Bruce Fraser Bruce is president of Fraser Fire Protection Services since retiring after a 45-year career with SimplexGrinnell where he was their director of industry relations. He has recently served on the boards of several industry organizations including the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) and is a past president of the New England Chapter of SFPE. Bruce is also active on several NFPA Technical Committees including NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code, Emergency Communications Systems Chapter as well as being on the NFPA 72 Technical Correlating Committee. Additionally, he is a member of ASME A17.1 Elevator and Escalator Safety Code, Emergency Operations Committee. He continues to be a strong advocate for the fire industry, and in particular, for education and training.
John McSheffrey Jr. John is President of en-Gauge Inc, which developed and markets the technology to electronically monitor fire extinguishers. John’s passion for fire protection began when he was just five years old in 1973, when his father started MIJA Industries, the world leading manufacturer of spiral wound pressure gauges. In 2000, MIJA began developing the en-Gauge technology following the tragedy at Seton Hall. In 2008 en-Gauge Inc spun out of MIJA.
Much of John’s time is spent in a business development role focused on en-Gauge’s key distribution channels and working with code officials , specifiers and governmental agencies. Prior to joining the family business in 2002, John founded and led a not-for-profit, non-partisan educational organization designed on engaging the younger generation in politics and social issues. John’s experience with not-for-profits played a key role in the Center for Campus Fire Safety becoming a non-profit organization.
John is married with two amazing young kids and lives in the Boston area. He’s a diehard Red Sox fan but has shown an amazing ability to get along with even the most ardent New York Yankee fans.
Chris Rovenstine
Chris is vice president of marketing for Kidde Residential and Commercial, a division of the world's largest manufacturer of fire safety products. Chris has an extensive sales and marketing background and has worked in the fire safety industry for 15 years. He originally joined Kidde as Director of Marketing in 1996 after the acquisition of Nighthawk Systems Group, a carbon monoxide alarm manufacturer where Chris served as vice president of sales and marketing.
He became vice president in 2002, and has incorporated his passion to educate the public about the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning into all of Kidde's marketing, public relations, advertising and branding strategies.
August W. Schaefer August W. Schaefer is the Senior Vice President - Public Safety Officer for Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Gus Schaefer is UL's Public Safety Officer. In this capacity, he works to expand UL's Public Safety Mission on a global scale. He acts as UL's Public Safety guardian, ambassador and advocate both inside and outside of the company, and represents UL on major safety initiatives, working closely with UL's Commercial, Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Consumer Affairs, Washington D.C. Office, and the staff of the CTO Group. He is also currently responsible for UL's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Corporate Giving activities and UL's annual giving campaign.
Mr. Schaefer began his career at UL in 1973 at the Melville, New York office, as a member of the Follow-Up Services (FUS) Department. In the course of his assignment to FUS, he was responsible for the development of a number of innovative "second generation" FUS inspection programs, during which he worked closely with the UL staff and Industry members. He also participated in the launch of UL's QRS Management System Registration business. Mr. Schaefer eventually rose to the position of Chief Engineer - Follow-Up Services, with responsibility for UL's Global FUS activities.
During the mid-nineties, Mr. Schaefer was asked to manage UL's QRS business, during which he led a major customer service function. Under his leadership, the group achieved significant improvements in the performance of the business.
In May 1998, Mr. Schaefer was assigned to the role of Director, Asian Operations, and in this position, worked to coalesce UL's resources in Asia into a regionally coordinated team. Under his direction, the Asian Operation launched a significant expansion of UL's on-the-ground presence in Asia by adding staff and adding and expanding facilities. He and his team in Asia pioneered the development of UL's first formalized capacity planning efforts, which allowed growth in the Region to be managed in a logical and methodical manner.
In late 2001, Mr. Schaefer was assigned full responsibility for UL's U.S. and Canadian Operations, remaining in this role until June 2004. During this assignment, Mr. Schaefer and his team worked to synchronize the Region with UL's ongoing business transformation activities, and eventually prepared the way for the introduction of the new Operating Model. After a brief assignment to oversee UL's Global FUS and Administrative Services Operations, Mr. Schaefer was assigned to his current position of Public Safety Officer in January 2005.
Mr. Schaefer has always been recognized as a team builder, and particularly effective as a collaborative leader, serving to inspire others to outstanding performance and commitment. His record of accomplishments gives evidence of his ability to convert grand ideas into reality though systematic implementation.
Tam Tran-Viet Tam is currently with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, DC based law enforcement policy organization, where he is committed to improving the delivery of police services to the community. PERF also serves as a research and technical assistance organization, specializing in helping law enforcement agencies improve their policies and operations. While his primary focus is centered around law enforcement policy for major police departments throughout the nation, he has integrated his extensive fire/rescue background into advocating for the public safety community as a whole on a number of PERF-related projects. Prior to joining PERF, Tam served as a Special Assistant to former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton for nearly seven years. During his tenure as a staff member in the Senate, Tam worked on a number of public safety initiatives, especially as they relate to fire-rescue, law enforcement and first responder issues. In his free time, Tam remains dedicated to public safety as he maintains his service to the community as a volunteer firefighter, certified EMT and sworn law enforcement officer.
Jim Tidwell Jim Tidwell is a Code Consultant with a long history in fire prevention. His company is Tidwell Code Consulting, and he primarily works to develop and promote changes to the ICC and NFPA codes and standards consistent with public safety and his clients’ needs.
Prior to opening his own consulting shop, Tidwell served in several positions with the International Code Council, including Deputy Senior Vice President of Government Relations where he was responsible for a team of state and local Government Relations Managers who assisted jurisdictions with adoptions, code training, etc.
He began his career with ICC by forming “Team Fire”, a group of former fire service leaders now working with ICC to generate partnerships and enhance communications with the fire service about regulatory issues of interest to public and firefighter safety.
Jim left the Fort Worth, Texas Fire Department after a 30 year career there. He served the last seven years as the Executive Deputy Chief, and served as the interim fire chief when Larry McMillen retired after his 22 year stint as chief of the department. During his tenure at Fort Worth, Jim provided leadership in many areas, including fire prevention, communications, and technology.
Jim has been active in the regulatory arena for many years, helping draft the International Fire and Building Codes, serving on the Board of Directors the International Code Council and several fire prevention organizations; working on public and firefighter safety issues in the federal, state, and local legislative arenas.
Jim continues to be active in a number of fire service organizations, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fallen Firefighters’ Foundation, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. His long and distinguished career has been focused on creating a safe environment for both the public and for firefighters through fire prevention, enhanced communication, and technological advances across a wide spectrum of fire service needs.
Wayne Curtis "Curt" Weldon Wayne Curtis "Curt" Weldon served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. Mr. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Mr. Weldon entered politics in 1977, when he became the Mayor of Marcus Hook. Prior to that, he served as an educator in local Delaware County schools as well as a volunteer chief officer for the Viscose Fire Company in Marcus Hook.
In 1987, while a member of Congress, Mr. Weldon founded the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and has since consistently fought for increased funding for firefighters and fire safety. He was the author of a bill that implemented a federal grant program for local fire departments that evolved into the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. He has fought for mandatory safety sprinklers in college dormitories and training of fire departments to deal with terrorism incidents involving chemical and biological weapons.