Leadership Under Fire

Revisiting Perseverance with MLB Hitting Coach Anthony Iapoce

The original broadcast date for this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast was April 4, 2019. In 2016—after a 108-year wait—the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series. The Cubs’ journey from being a last place team to one of the most iconic in baseball history is charged with lessons learned on effective leadership, teamwork, culture creation, sacrifice, trust, possibility and character development. So, it seems fitting that in the fall of 2018, the Cubs named Anthony Iapoce as the team’s Hitting Coach. Iapoce began his coaching career in 2006, but prior to that he spent eleven seasons playing in the minor leagues with the Brewers and Marlins organizations. Just as Cubs fans always remained optimistic and steadfast, so has Iapoce. Iapoce, a Queens, NY native, continues to serve as the Cubs’ big league hitting coach.  

Revisiting Career Reflection with FDNY Lt Mickey Conboy

The original broadcast date for this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast was January 10, 2019. In 2018, Lieutenant Conboy was recognized with the FDNY’s highest annual award (James Gordon Bennett) for valor he displayed in the rescue of occupants at a fire in the South Bronx. He recently received the FDNY’s most prestigious award for valor – the Dr. Harry Archer Medal. Lieutenant Conboy has more than 35 years with the FDNY. He is presently assigned to Rescue Co. 3 in the Bronx and previously served as a Lieutenant in Squad Co. 41 and a firefighter in Engine Co. 79, Ladder Co. 37 and Rescue Co. 3. Lieutenant Conboy is an Adjunct Instructor at the FDNY Fire Academy and the FDNY’s Technical Rescue School. He was instrumental in the development of the course curriculum for Advanced Firefighter Victim Removal training for FDNY Special Operations Command firefighters and officers. External recognition aside, he’s also experienced quiet moments of accomplishment and fulfillment in the fire service and in his personal life as a father and grandfather.

Resilience in Mission-Critical Teams with Dr. Preston Cline and Coleman Ruiz

Co-founders of the Mission Critical Team Institute, Dr. Preston Cline and Coleman Ruiz, are our guests in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast. The interview you will hear was recorded in early 2019 at a Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Summit, in Annapolis, Maryland. The event was devoted to the concept of resilience - the ability to navigate adversity and absorb failure and loss in high-risk settings. The summit allowed leaders to explore the concept from the individual, team and organizational level as well as from a physical, mental, emotional and moral perspective. Other Resilience Summit guests included FDNY Black Sunday survivor Firefighter Brendan Cawley and Columbia University’s Dr. George Bonanno. To help listeners gain context for each summit conversation, LUF Founder Jason Brezler and podcast host Patti Murphy discussed their reflections shortly after the event. 

LUF Virtual Fireside Chat Series featuring FDNY Lieutenants Danny Murphy & Dennis Gordon (Ret)--Part II

This is the second and final installment of our first Virtual Fireside Chat. The conversation affords seasoned leaders the opportunity to candidly reflect on leadership lessons and human performance principles resulting from the many wins and losses they’ve experienced. This conversation is hosted by LUF Senior Man Jim McNamara and features FDNY retired lieutenants Danny Murphy and Dennis Gordon. If you haven’t listened to Part I, we strongly suggest you go back and listen to it as this conversation picks up from where we left off. 

Freedom with Sebastian Junger

In this episode, we welcome back to the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast American author, journalist, and filmmaker Sebastian Junger to discuss his latest book, Freedom. In three succinct chapters, Junger takes us on a physical and philosophical journey exploring the concept of Freedom—and the disparities that exist at its core in today’s modern society. While the book is rooted in Junger’s 400-mile journey on foot across the northeastern United States, it branches out across history and geography to dissect competing values between our human spirit longing for individuality and our basic need for community. Junger’s earlier work includes the books: Tribe and The Perfect Storm as well as the Academy Award-nominated film: Restrepo.

LUF Virtual Fireside Chat Series featuring FDNY Lieutenants Danny Murphy & Dennis Gordon (Ret)--Part I

This episode is part one of two. What you’re about to hear is a recording of a live event. The "Fireside Chat" has become a staple of Leadership Under Fire leadership development and human performance resident programs. The conversation affords seasoned leaders the opportunity to candidly reflect on leadership lessons and human performance principles resulting from the many wins and losses they’ve experienced. In 2021, the LUF Team decided to launch a Virtual Fireside Chat series hosted by LUF Senior Man Jim McNamara. LUF’s first Virtual Fireside Chat took place in New York City in early June and featured FDNY retired lieutenants Danny Murphy and Dennis Gordon. Both leaders spent more than three decades serving and leading in the FDNY’s busiest companies. In addition to possessing high levels of tactical expertise, both leaders were highly regarded for their calm demeanor and decisiveness at complex fires and emergencies where members were operating under considerable pressure. Both leaders were instrumental in the development of countless firefighters and young fire officers.

Optimal Performance at Wildfires, Off-road and in the Backcountry

Our guest in this episode is Battalion Chief Thomas Smith from CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit and the Placer County Fire Department. Smith started his career in 2005 as a Firefighter with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District. In 2006, he was hired with CAL FIRE NEU as a Firefighter I and promoted through the ranks of FFII and Engineer working in Battalions 12, 17, and 18 as well as the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. In 2014, Smith promoted to Fire Captain B in the Lassen-Modoc Unit and was assigned as a Fire Crew Captain running Inmate Hand Crews at both Intermountain and Antelope Camps. In 2018, he promoted to Battalion Chief in the San Benito-Monterey Unit assigned as a Field Battalion Chief in the Bear Valley Battalion. He then transferred back to the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit in his current position as a field Battalion Chief in the cooperative fire agreement with Placer County Fire. Chief Smith is a qualified Air Operations Branch Director and is currently assigned to Incident Management Team 1. He has served on numerous Regional and Statewide teaching cadres including S-212, C-234, Air Tanker Base Manager and AOBD/ASGS. Smith graduated from California State University, Chico, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies and holds an Associate of Science degree from Sierra College in Fire Technology. Smith is a resident of Truckee, California, where he lives with his wife and two children.

From Renegade to Reformer with Capt Gabe Angemi, Camden NJ FD

Gabe Angemi is a second-generation member of the Camden NJ Fire Department. He presently serves as a Captain and is assigned to Squad Company 7. Gabe has spent many years serving in Camden’s Special Operations companies and is a member of NJ-TF1 FEMA USAR since 2008. He completed undergraduate study in Public Safety Administration from Neumann University and holds a master’s degree in Emergency & Disaster Management from Georgetown University. Gabe serves as a tactical leadership advisor for Leadership Under Fire. 

Exploring the Complexities of the FDNY War Years with Joe Flood

Journalist Joe Flood is the founder of n2 Communications and the author of the book The Fires, which examines New York City’s 1970s fire epidemic and fiscal crisis. In The Fires, Flood provides an X-ray of the inner workings of NYC during the ‘70s using the dramatic story of a pair of mayors, an ambitious Fire Commissioner, and an even more ambitious think tank to illuminate the patterns and formulas that are now inextricably woven into the very fabric of the modern urban experience. Joe won the Bronx Recognizes Its Own award from the Bronx Council on the Arts for this work. 

Leading as a Performance Pioneer in Professional Baseball with Rachel Balkovec

Rachel Balkovec is making history this 2021 season as the first woman hired by a major league baseball team to work as a full-time hitting coach. Balkovec currently serves as a minor league hitting coach for the New York Yankees and has worked in professional baseball for seven years. Breaking through in 2014, she was hired as the minor league strength and conditioning coordinator for the St. Louis Cardinals—the first woman to hold that position in professional baseball. A year later she became the Latin American strength and conditioning coordinator for the Houston Astros. Balkovec is a former NCAA Division 1 softball catcher who earned two master’s degrees in sports performance and human movement and has completed five baseball internships.