From Embers To Excellence™

In this episode I have an amazing conversation with Instagram sensation and host of the podcast "Changing the Culture" Autumn Clifford. We talk about the stigma in public safety and the military surrounding getting help with dealing and coping with PTSD. Autumn gives some valuable advice to women who aspire to go into law enforcement or the fire service. We talk about self-leadership, mindset, com...

Don Mann is a retired Navy SEAL Chief Warrant Officer, a New York Times best selling author, an accomplished adventure racer, a motivational speaker, and a man who cares about making the world a better place for children and wounded veterans. In this episode we discuss Don’s dedication and training, his obsession with being the best, and how he used visualization to achieve his goals. Don tells me...

Master Chief Petty Officer Ross Munro retired after 31 years in the United States Navy, 27 of which he served operating as a Navy SEAL. He has worked at developing the leadership skills in the cadets of the Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina. He is currently serving his second term as a Camden County, North Carolina commissioner and works for the Cherokee Nation in their Unmann...

Chief Lasky and I discuss his history in the fire service, a little bit about his family history, and talk quite a bit about leadership. Throughout our conversation you can feel the passion Chief Lasky has for the job and for the people who make the fire service one of the greatest professions known to mankind.

D.A. Michaels, author of “Courageously Broken,” is a veteran of the United States Navy and a veteran law enforcement officer. We discuss her book, which is a memoir about the adversity she has had to overcome in her life. Donna shares some of the traumatic events she experienced as a child, as a young sailor, a mother, and as a law enforcement officer. We discuss PTSD and her dog Saint. Donna shar...

Retired Engineer Dan Horan is a 26 year veteran of the Orange County Fire Rescue Department. He shares some of the most memorable moments of his career and some great leadership advice. Dan retired with a reputation for being one of the funniest, most opinionated, argumentative individuals on the department. He talks about his time in the United States Army and some of his life's greatest influenc...

Mike McCune is a SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) Specialist, former cage fighter, competitive rock climber, and all around bad ass. We discuss his path from changing tires at Sam's Club to becoming a cage fighter, to training military personnel how to survive. He currently trains civilians how to survive in a wide variety of environments as he works on his degree in Leadership.

Chief Otto Drozd, III is the Fire Chief for Seminole County Fire Rescue in central Florida. He began his career in the fire service with the Hialeah Fire Department, worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming HFD’s fire chief in 2001. Additionally, he has served as the fire chief for El Paso Fire Department and Orange County Fire Rescue before taking his current position with SCFR. We discus...

Captain Yetter, being the awesome friend that he is, agreed to do another interview with the stipulation that we try a little free-flow conversation and see how it goes. Well it was an awesome conversation. I had to cut out a few parts because of the colorful humor that might be misperceived as serious conversation. Maybe I'll release the gag reel when Yetter retires. If you want a good introducti...

Chief Agan discusses his professional development spanning more than just the 32 years he devoted to the fire service. His time as a principal officer for the IAFF Local 2057 gave him a unique perspective and approach to leading firefighters. We discuss a few of the emergencies we responded to that stand out in our memories and impacted our lives. This is a great episode if you are considering a c...

Retired Lieutenant Derek Alligood is a 30 year veteran of the Orange County Fire Rescue Department. He shares some defining moments of his career and some awesome leadership advice for anyone who is striving to be a better leader. Derek is a legendary smart ass that is sure to make you chuckle. He talks about some of his life's greatest influences and how a call less than a month from his retireme...

LT McKnight discusses his leadership philosophy, offers his perspective on leading in high stress environments, and shares some pivotal experiences that helped shape him personally and professionally.

In this episode Firefighter Moye-Moore talks about his time as a linebacker for the University of Maryland and for the Orlando Predators in the AFL. We discuss leadership and the people who influenced his life and career. As always, we have a conversation centered around opportunities that came out of life changing decisions. This episode is a great one.

Retired Battalion Chief Dave Hollenbach interviews Special Operations Lieutenant Julio Ramos. The discussion centers around leadership philosophy and personal development to be better equipped to add value to the members of the team.

Garrett Wienckowski is a 20+ year veteran of Orange County Fire Rescue, a battalion chief, TF4 Team Leader, special operations technician, and leadership instructor. In this episode Garrett talks about his experiences as an officer in special operations, what has influenced him most in his career, and recommends training courses that are applicable to every firefighter. We discuss Lencioni’s Pyram...

Kelly Savage is the community outreach director for the IAFF Center of Excellence. She assisted with opening the Center of Excellence in 2017. She spends much of the year traveling the U.S. and Canada educating members on behavioral health issues and services available to them through the Center. She has spoken to over 50,000 IAFF members through the International’s peer support program, Partner E...

Stuart Cody has a Master’s of Health Science and Rehabilitation Counseling from UF and is a licensed mental health counselor in central Florida. He is a rehabilitation / mental health counselor providing EMDR & CBT therapy. We discuss his experience with public safety professionals (Cops and Firefighters); Particularly, the causes and effects of PTSD in those occupations; Treatments like EMDR...

Tim and I discuss Black Lives Matter, Women in the Fire Service, having conversations with people who have different views from our own, and his experiences developing as a fire service leader.

In this episode I talk with Officer Jody Beyer; A 14-year veteran of law enforcement who has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. We talk about her experiences as a patrol officer who has fought against corrupt behavior within 2 different agencies. Also, how she overcame malicious prosecution for acting as a whistleblower. She talks about her philosophy on leadership and we discuss her appe...

Today’s guest is Michael Yetter, a great friend, a captain with Miami Dade Fire Rescue and a veteran of the United States Army and Army National Guard. Mike began his career in the fire service with Miami Dade in 1998. He worked his way up the ranks, becoming a very well-respected fire officer and paramedic. He has served in some of the busiest stations Dade County has to offer. He has served in l...

In this episode we discuss Dario's personal leadership development; the lessons learned in the various positions he has held in the Air Force and Fire Department; and his growth as a servant to the community, husband, and father. Dario Donahoo is an engineer/driver operator with Orange County Fire Rescue and a close personal friend. Dario began his career in the fire service with Orange County in...

In this episode we discuss the effects of PTSD on leadership, workforce diversity, inclusive culture, and what effective leadership looks like. Michael Freeman has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a licensed clinical social worker in central Florida. Not only is he a social worker, but he is an executive coach and a life coach, an organizational consultant and a community social worker. In...