Leadership Under Fire

Revisiting Tribe (with a Pandemic Epilogue) with Sebastian Junger

In this episode, Leadership Under Fire welcomes back to the Optimizing Human Performance Podcast American journalist, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger. Sebastian was featured on the show in March of 2019, but that conversation seems even more relevant as our entire society is navigating a deadly pandemic that has brought with it great uncertainty while disrupting many of our social norms and economy. And so, it seems fitting to follow up with Sebastian and pose a few questions to him that are specific to the crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic. The original conversation will follow after the latest interview.

Embracing Extreme Adversity with LCDR Justin Legg, USN SEAL (Ret)

In this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast, we'll unpack Justin Legg's unprecedented story of resilience. In 2006, Justin experienced a major medical setback, but as discussed, his mental fortitude has carried him through every challenge in life. Justin is a retired Navy SEAL Officer who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2000 with a B.S. in Systems Engineering. He was a member of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training (or BUD/S) Class 234 and became a plank owner of SEAL Team SEVEN. While with SEAL Team SEVEN he deployed to the Middle East twice and participated in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning from Iraq, he transferred to Special Boat Team TWENTY-TWO in Mississippi, where he served as a Task Unit Commander and the Team Training Officer. Justin medically retired from the Navy in 2012. He completed his master’s degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. He works in Energy Resilience as a consultant to the Department of Defense. 

Deep Survival with Author Laurence Gonzales

Laurence Gonzales is the author of three novels and five books of nonfiction. His bestselling book Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why has been published in six languages and was followed by Surviving Survival: The Art and Science of Resilience. His other works include Flight 232, Lucy and House of Pain. Gonzales has received numerous awards including two National Magazine Awards and the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2015 he received a Journalism Fellowship from the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) and in 2016 was given an appointment as a Miller Scholar there. His appointment as an SFI Miller Scholar was renewed for 2017, 2018, and 2019. He is our guest on this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Performance Podcast. 

Jim McNamara's Senior Man Feature Episode with Bob Athanas, FDNY

This episode is hosted by Jim McNamara. For those tuning in for the first time, Jim is a senior Firefighter at the FDNY and serves as a Human Performance Advisor for Leadership Under Fire. He's also the principal author of the Leadership Under Fire Senior Man’s Performance Journal. Bob Athanas is our guest in this episode. Bob recently retired after 37 years of service with the FDNY. Bob grew up in Southbridge, MA, and served as a paid firefighter there from 1976-1983. He moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1983 and served four years as an FDNY fire alarm dispatcher in the Brooklyn Central Office and later the CADO Unit. Bob was appointed as a FDNY firefighter in 1987. He transferred to Rescue 3 in February of 1991 where he would spend the next 29 years of his career. Bob also served as an adjunct instructor at the FDNY Fire Academy and the lead instructor for thermal imager training for many FDNY training programs. He also taught at the FDNY Special Operations Command Technical Rescue School and helped develop the FDNY SOC Advanced Firefighter Rescue Training program. Bob was also a member of the Urban Search and Rescue New York Task Force 1.

Managing Risk and Morality as a Paramedic with Jacob Dutton

Jake Dutton is a firefighter with the FDNY currently assigned to Ladder Company 102 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He was previously assigned to Engine Company 235 and has worked as a paramedic in the New York City Emergency Medical Services system since 2006. A native of Northern California, Jake grew up as a competitive skier and avid outdoorsman. He began his career in the fire service working as a seasonal firefighter for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now CAL FIRE, and North Tahoe Fire District in North Lake Tahoe. Jake is a member of the FDNY’s Incident Management Team and serves with a NYC-based disaster relief organization where he regularly responds to disasters and humanitarian crises around the world. He holds a Master of Art degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University and a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University. Jake serves as a Human Performance Analyst for Leadership Under Fire.

Mental Skills Coaching with Ben Oliva

Ben Oliva is a certified mental performance consultant and mental health counselor. He is a member of the SportStrata team, which utilizes the most recent innovations in sport and performance psychology to coach individuals and teams to reach their maximum potential. He specializes in training athletes and elite performers using evidence-based mental skills training. Ben is the mental performance coach for Fordham University and New York University Athletics. He has works with the Baylor Football program and other NCAA teams. Beyond athletics, Ben is a mental performance coach for the New York City Fire Department’s Mental Performance Initiative and delivers leadership and mental performance workshops for business organizations across the country. Ben’s experience includes working for the mental skills group of the Boston Red Sox and serving as an assistant coach at Williams College for the baseball and football programs, where he was also a two-sport varsity athlete. He received his master’s degree in sport and performance counseling from Boston University and his undergraduate degree in psychology and astrophysics from Williams College. Ben serves as a human performance advisor for Leadership Under Fire.

Leading in a Rapidly Changing World with LtCol Charlie Black, USMC

Charlie Black is a retired Marine Corps Officer with diverse experiences that span over three decades of service on four continents with conventional and special operations forces. His mission-focused leadership consistently enabled success in the most demanding and uncertain environments by building resilient and adaptive teams. For close to a decade since active service, he has pursued a range of endeavors from executive leadership in a non-profit and commercial business, laboratory research to graduate teaching. He regularly speaks and writes on the disruptive, turbulent and unpredictable nature of our world and what is required to successfully navigate the fog of uncertainty, especially those in leadership positions. He is the Co-Founder and a Managing Partner at Xundis Global—a niche trans-disciplinary consultancy focused on organizational change and plural futures.He also is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Joint Special Operations University, US Special Operations Command. Charlie serves an Operational Leadership Advisor for Leadership Under Fire.

Leading as a Fire Company Commander with FDNY Captain Michele Fitzsimmons

Captain Michele Fitzsimmons is an 18-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department. She currently is the Department’s highest-ranking, senior woman in fire operations as the Company Commander of Ladder 12 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. From 2002 through 2004, she was the president of FireFLAG, the FDNY’s Gay and Lesbian organization. In 2007, she co-founded Phoenix Firecamp, a weeklong sleep away camp that introduces teenage girls to the fire service. She continued as a camp instructor for seven years at the annual program. Then, from 2013-2015, she was an instructor at FDNY's Probationary Firefighter School. She is a graduate of the FDNY Officers Management Institute—a program offered by Columbia Business School Executive Education. She has been a Guest Lecturer at Fire Service Women of Ontario, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School and Graduate School of Education. She has presented on holding a position of leadership in a male dominated field as well as decision making while working with Mission Critical Teams. Prior to joining the FDNY, Michele worked at GMHC from 1993-2001. GMHC is the world’s first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy. Her last three years there were spent as a coordinator of the Lesbian AIDS Project. 

Reflections of a Senior Marine General Officer with Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson, USMC (Ret)

In this episode, we're honored to have U.S. Marine Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson as our guest. General Nicholson served as the Commanding General of III Marine Expeditionary Force, leading 30,000 Marines and Sailors in the Asia-Pacific region, from 2015 to 2018. He retired in August of 2018 after 39 years of dedicated service. During his career, he commanded at every level in USMC infantry units and commanded Marines in both Anbar Province, Iraq and Helmand Province, Afghanistan during critical periods of military campaigns. General Nicholson is the first General Officer to be interviewed on our show.

2019 Year in Review with Jason Brezler and James McNamara--Part II

Welcome to the second part of our 2019 Year In Review. This episode picks up with podcast host Patti Murphy, Leadership Under Fire Founder and President Jason Brezler and FDNY Senior Firefighter James McNamara. In the previous episode, we discussed the LUF team's accomplishments and focused efforts during 2019. Now, we'll dive deeper into some of the lessons Jason and Jim learned firsthand during the year that impacted their views on human performance and leadership.