultaneously serving as a means of understanding for the non- sworn.
I am most proud of the fact that while much younger, I served as the primary caretaker for my mother who suffered from terminal cancer. Since her untimely death, I now find myself caring for my wife, who also suffers from medical disabilities, to include parenting four children. I provide you this background as a means of understanding why I teach what I teach. Traditional supervisory courses, while valuable, seemingly always offer similar content in the "management" of the position, but not the leadership tenets which focus on the human component. With no bad intention, as we promote and gain more years of experience, we tend to become further separated from the operational level and more importantly - our loved ones, who we are tasked to lead and care for (Ivory Tower theory). To counteract this, I've found by learning transformational leadership strategies, officers can influence personnel in such a way that allows them to expand their potential to heights never thought possible. In addition, learning various methods on how to properly address our personal wellness, so that it alig… Read More

Chief Ogden has been a successful law enforcement executive for over 37 years. He has led a positive transformation by changing the culture in his agency. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and is pursuing a Master’s in Leadership.

Chief David Ogden is a keynote speaker on leadership, organizational health, team building, and mental health. He holds a 4th degree in Brazilian Jiujitsu.

Dave’s family lost a child from a rare terminal illness. Dave has spoken, lectured, and on going from grief to hope, stress, and management strategies to lead through tragedy.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oakland McCulloch is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and the author of the 2021 release, Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be. Both his leadership presentation and his book are based on his 40+ years of leadership experience (23 years as a combat arms officer in the United States Army). Oak highlights principles that will benefit today’s leaders and inspire the leaders of tomorrow, in any profession and at any level of leadership.