Leadership Under Fire

Cold Case Investigations: Serving Justice and Building Resilience with Detective Wendell Stradford, NYPD (Ret)

On September 11, 2021, Wendell Stradford marked his 63rd birthday, the birth of his granddaughter, and the end of his nearly forty-year career with the NYPD. Detective Stradford aged out of service after having spent the bulk of his career working and solving cold cases. There were many successes in the detective’s time on the job, but there were many challenges that came along with it. He joined the Department in 1984 prior to the consolidation of the New York City Transit Police and Housing Authority Police in 1995. Stradford built a reputation as a superb investigator and proud public servant despite the dangers of policing. While off-duty, Stradford made sure to carve out time to coach his children and local high school athletes. He’s coached several basketball teams including the Police Athletic League and has served as the longtime assistant coach at St. Peter’s Boys High School on Staten Island. After a long career chasing down criminals and solving heinous crimes, Stradford was asked to share his expertise consulting on TV crime shows, which is how he’s been spending time in retirement. 

LUF Fireside Chat Series featuring FDNY Chief Jack Pritchard (Ret) & Captain Tommy Gardner--Part I

This episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast is hosted by Jim McNamara and features FDNY Battalion Chief Jack Pritchard (Ret) and Captain Tommy Gardner. Both individuals have worked in some of the busiest companies in the FDNY. Chief Pritchard started his career in 1970 in Squad 4. During his career he went on to work in Rescue Co. 2, Rescue Co. 5, Engine Co. 255, Ladder Co. 157 and served as a chief in Battalion 41. Over the course of Captain Gardner's career he served in Engine Co. 255, Ladder Co. 157, Ladder Co. 111. After 9/11, he worked at the FDNY's Fire Training Academy. Once promoted to Captain, he served in Ladder Co.113. Gardner is a plank owner of Squad 8 on Staten Island. Both men served in the United State Navy prior to joining the FDNY. 

Reflections on a Family Legacy with Deputy Chief Jim Ginty, FDNY (Ret)

Deputy Chief Jim Ginty is a 37 year veteran of the FDNY. Assigned as a probationary firefighter to Einge Co. 43/Ladder Co. 59 in 1984 to the war ravaged Bronx. Upon promotion to Lieutenant, an assignment to Ladder Co. 28 in Harlem. As a Captain, he served in Ladder Co. 147 in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Upon yet another promotion, Chief Ginty returned to Harlem in Battalion 12. Chief Ginty capped off his career with one final promotion, to Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Command of the FDNY. In addition, Chief Ginty has been instrumental in the development and execution of the FDNY’s Mental Performance Initiative. Chief Ginty also is intimately involved in the Fire Family Transport program, which obtains vehicles to be used by sick and injured firefighters and their families.

Rescue Company Command with Capt Brian McNulty, Rescue Co. 2, Milwaukee FD

Leadership Under Fire founder Jason Brezler hosts this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast. Our guest in this episode is Captain Brian McNulty of the Milwaukee Fire Department’s Rescue Company 2. Capt McNulty joined the ranks of the Milwaukee Fire Department in 1999. In addition to serving as the company commander of Rescue Co. 2, McNulty is a co-director for the department’s technical rescue team and is an adjunct instructor at the training academy. He is also the lead tactical training instructor for our generous sponsor Conway Shield’s Training Division. 

Cultivating Personal and Team Resilience with Jennifer Baker

In this episode, listeners will hear the final installment of a recording captured in 2019 at a Leadership Under Fire Summit in Annapolis, Maryland. This talk is a departure from the interviews featured on this podcast and offers a glimpse into how the LUF team approaches advancing leadership and optimizing human performance under fire during scheduled events and seminars. The presenter you'll hear in this episode is Jennifer Baker, who currently is the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Johns Hopkins University. She was promoted to the role on August 6, 2019. Prior to this, Baker served as Hopkins’ Senior Associate Director of Athletics since September 2017. Baker is a co-founder of Athletics Leadership Consulting, whose mission is to make leadership development accessible to all athletes, coaches and organizational support staff. The group leverages athletics as a tool for leadership education as it designs and delivers original content that allows athletes to develop leadership and teamwork skills as an integrated component of their competitive experience. Baker graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering and was a member of the Academy’s women’s lacrosse club team. After the Naval Academy, Baker spent seven years in the Navy, including three years as a pilot and four as a construction manager and facilities engineer. She later earned an MBA and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Cornell.
Visit the episode webpage on leadershipunderfire.com to view the workbook Baker references in the episode. 

A Reflection on Individual Risk and Resiliency with FDNY Firefighter Brendan Cawley

FDNY firefighter Brendan Cawley is a survivor of the horrific Black Sunday Fire which occurred in the Bronx on the morning of January 23, 2005. Brendan is one of six members who jumped from the top floor of a 4-story apartment building on E. 178th St. Thirty-four months later, he returned to full duty status after a miraculous and grueling recovery from the physical and mental injuries he sustained as a result of his long fall. The fire tragically claimed the lives of three members of the FDNY – Lt Curt Meyran, FF John Bellew and Lt Joseph DiBernardo. 
The interview you will hear in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast featuring Brendan was recorded in 2019 at a LUF Human Performance Summit in Annapolis, Maryland. The event was devoted to the concept of resilience, namely asking the question, “what happens when we play to win and lose?” 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, which you will hear prior to the interview. 
Note: The podcast episode also includes tactical fireground transmissions from the Black Sunday fire in the Bronx. A word of caution to our listeners, the transmissions are raw and graphic.

A Historic Human Performance Episode of the Equitable Building Fire

2022 marks the 110th anniversary of the Equitable Building Fire in New York City. On January 9, 2012, the Equitable Life Assurance Building located in Manhattan’s Financial District caught fire after a match was carelessly thrown into a trash can. Within minutes, almost the entire building was engulfed in fire. Outside, the wind was howling at nearly 40 miles per hour–with gusts of up to almost 70 miles per hour–making the already below freezing temperatures even colder. At the time, no other private business building housed a similar magnitude of monetary interests under its roof. Considered by some as the world’s first skyscraper, the building at 120 Broadway was completed in 1870. The tragic deaths and enormous property losses sustained at this disaster contributed to lasting changes to FDNY policies and procedures. Those familiar with this fire may know the logistics of this historic event, but in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast, we aim to add to the historical narrative of the Equitable Building Fire through a human performance lens.
This conversation is made possible by the extensive research efforts of our guest in this episode, FDNY Lieutenant Matt Connor. Matt was appointed to the New York City Fire Department in 2005. He worked as a Firefighter in Engine Co. 222 and Ladder Co. 124, both in Brooklyn. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2020 and assigned to Battalion 37 in the 15th Division, again, in the borough of Brooklyn. He’s served in the FDNY Bureau of Training and contributes to the FDNY’s Mental Performance Initiative. Matt received a bachelor’s from the University of Delaware and is pursuing a master’s at the Graduate Center City University of New York where he is studying New York City history through the lens of urban firefighting.

2021 Year in Review with Jason Brezler and James McNamara

In this episode, host Patti Murphy is joined by LUF Founder Jason Brezler and LUF’s Human Performance Advisor James McNamara. If you’re tuning into this podcast for the first time, you can listen to episodes no. 5 and 12 to learn more about each of them. Since this is our year in review episode, the team covers a lot in just a short amount of time. 2021 seems to have been a long, divisive year where we endured another 12 months of a global pandemic with impeding COVID-19 mandates, witnessed America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as we marked the 20th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, and continued to redefine “normal.” But while it was another incredibly hard year for many, there were still moments that highlight the admirable tenacity and ingenuity of people and resilience of the human spirit worthy of celebrating.

Smarter Not Harder with David Sears, US Navy SEAL (Ret)

Commander David Sears (Ret) served twenty years of active military duty as a US Navy SEAL officer. He served on multiple east coast SEAL Teams, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, various Joint Commands, and Headquarters United States Special Operations Command. Commander Sears has participated in a number of conflicts and contingency operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He is a graduate of Boston University and the Naval Postgraduate School, earning a Master of Science in Defense Analysis. He is the co-founder and a managing partner at Xundis Global, LLC. Using CRISP Thinking® principles to navigate the complexity of a rapidly emerging world, Xundis helps organizations and individuals increase performance, leadership, and innovation. A keynote speaker, senior consultant, and advisor to multiple clients in the defense and technology space, David is a regular guest commentator on Fox News, Fox Business, and CBSN. 

Breathing for Warriors with Dr. Belisa Vranich

In this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Podcast we welcome back to the show renowned clinical psychologist and breathing expert Dr. Belisa Vranich. Since we last featured her on the podcast in early 2019, Dr. Vranich has expanded her work with athletes and first responders and has published a new book titled Breathing for Warriors. In the previous episode, we unpacked Belisa’s groundbreaking research and daily workout that helped our bodies relearn the proper way to inhale and exhale. Now, we’ll uncover how she’s discovered how to optimize performance and improve endurance, strength, precision and recovery all through the most basic of human functions—breathing!