Dr. Candace Ashby | Battalion Chief (Indianapolis, IN)

Dr. Candace Ashby is a career firefighter with over 35 years of experience and is a Battalion Chief with the Indianapolis Fire Department. Her educational background includes a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership. She is President of Key Fire Investigations and ELITE Public Safety Consulting. Dr. Ashby enjoys making a positive impact in the fire service through coaching, mentoring, and leading change.

Chief Ken McMullen | Chief of Emergency Services (Red Deer, AB)

Chief Ken McMullen, Chief of Emergency Services in Red Deer, Alberta and President of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, delivers a frank and insightful session on what it means to lead with ethics and integrity in today’s evolving fire service.
Drawing on his extensive leadership experience, Chief McMullen reflects on how the fire service has changed—culturally, operationally, and publicly—and the increasing expectations for transparency and accountability. He will explore how social media has reshaped leadership, where decisions are scrutinized in real time and narratives can quickly influence public perception, workforce morale, and organizational trust.

Central to this session is Chief McMullen’s firsthand experience navigating complex and often challenging dynamics with organized labor over the past two years in Red Deer. He will share lessons learned from these interactions, including the realities of leading through conflict, maintaining professionalism under pressure, and staying grounded in ethical decision-making when facing criticism from both internal and external stakeholders.

This session emphasizes that leadership is not just about operational excellence, but about character, consistency, and courage—especially when the path forward is not easy.

Chief Tim Cowan | Deputy Fire Chief (Central New York)

NY & National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Region II Advocate Manager- Timothy S. Cowan is a Deputy Fire Chief with the DeWitt Fire District in Central New York and a 33-year fire and emergency services veteran. Cowan retired as a Deputy Fire Chief / Fire Marshal from the City of Oneida Fire Department (N.Y.). Cowan is also an active volunteer firefighter with the Canastota Fire Department (N.Y.). He is a Deputy Fire Coordinator and Fire Instructor for the Madison County Office of Emergency Management (N.Y.). Cowan is a Firehouse Editorial Advisory Board member. He is also a member of the NFPA 1030 Technical committee.

Chief Greg Flynn | Fire Chief (St. Clair Shores, MI)

Chief Flynn joined the fire service in 1998. He has served West Bloomfield as a firefighter/paramedic, EMS Division Captain, Assistant Chief, and Fire Chief. Flynn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Studies, is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program, and possesses a Master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School – Center for Homeland Defense & Security in Monterey, California. committee.

Chief James Etzin | Chief of EMS (Farmington Hills, MI)

Jim Etzin recently retired as the supervisor of the Farmington Hills (Michigan) Fire Department’s training division and currently serves as the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the Oakland County Tactical Consortium (OakTac), a mutual aid organization comprised of 40 law enforcement agencies, multiple fire departments, and other stakeholders protecting approximately 1.3 million residents. He’s also the founder of the International Tactical EMS Association (ITEMS), served as a United States Navy corpsman during combat operations in Operation Desert Storm, and then as a full-time combat medicine instructor for the 1st Marine Division. After becoming the first corpsman to ever attend the United States Marine Corps Military Police School and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) School, he then served as both an operator and medic for the lone full-time Marine Corps SWAT team at the time. In the immediate aftermath of the infamous North Hollywood Bank of America takeover robbery and shootout in 1997, two years prior to the tragedy at Columbine High School, he was the first in the United States to conceptualize extraordinary deployment into active violence environments by conventional fire service personnel.

Chief Dave McGlynn | Assistant Fire Chief (Letterkenny, PA)

Dave McGlynn has been in fire and emergency Services since 2001, having served in both municipal and federal fire departments as a firefighter, driver/operator, company officer and training officer. He served as a captain at the U.S. Army War College for the Carlisle Barracks, PA, Fire Department and was recently the chief of the Training Division for the U.S. Military Academy West Point, NY, Fire Department. McGlynn is currently an assistant fire chief for the Letterkenny, PA, Fire Department where he serves as the operations chief and training officer and is also a national public speaker and fire instructor, speaking on leadership development, training officer and program development, and motivational professional development. He holds an associate’s of science in fire science, a bachelor’s of science in fire & emergency services administration, and is currently pursuing his master’s of arts in organizational leadership.