Dr. Pat Lynch, the primary author of Every Fire-Rescue Professional is a Leader, has worked for over 27 years with clients in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She has consulted with fire-rescue agencies since 2007 in areas such as strategic planning, succession management, leadership development, executive coaching, core values development, marketing and branding, and inclusion, equity, and diversity. She has been a contractor/subject matter expert (SME) for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) on a variety of projects and has served as a volunteer SME for its Volunteer and Combination Officers and its Company Officers Sections. Pat has presented regularly at Fire-Rescue International as well as other industry conferences and programs, including numerous webinars for the IAFC. Prior to consulting, she engaged in a variety of careers in private and public sector organizations as well as in academia. She served for over seven years as a Red Cross Disaster Action Team leader in the Los Angeles Region. Pat’s doctorate is in personnel and employment relations, with a minor in labor and employment law. She previously earned an MBA in Economics and a B.A. in Sociology and has been a certified business ghostwriter since 2014.