Tom began his career with the U.S. Forest Service on the Stanislaus National Forest in 1970. The road from GS-2 firefighter to National Fire & Aviation Management Director took Tom and his family through several states including CA, AZ, MT and UT before finally arriving in Washington DC in 2001. During his career, he has been a Burn Boss, Incident Commander and Area Commander at the highest levels of complexity. His emergency management assignments and experiences span well beyond wildfires to include hurricanes, earthquakes, riots and floods taking him across the country and around the world. As the National Director, Tom served as a leader for the largest program of the USFS which includes over 10,000 firefighters. Tom's commitment, dedication and ability to inspire and motivate people at all levels of the organization have allowed him to navigate challenging terrain from the fireline to the halls of the Capitol, sharing his vision of and with an evolving organization. Tom now spends his time advising on matters that involve wildland fire, aviation and public policy regarding those topics.
Listed skills include Emergency Management, Public Policy, Government, Public Speaking, and 13 others.
