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Board

Chief Ernest (Ernie) Mitchell, Jr.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Ernest Mitchell, Jr. was the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s United States Fire Administrator for the United States Fire Administration. He began his tenure on December 5, 2011 and was responsible for managing the United States Fire Administration, the programs and training activities at the National Emergency Training Center.

Chief Mitchell retired as the Fire Chief and Assistant Director of Disaster Emergency Services for the City of Pasadena, California Fire Department after 33 years in the fire service. Chief Mitchell is an active member and former officer of the IAFC. During his last year in Pasadena he was also President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), where he continued until the completion of his term. He served in Pasadena from 1998 until 2004. Prior to becoming Fire Chief in Pasadena, Chief Mitchell served as Fire Chief and Deputy City Manager in the City of Monrovia, California for seven years. He began his career as a fire fighter with the City of Compton, California. He served there for twenty years in various ranks until leaving to become Fire Chief in the City of Monrovia.

His most recent professional affiliations include serving as a member of the International Fire Service Training Association Executive Board, the International Association of Firefighters Hazardous Materials Advisory Board, the IAFC President’s Council, the IAFC Foundation Board, and the IAFC/IAFF Labor/Management Initiative Facilitator Team.

In previous years he has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee; on numerous committees and task forces of the IAFC; and presided over several fire service organizations, including: the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association; the League of California Cities Fire Chiefs and the Foothill Fire Chiefs. He has also been an Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighters’ Everyone Goes Home ® Program, an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Fire Chief Magazine.

Chief Mitchell has an Associate of Science Degree in Fire Science from Long Beach City College; a Bachelor Degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco; and a Master of Public Administration Degree from California State University at Northridge.

During his career Chief Mitchell has either chaired or been a member of many working committees that contributed to the progress and development of communities as well as local, state and national fire and emergency services. He is a past recipient of the IAFC President’s Award for Service and has received several community awards for service.

He is a past recipient of numerous community and organizational honors, including: the IAFC President’s Award for Service, designation as a City of Compton Hometown Hero, and selection to the Long Beach City College Alumni Hall of Fame.

Barry D. Balliet

PROVIDENT

Mr. Balliet is the CEO of Emeritus of Provident Agency Inc at Provident, a company offering group insurance benefits to emergency personnel and their families since 1928. Commencing employment in 1979, he has played an instrumental role in growing Provident from a regional concern to one with national and international reach. Under Mr. Balliet’s leadership, Provident has garnered national recognition for its innovative insurance coverages, customer care, and sincere dedication by all its staff to emergency service related causes.

Mr. Balliet received a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and earned his Chartered Life Underwriter designation (CLU) in 1997. Additionally, he has maintained membership at the Pleasant Valley Fire Company since 1983, having served as a firefighter and in a number of administrative roles.

He currently is the chair of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Finance and Fundraising Committee and serves on the First Responder Center for Excellence Board. He feels privileged to serve on various other committees within the fire service community as well as volunteering for several other outside commitments.

Jeff G. Fackler

DUPONT PERSONAL PROTECTION AT DUPONT

Since 2012, Jeff Fackler is the North America Business Development Director for DuPont Personal Protection. In his role, Jeff is responsible for managing the distribution portion of the thermal industrial apparel channel, and sales for the fire service apparel channel. Jeff also serves as the Challenger Sales Process Champion for the business driving development and implementation of insights that contribute to business and customer growth.

Jeff joined DuPont in 1981, and has held various roles in Marketing / Business Development, Sales, Training, Site, and Strategic Planning Management, as well as being a Six Sigma Sales & Marketing Deployment Champion and Six Sigma Black Belt. From 1981 – 2006, Jeff worked in the Coatings business before moving into DuPont Personal Protection where he led the global body armor business segment, then the 1st Responder business segments in NA from 2006 – 2012.

Jeff serves on the board of directors of The Partnership for Electrical Safety and The Global Emergency Services Action.

David Halfpenny

AXIS ACCIDENT & HEALTH

David brings 30 years of experience in the financial, insurance and reinsurance industries, the last 11 overseeing AXIS Specialty Accident and Health business. Before joining AXIS, David was Vice President, Accident & Health for AIG, where he managed sales and underwriting staff, as well as a diverse multi-million book of accident & health business.

John Miclot

John Miclot is an experienced healthcare professional that has served in both CEO role and as A Director of both public and private companies.

Mr Miclot was the President and CEO and Board member at Linguaflex a private company focused on alternative therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). He was the President and CEO and Board member at Tengion Inc a public company focused on organ and cell regeneration. Prior to that he was and Executive in Residence at Warburg-Pincus a private equity company. He managed as President and CEO and Board member CCS Medical a Warburg company that focused on products and services for patients with chronic diseases. From 2003-2008 he was the President and CEO and Board member at Respironics Inc and prior to becoming the CEO he served in various position including Chief Strategic Officer and President of the Homecare Division. His previous employer Healthdyne Technologies an medical device company was acquired by Respironics in 1998. Mr Miclot served as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Healthdyne. He began his career at DeRoyal Industries, Baxter International, American Hospital Supply, Ohmeda Medical Inc, Medex Inc.

Throughout his career he has also served as a Board Member of both private and public companies they included Wright Medical Inc, a public company, Dentsply a public company, ev3 a public company, Chaired Breathe Technologies a private company, American Textile a private company. He has also served in numerous charitable Boards including University of Iowa Tippie Business University, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquairum, Burger King Cancer Caring Center, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, McGowen Center for Regenerative Medicine, American Association of Homecare, Washington & Jefferson University, Central Catholic High School. He is member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) where he has served in leadership roles to include Board Chair. He also has an Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Penn Medicine.

He is an active Volunteer Firefighter in the Bourgh of Fox Chapel outside of Pittsburgh, PA. He was elected by his Department Firefighter of the Year in 2022.

Staff

Victor Stagnaro

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Victor Stagnaro is the Chief Executive Officer of the First Responder Center for Excellence and its affiliate organization, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). Victor joined the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation staff in 2010 and served as the Managing Director overseeing the Foundation’s Family and Fire Service Programs, Marketing, and Business Management. He has over 30 years of experience in the fire service. He was hired by the Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services Department in 1985. In addition to serving as a firefighter and station officer, he has been a fire instructor, Public Information Officer, Battalion Chief, Executive Officer to the Fire Chief, Fire Marshal, and Operations Shift Chief. Victor authored a chapter in Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II on EMS in the Fire Service. He retired as the Deputy Fire Chief of Emergency Operations in early 2010. He has been involved with the Foundation dating back to 1998, when he served as the Incident Commander for the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend for several years, and he served as a member of the initial New York Response Team on 9/11 for the Foundation.

Charles Jaster

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Charles Jaster serves as Chief Financial Officer for the First Responder Center for Excellence and its affiliate organization, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2005, he held fiscal leadership positions with financial and nonprofit organizations such as the Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, MD, Inc.; Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life; and Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Washington, DC. Having earned his BS in Business Administration from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Jaster is a Certified Public Accountant. He also completed his MBA from Regis University in Denver, Colorado in 2009, with a focus in finance and accounting. Charles and his wife live in Fairfield, Pennsylvania with their pets and enjoy frequent visits from their grandchildren.

Frank Leeb

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb has served the FDNY since 1992. The Chief of Safety for the FDNY’s 17,000 employees. Frank holds a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from SUNY Empire State and a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS). He has served as an advisory panel member for UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute’s (FSRI) “Study of Coordinated Attack in Acquired Structures” and chair of the FRCE cancer advisory committee. Frank is also a principal on the NFPA Technical Committees 420, 1585, and 1710 and was the keynote speaker for Firehouse Expo in 2022 a presenter at the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control in 2022 and 2023. He is the author of the best-selling book “Cornerstones of Leadership - On and Off the Fireground.

Lori Jacobs

PROGRAM SPECIALIST

Lori Jacobs joined the First Responder Center for Excellence for Reducing Occupational Illness, Injuries and Deaths (FRCE) in 2019 as a Programs Specialist. Prior to joining the FRCE Lori worked at Dover Motorsports in the Public Safety Department. Lori’s father was an active member of the Gumboro Volunteer Fire Company for 32 years from 1968 to 2000. Her husband is a member of the Dover Fire Department. She resides in Camden, DE with her husband and children.

Patricia Doyle

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Patricia Doyle is the FRCE’s Sr. Accountant responsible for maintaining the accounting books and records, preparing financial statements, and managing grant financial reporting requirements. Patricia started her career in public accounting, and then expanded into corporate financial management operations with a focus on start-ups and developing organizations in the healthcare arena.
Patricia’s career included having served as CFO for a venture capital funded Dental Health Maintenance Organization that became operational in five states, as Finance Director for a regional behavioral healthcare organization that developed and implemented a full system of recovery care services for individuals, and as CFO for an F.D.A. regulated blood banking organization that grew to a regional operation and exporter of blood products for areas with supply shortages.
Throughout her career she has dedicated time and effort to support the healthy development of children, whether raising funds for foster children or providing educational information on how children and families can use technology more safely.
Patricia graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in accounting, received her CPA license, and completed the Executive Program on Strategic Leadership at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.