Instructors
Citygate’s lead instructors have backgrounds at the local, state, and federal level and have a combination of practical field experience, as well as classroom instruction skills.
We are able to take standard curriculum and apply local scenarios
Many of our instructors are subject-matter experts and helped develop the training they teach
Most have EOC and all-hazard multi-disciplinary incident management experience
Lead instructors are certified by an official sanctioning body – OSFM, POST, Cal EMA, FEMA
A partial list of our instructors is provided below.
Chief Bill Sager
Chief Sager is a Fire Services Specialist with more than 40 years in the fire service. Hiss last assignment with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) was as the Butte Unit Chief and the Butte County Fire Chief. He is a nationally recognized course developer and instructor in leadership, organizational development, and management courses. Chief Sager instructs Command and General Staff S-420, Planning Section Chief S-440, Logistics Section Chief S-450, and other subordinate planning and logistics section courses. He retired from a 32-year career with CAL FIRE in 2003. He was a CAL FIRE team incident commander, the planning section chief on a National Interagency Incident Management Team, the Butte Unit Chief, and the Butte County Fire Chief. Chief Sager is a Certified Fire Chief and Certified Chief Officer by the California State Board of Fire Services, and he is a designated Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. He is a recipient of the Governor’s Employee Safety Award and the State of California Supervisory Superior Accomplishment Award. He served as Incident Commander for CAL FIRE Type 1 Incident Command Team #6 for three years.
Chief Frank Cardinale
Chief Cardinale is a Fire Service Specialist with more than 39 years in the fire service. His last assignment was with the San Francisco Fire Department as an Assistant Deputy Chief in charge of the Division of Training. Chief Cardinale is a nationally recognized course developer and instructor in high rise firefighting, command and control, and fire management. He was the Safety Officer for his department, and for large incidents where a Type 3 Incident Management Team was needed, he was the Operations Section Chief. Chief Cardinale is a Certified Chief Officer by the California State Board of Fire Services.
Lisa Angell
Ms. Angell is a licensed, registered nurse with 35 years of experience, the last 30 years at Watsonville Community Hospital where she has a hybrid role as Staff Nurse IV and Paramedic Liaison Nurse in the Emergency Department. Ms. Angell has also been a core faculty staff member with UEI College in Santa Cruz for 22 years, with focused teaching and participation in EMT-1 and EMT-P certification and training courses. She is a primary instructor and coordinates several core lectures for the UEI program. Additionally, she has served as a Hospital Preparedness Coordinator with the California Hospital Association from 2010–2014, where she served as liaison and subject matter expert for hospitals participating in the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Hospital Preparedness Program. Ms. Angell has participated with the development and revision of the Hospital Incident Command System for versions III and IV.
Chief Jim Broshears
Chief Broshears is a Fire Services Specialist with more than 36 years of experience in the fire service. His last assignment with the Town of Paradise Fire Department was as the Fire Chief. Chief Broshears is a very experienced instructor in safety, leadership, Incident Command, and System courses. He instructs Incident Safety Officer S-401, Division/Group Supervisor, and ICS 100–400. He retired from a 36-year career with the Town of Paradise Fire Department in 2006. He was a CAL FIRE team Operations Section Chief and served as a Safety Officer, Strike Team Leader, and Division Supervisor on numerous incidents. Chief Broshears is a Certified Fire Officer by the California State Board of Fire Services. He developed a hybrid incident safety officer course in the 1980s and was one of the first instructors of the All-Risk Safety Officer course. He was a recipient of the CAL FIRE Director’s Partnership Award.
Paul R. Broyles
Mr. Broyles began his career in fire management with the US Forest Service in 1970, with four seasons on the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests in the Southwest Region, serving as smokechaser, engine operator and foreman, and helitack crewman and foreman. He began his career with the National Park Service (NPS) in 1973 in fire ecology research at Grand Canyon National Park, with subsequent assignments to Point Reyes National Seashore, California, as assistant Fire Management Officer (FMO); Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, as a Resource Management Specialist/FMO, where he initiated an interagency helitack program with the NPS, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Land Management in 1979; Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, as assistant Chief Ranger/FMO; and Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, as FMO. In 1988, he transferred to the National Interagency Fire Center as the NPS National Training Officer. From 1997 to his retirement in 2008, he was the National Fire Operations Chief, with national oversight responsibilities for the suppression, preparedness, safety, prevention, burned area rehabilitation, and training and qualifications programs. During more than 21 years at the National Interagency Fire Center, Mr. Broyles served on several of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Working Teams, including nine years in Training; 16 years in Safety & Health, with four of them as chair; and 11 years in Incident Operations Standards.
Anne M. Bybee
Ms. Bybee has 14 years of experience in emergency management and disaster response, with particular emphasis in medical and public health. For nine years, she was a Medical Disaster Specialist with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority; for the past five years, she has been an Emergency Planning Analyst for the California Department of Public Health. In these roles, she has acted as an instructor, course designer, course coordinator, and exercise coordinator for numerous ICS-based classes and field exercises. In addition to her responsibilities at the state-level, Ms. Bybee participates on a federal Incident Response Coordination Team that oversees the operational and logistical aspects of medical teams within the National Disaster Medical System. She was deployed to the World Trade Center in 2001, Hurricane Charley in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Joplin Tornado in 2011. While her main roles on this team have been in the Operations Section, she also has experience in both Planning and Administration/Finance. She maintains a California paramedic license and acted as Programs Director for a private post-secondary paramedic training institute prior to joining state service in June 2000.
Chief Rod Collins
Chief Collins’ 42-year fire service career began in 1972 as a volunteer firefighter who rose through the ranks to Deputy Fire Chief with Tahoe City Fire Protection District. He served on the steering committee and oversaw the development and implementation of consolidating Tahoe City FPD and North Tahoe FPD, retiring as a Division Chief with North Tahoe FPD in 2006. Chief Collins is a 2005 graduate of S-520, Advanced Incident Management, from the National Advanced Resource Training Center in Tucson, Arizona, in the Incident Commander function. In June 2006, he completed a three-year training assignment and task book as a National Type 1 Incident Commander. He attended the National Fire Academy training courses in Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC), IEMC / Joint Communities, and IEMC / Community Specific / All Hazards: Response and Recovery. During his career, he has participated in incident management, which includes major wildfires, floods, hazardous materials incidents, avalanches, hurricane support, and recovery. These assignments have provided numerous opportunities to work with emergency operations centers at all levels of government, including Incident Management Team interactions and coordinations with FEMA, joint operations centers, the US Coast Guard, the US Corps of Engineers, and the National Environmental Protection Agency. Chief Collins is currently an Operations Section Chief 1 on Great Basin National Incident Management Team #2.
Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton
Battalion Chief Drayton is currently with the Oakland Fire Department. Her career in the fire service started in 1998. Over the years, she has served in many functions, including media relations, communications, information technology, dispatch manager, grant writer, and project manager.
Sharon Ferrigno
Ms. Ferrigno served as the Commanding Officer / Officer in Charge of the San Francisco Police Department’s Homeland Security Unit from 2005 to 2009. She developed and coordinated training with the fire department, the Department of Public Health, and City and regional partners for the Golden Guardian Exercise Series, the Urban Shield Exercise, the High-Rise Exercise, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the Large Stadium Initiative. She has collaborated with federal, state, City, and regional partners to secure the infrastructure of San Francisco and to develop strategic response plans to mitigate consequences. She has fostered relationships through initiatives with local merchant, hotel, and citizen groups. She has fostered collaboration with the State of California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Homeland Security Division, the Department of Homeland Security through TRIPwire, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association. She is partnering with the Transit Security Working Group to secure funding and strategic plans for regional security.
Chief Stephen Heil
Chief Heil is a registered California State Fire Marshall Instructor and National Incident Management System Instructor. He has taught fire protection / Incident Command System (ICS) courses at community colleges, fire training centers, and internationally (India). He is a California POST-Certified Peace Officer (PC 830.2 / Retired). Chief Heil is an ICS and fire service leader with more than 39 years in the fire service and emergency management. He has been the Deputy Fire Chief for two CAL FIRE units, including the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department and San Diego County Fire Authority. Chief Heil has been a CAL FIRE Area Commander (ICS Type 1) since 2003 and an Incident Commander (ICS Type 1) since 1993, and he has been the Incident Commander on CAL FIRE Incident Command Teams 6, 7, and 12. He has been the State S-400 (Incident Commander) cadre leader since 1997, instructing the course to several hundred students at the local-, state-, and federal-government level. Chief Heil is currently mentoring new Team Incident Commanders, as well as filling in as a Deputy Incident Commander on several Incident Command Teams. He is also a qualified ICS Type 1 Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief, Liaison Officer, Safety Officer, Information Officer, and past Finance Section Chief.
Tony Hernandez
Mr. Hernandez retired from CAL FIRE in 2013. He now works for FEMA as a Logistics Section Chief. In the short time he has been with FEMA, he has been deployed to Colorado, dispatched to the mudslide in Washington State, and sent to the border of Mexico to help with the work there. Mr. Hernandez started working for the US Forest Service as a firefighter in both the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests. In 1989, he elected to pursue a career with CAL FIRE as a seasonal firefighter in San Diego County. From 1990 through 2008, he worked in fire stations, emergency command centers / dispatch, and training. While in the Training Bureau, he was responsible for providing anti-terrorism training to all of the fire agencies within Riverside County. In 2008, Mr. Hernandez received the California Specialized Training Institute’s certification for Terrorism and Homeland Security Specialist, making him the first firefighter in the State of California to achieve this certificate. He is involved with the administration of Fire Training Academies for the newly formed San Diego County Fire Authority, which is a joint venture with CAL FIRE in San Diego. He currently serves as the Logistics Section Chief on CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 9 and has extensive experience in all facets of incident command systems. He is also on the Instructor Cadre for Facilities Unit Leader and Logistics Section Chief.
Samuel L. Mazza, CFC, CFO, EFO
Mr. Mazza retired as the Fire Chief for the City of Monterey, California, where he engineered and facilitated the consolidation of the Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments in 2008. His fire service career spans 42 years with city, county, special district, and state fire agencies and includes administration, operations, air operations, training, dispatch, disaster planning and management, fire prevention, and law enforcement experience. He served as the Incident Commander on a statewide Type 1 Incident Command Team and continues to serve as a member of the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center staff. Mr. Mazza has extensive collaborative experience, having served elected and appointed positions in numerous professional organizations and on regional committees and initiatives. He has served as the Fire and Rescue Coordinator and chaired the California Incident Command Certification System Peer Review Committee for the California Emergency Management Agency Monterey County Operational Area, and he also served on the Monterey County Operational Area Grant Approval Authority for the California Department of Homeland Security. He served as President of the Monterey County Fire Chiefs Association and represented County fire agencies on committees providing governance and policy oversight of the Monterey County voice and data emergency communications and dispatch systems. He obtained grant funding and facilitated implementation of a mobile data communications system for Monterey County fire agencies in 2010, and he initiated and led the continuing effort to develop a regional shared governance fire agency for the Monterey Peninsula.
Fire Captain Paule Medeiros
Fire Captain Medeiros started his fire service career with CAL FIRE in 1993 in the Amador-El Dorado Unit before transferring to Riverside County. Captain Medeiros’ current assignment is with the South San Francisco Fire Department as an engine captain at Station 65. He has been a California Department of Forestry Incident Command Team Member for four years as the Situation Unit Leader of CAL FIRE Command Team 2. Captain Medeiros has worked on some of California’s most complex incidents, including the October 2007 Fire Siege and the June 2008 Lightning Siege. Captain Medeiros is involved with statewide fire training in ICS 300, ICS 400, S-290 Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior, and S-244 Field Observer, and he currently oversees and coordinates Fire Department grant-funded logistics. He leads instruction on S-346 Situation Unit Leader.
Kyle Merkins
Mr. Merkins has been involved in public service since 1987. Over the past 27 years, he has served in the US Coast Guard and has been employed by various EMS/fire agencies. He has worked for the San Francisco Fire Department for 17 years and is currently the Assistant Deputy Chief of Homeland Security and Special Operations.
Chief George W. Morris Jr.
Chief Morris has more than 39 years in the fire service and has retired as the Chief of the CAL FIRE Butte Unit / Butte County Fire Department. He leads instruction on S400/L950 Incident Commander at the CAL FIRE Academy. Chief Morris is a past lead instructor of S430/L958 Operations Section Chief, also at the CAL FIRE Academy. He is also a cadre instructor for S420 Command and General Staff and S403 Information Officer for Citygate Associates. Beginning in 2003, Chief Morris was assigned as an Operations Section Chief on CAL FIRE Incident Command Team 5. In 2004, he was promoted to Deputy Incident Commander of Incident Command Team 5. In 2007, he was appointed as Incident Commander of CAL FIRE Incident Command Team 3 and commanded several challenging incidents, including the Rice Fire in San Diego County in 2007 and assisting the California Department of Public Health during the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009. Chief Morris served as Incident Commander on Incident Command Team 3 for three years.
Dr. John Muldown, J.D.
Dr. Muldown has served over 28 years as a California Peace Officer with an Advanced POST Certificate, 25 years as a Deputy Sheriff/Coroner, 16 years as a Police Service Canine Handler, more than 10 years as a Shift Supervisor, and many shifts as Watch Commander in direct control of both patrol and incarceration divisions for Butte County, in addition to advanced training as a Field Training Officer. He has experience as an Incident Commander, Law Enforcement Representative, Law Enforcement Liaison, Public Information Officer, and Law Enforcement Team Leader. He is also a California State Certified Canine Team Evaluator, a Superior Court Expert in the training and deployment of Police Service Canines, a Certified Crime Scene Investigator, and a Drug Recognition and Under the Influence Expert, and he has advanced training and experience in Dignitary Protection, Interview and Interrogation techniques, Speed-Skid and Traffic Investigation Advanced Training, and other advanced training. He has also been consulted by the US Federal Public Defenders Office on drug interdiction cases. Dr. Muldown leads in-service training for first responder professionals in the areas of Homeland Security; Critical Incident Management; Terrorism / Weapons of Mass Destruction; Interoperability; Liability (Operational and Management Levels); and Standardized Emergency Management System, National Incident Management System, and Incident Command System, including co-teaching several of the ICS courses through Citygate. He currently serves on a local School Site Safety Committee and consults for both private and governmental entities.
Chief Lennie Orr
Chief Orr is a retired Battalion Chief with 30 years of experience in the fire service. His last assignment was as a line Battalion Chief with Alameda County Fire Department. He also served as the Director of Training for nine years and director of EMS for three years. His other responsibilities included Department Safety Officer, officer in charge of disaster preparedness, and officer in charge of the Department Urban Search and Rescue program. Chief Orr served as a Resource Unit Leader for CAL FIRE Incident Command Teams 3 and 6 for five years. He served as the Plans Section Chief for Alameda County Incident Management Team 2. He also served as a Situation Unit Leader for FEMA USAR Incident Support Team Blue. Chief Orr was also a Task Force leader for California USAR Team 4 in Oakland. He has been teaching California State Fire Marshall Company Officer courses and Chief Officer courses for the past five years. He has also taught ICS 300, 400, and Resource Unit Leader. He has assisted with instructor ICS 420.
Andrew M. Stark
Mr. Stark began his 36-year fire service career in 1968 with the City of Oakland Fire Department, where he rose through the ranks to Assistant Fire Chief-Operations and progressed to Fire Chief positions in the Cities of South San Francisco and Pacifica. For the past 15 years, he has served on the faculty of FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute as an instructor in the Integrated Emergency Management, Master Exercise Practitioner, and Healthcare Leadership programs.
Chief Steven K. Sunderland
Chief Sunderland retired from full-time fire service employment in August 2011. Prior to retiring, he served as the Tulare County Fire Department Fire Chief from February 2006–August 2011. As the County Fire Chief, he was the first ever Fire Chief employed by the County and, as such, is the architect of the fire department as it is today. Chief Sunderland was responsible for and led the County’s transition team as the previous service provider transitioned out. All administrative functions, position descriptions, operating guidelines, code of ethics, safe practices, and policies had to be developed by Chief Sunderland and his transition team for implementation on July 1, 2007. Prior to County service, he served CAL FIRE as the Unit Chief for the Tulare Unit and the Fresno Unit. In Fresno, while under a fire protection contract with the state, Chief Sunderland served as the Fire Chief for the largest fire protection district in the nation (2600 square miles). He served as a Type 1 Incident Commander for a five-year period assigned to CAL FIRE Incident Command Team 9, and for 10 years he was assigned to Incident Command Team 3 and 10 as the Operations Section Chief. During the 15-year period, team activations ranged from winter flood events in Northern California to large and devastating wildland fires statewide. Chief Sunderland has been engaged at the National Fire Academy as a contract instructor for multiple incident command classes. Additionally, he is a registered instructor with California Office of the State Fire Marshal-State Fire Training.
Chief Christopher C. Suter
Chief Suter has worked in the California fire service for 39 years, rising to the rank of Deputy Fire Chief of the San Ramon Valley Fire District. He has extensive experience in Incident Command Systems, including serving as an Incident Commander on the East Bay Incident Management Team, which included an assignment as an Incident Commander during the Hurricane Katrina response. Chief Suter is currently a Type 1 Communications Unit Leader and, since retiring from San Ramon Valley Fire, is currently serving in this role on the East Bay Incident Management Team. He is a Certified and Qualified Incident Commander, Planning Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief, and Operations Section Chief.
Victor Tsang
Mr. Tsang retired as Lieutenant with the San Francisco Police Department in February of 2012. He served for 33 years prior to retirement. As an officer, he spent approximately six years in Patrol and 12 years with the SWAT team. As a Sergeant, he spent five years as a patrol supervisor and five years with the Homeland Security Unit. As a Lieutenant, Mr. Tsang served as the Platoon Commander at the Central Station, at the Homeland Security Unit, and at the Mission Station. Throughout his career, he has been involved in training and has taught numerous topics to recruits, as well as veteran officers.
Janet Upton
Ms. Upton began her fire service career in 1986. After earning her degree in education at California State University, Chico, she accepted a public information officer position with the Butte County Fire Department, one of CAL FIRE’s largest contracts for fire protection and life safety in California. She has a broad range of emergency response experience, including 10 years as the public information officer on CAL FIRE’s Incident Command Team 5. In 2008, Ms. Upton accepted a gubernatorial appointment as Deputy Director of Communications for CAL FIRE at the Department’s headquarters in Sacramento, California, where she is still assigned.
Chief Darrell D. Wolf
Chief Wolf is a Fire Services Specialist with more than 35 years in the fire service. He retired as Battalion Chief in the Santa Clara Unit of CAL FIRE. He supervised three battalions, which include the South Santa Clara County Fire District, the Units Aviation Program and a Wildland Field Battalion. Chief Wolf instructs Command and General Staff S-420, Finance Section Chief S-460, and other subordinate command team and finance section courses. He was Operations Section Chief for CAL FIRE Incident Command Team 2 and was the Finance Section Chief for over 10 years. He has also been a member of the Santa Clara County Multi-Agency incident support team for the past six years. Chief Wolf has experience in major incidents that include the Northridge earthquake, the Los Angeles riots, the Virulent Newcastle outbreak, multi-alarm high-rise structure fires, multi-fatality active shooter incidents, and the 2003 and 2007 Southern California wildfires. He has been assigned to CAL FIRE Type 1 Incident Command Team 2 for the last 16 years.
Robert Wood
Mr. Wood has been in the fire service for 33 years, holding the rank of Captain for 26 of those years. He is currently assigned to Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center in Riverside as a Health and Safety Officer with CAL FIRE / Riverside County Fire Department. He also teaches for two local colleges. He has held the position of Training Officer for a total of 12 non-consecutive years. Mr. Wood is assigned to a CAL FIRE Type 1 Incident Management Team as the Deputy Logistics Chief. He is a Logistics Section Chief and has experience as Facility Unit Leader, Base Camp Manager, Food Unit Leader, Safety Officer Trainee, Division Group Supervisor, Training Specialist Trainee, and Medical Unit Leader Trainee. He is also assigned to the FEMA National Urban Search and Rescue Team, Riverside Task Force 6, as the Planning Section Chief.
Chief Kelly Zombro
Chief Zombro is the Deputy Chief of Operations for the CAL FIRE San Diego Unit. He has instructed several Incident Command Systems classes, including All-Risk Incident Commander S-400, Finance Section Chief S-460, Operations Section Chief S-430, Advanced ICS I-400, and other subordinate operations and finance section courses. He has served as Incident Commander, Operations Section Chief, and Finance Section Chief for several CAL FIRE Type 1 Incident Management Teams.
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