Leadership Under Fire

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!

Miracle in Afghanistan‘s Hindu Kush with Shaun Cullen, FDNY and Air National Guard

This episode of the Optimizing Human Performance Podcast is hosted by Leadership Under Fire Founder Jason Brezler. Our guest is Shuan Cullen, a native New Yorker who graduated from Iona College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business. He played Division 1 water polo and swam for the Gaels while attending Iona. Upon graduation, Shaun went to work for Goldman Sachs in August of 2001. He left Goldman in August of 2002 to take an EMT course and joined the ranks of the FDNY in February of 2003. Upon completion of Proby school, Shaun was assigned to 54 Engine in Midtown Manhattan. He transferred to Squad 1 in 2013, was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017 and is presently assigned to Ladder 1 in Lower Manhattan. Shaun entered the Air National Guard in 2004 and was commissioned in 2005. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas, and rotary qualification at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon graduation from pilot training, he was assigned to a Combat Search and Rescue/Personnel Recovery unit in Westhampton Beach, NY. Shaun made two combat deployments to Afghanistan and participated in hurricane rescue and recovery, wildfire support, NASA Shuttle launch and recovery, and civilian SAR missions.

Optimal Human Performance During the FDNY War Years with DC Joseph DiBernardo (Ret) & Capt Louie Andrade (Ret) Part II

This is the second and final installment of our second 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 Deputy Chief Joseph DiBernardo and retired Captain Louis Andrade. 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. 

Fire in My Eyes with Paralympian LT Brad Snyder, US Navy EOD

Leadership Under Fire Human Performance Data Analyst Timothy Clarke guest hosts this episode of the Optimizing Human Performance Podcast featuring Brad Snyder. Brad is a multi-time Paralympic Gold Medalist in swimming and triathlon. In September 2011, while serving in the US Navy, Brad stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan rendering him completely blind. It wasn’t long before Brad found a new purpose and dedicated himself to competing at the 2012 London Paralympics the following summer winning a gold medal in swimming. Brad repeated this feat at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Paralympics, but decided to switch gears this year in Tokyo competing instead at the sport of triathlon. All told Brad has won six gold and two silver medals at the Paralympics. Brad is a US Naval academy graduate and author of the book Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory. Brad is also currently pursuing a PhD at Princeton in Public Policy.  

Optimal Human Performance During the FDNY War Years with DC Joseph DiBernardo (Ret), Capt Louie Andrade (Ret)—Part I

This episode is part one of two, and 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. In early 2021, the LUF Team decided to launch a Virtual Fireside Chat series where LUF Senior Man Jim McNamara hosts candid conversations with seasoned leaders and human performance thought leaders. Leadership Under Fire’s second Virtual Fireside Chat featured FDNY retirees Deputy Chief Joseph DiBernardo and Captain Louie Andrade. Captain Andrade entered the ranks of the FDNY in 1957 after having served in the United States Marine Corps. Andrade was a Lieutenant in Engine Co. 82 at the height of the War Years in the South Bronx. He later served as the Captain in Engine 69 in Harlem and Engine 320 in Queens. Deputy Chief Joe DiBernardo was appointed to the FDNY in 1966 following combat service in the US Army. Chief DiBernardo’s career included service in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn. He spent the final fifteen years of his career as a deputy chief in the Bronx’s 6th Division. Both leaders have been instrumental in the development of countless firefighters, fire officers and chief fire officers.