The Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC) has 12 members that represent a cross-section of the fire and emergency service, including CFOs from career, combination, volunteer and Department of Defense fire departments, city and county management, labor, diversity, CEMSO, CTO, FM, FO, and PIO designees.
CPC selects a Chair and Vice Chair from among their current membership. CPC holds two in-person meetings each year at the CPSE Excellence Conference and at the CPSE Summer Symposium. During these in-person meetings, as well as during regular virtual meetings, CPC reviews individuals applying for a designation. Learn more about the individuals that graciously volunteer their time to overseeing credentialing.
Toni Washington is the chief of the City of Decatur, Georgia, Fire Department, which she has been with for almost 11 years. She has over 27 years in the fire service including thirteen years with the City of East Point Fire Department as a Fire Administrator, Lieutenant, and Deputy Chief and three years with the State of Georgia Fire Marshal.
Chief Washington holds a Masters in Managerial Leadership from National-Louis University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Savannah State University.
Toni is a Georgia Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and a current member of the Executive Board for iWomen.
Chief Washington earned her Chief Fire Officer designation in 2013.
Alexander Henderson, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Administration at Marist College, New York.
His research and teaching span organizational behavior, personnel management, policy implementation, and administrative discretion. Dr. Henderson previously served as a chief administrative officer, operational officer, and director with several emergency services organizations in suburban Philadelphia. He is a fellow of the Center for Organizational Research and Design at Arizona State University, and an academic fellow with the Local Government Workplace Initiative at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Dr. Henderson holds a Ph.D. from the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark, and a B.A. and M.P.A. from Villanova University.
He earned his Chief Training Officer designation in 2022.
Todd Canale is the chief, fire emergency services, for the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, an accredited agency through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). In addition to overseeing all activities of the fire department, Chief Canale serves in the Air Force Reserve as a Liaison Officer providing Air Force oversight for the Southwest Region of the Civil Air Patrol, and teaches both fire science and leadership courses at Pima Community College.
Chief Canale is a graduate of Arizona State University with a master’s degree in Fire Service Administration, is currently a doctoral candidate in Organizational Leadership at Grand Canyon University and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
He earned his Chief Fire Officer designation in 2011.
Tiffany Green is the chief of the Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department, located in Largo, Maryland, one of the largest combination fire departments in the nation. She has served the Department for over 27 years and has been committed to improving and modernizing the fire service regionally, nationally, and globally. She started her journey as a volunteer firefighter and later became a career firefighter and paramedic. During her tenure with the department, she has served in numerous leadership roles to include Chief Deputy, Director of the Fire/EMS Training and Leadership Academy, Executive Assistant to the Public Safety Director, Chief of Staff for the Director of Homeland Security, Battalion Chief, and Station Commander.
Chief Green holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety and a master’s degree in Emergency and Disaster Management.
Chief Green earned her Chief Fire Officer designation in 2021.
Rebecca Grill is the City Administrator/Clerk of the City of West Allis, Wisconsin. Ms. Grill has held this position since January 2015. In these roles, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal operations, the implementation of the Common Council’s policy directions, the strategic plan, and a CFAI accredited agency.
Prior to working for the City of West Allis, she worked for the City of Milwaukee Common Council/City Clerk, the Public Safety Department of the Housing Authority, the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections – Youth Corrective Sanctions Program, and the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections – Ethan Allen Boys School.
Ms. Grill has an MBA with a concentration in Finance, a Bachelor of Administration in Political Science/Criminal Justice from Valparaiso in Indiana, and a Paralegal certificate. She is an ICMA Credentialed Manager, UW – Madison Certified Public Manager, and a Certified Municipal Clerk.
William Hyde serves as fire chief for the Rogers, Arkansas, Fire Department, an accredited agency through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services. At Rogers, he has served as the fire marshal, building official, and director of training, special operations, aircraft rescue and EMS.
He is a graduate of the Fire Service Executive Development Institute at the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. He has a master’s in Business Administration from John Brown University, bachelor’s in Public Safety Management from Franklin University, and associate degrees in Paramedicine and Fire Science Administration from Northwest Arkansas Community College.
Chief Hyde earned the designations of Chief Fire Officer in 2010, Chief EMS Officer in 2011, and Fire Marshal in 2023 and is a Fellow with the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA Branch.
Tom Maloney is serving as Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal for the Marysville Fire District, a Regional Fire Authority in Washington State, a position which he has held since October 2008. He began his fire service career as a volunteer in upstate New York in 1984 and has served as a Fire Chief in both New York and Montana.
Maloney is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. He holds a master’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix, as well as certifications from the International Code Council and National Fire Protection Association.
He earned his Chief Fire Officer designation in 2016 and Fire Marshal in 2019.
Ashley McDonald is an experienced media and public relations professional and internationally-credentialed public information officer. She recently joined TRULEO, the patented body-worn camera (BWC) review software for law enforcement, as Director of Marketing and Communications.
McDonald works in a volunteer capacity as public information officer for Emergency Management Association of Tennessee, supports the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association’s Mutual Aid Section, and is a deployable asset with the State of Tennessee’s All Hazards Incident Management Team as a PIO3.
She holds a B.S. degree in Public Relations from Middle Tennessee State University and has completed three Master PIO programs: FEMA Emergency Management Institute, FBI-LEEDA, and UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC). She is a teaching associate with the University of Tennessee’s LEIC, instructing both the PIO Essentials and Master PIO programs.
During her time as president of the National Information Officer’s Association, she led the charge to develop a professional designation and credentialing process for public information officers through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) for which she was awarded NIOA’s “Leadership in Public Information Award” in 2023.
She earned her Public Information Officer (PIO) designation in 2022
Dr. Hezedean Smith most recently served as the Director of Fire Rescue Services at Polk County Fire Rescue in Florida. Prior to joining Polk County Fire Rescue, he served as the fire chief of the Charlottesville Fire Department in Virginia, an accredited agency through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). Chief Smith has over three decades of experience in the emergency services profession, starting his career in 1998 in the United States Air Force. He retired as a chief fire officer after serving almost 25 years in the Orlando Fire Department before joining the Charlottesville Fire Department and now the Polk County Fire Rescue, just outside Orlando, Florida.
Chief Smith has a Doctor of Management degree from the University of Phoenix, a master’s degree, and two associate degrees (Fire Science and EMS). He is a Certified Public Manager, Healthcare Simulation Educator, Executive Fire Officer (University of Florida), a Fellow of the American College of Paramedic Executives, and a Certified Occupational Safety Specialist. Dr. Smith is a Nationally Registry Paramedic, serving on the National EMS Management Association and the Black Chief Officers Committee board. He is an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Columbia Southern University.
Chief Smith earned the designation of Chief Fire Officer in 2015 and Chief EMS Officer in 2018, and is a Member of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA and the Caribbean Branch.
Joshua Smith Ph.D., CFO, has over 20 years of public safety experience, concentrating in emergency services and community college adult education. He is a retired Chief Fire Officer and currently serves as Assistant to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President. As a senior executive for the IAFF, he leads their training, education, and grants division. Dr. Smith holds a master’s in public administration and a Doctorate of Curriculum Design from Appalachian State University. His research focused on performance management, strategic planning, and public safety promotional assessments, and he speaks nationally on the subjects.
Dr. Smith is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program. He currently serves on the North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission, Pro Board Executive Directors, North Carolina Fire and Rescue Certification Board, and Teachers and State Employee’s Retirement System Board.
Dr. Smith earned his designation as Chief Fire Officer in 2022.
Grant Tinker is a battalion chief with the Colorado Springs Fire Department in Colorado, an accredited agency through the Commission on Fire accreditation International (CFAI). Chief Tinker has been with the department for more than fifteen years, working his way through the ranks to battaltion chief in 2024.
Chief Tinker has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Managing Officer Program. Chief Tinker has been honored with several awards and recognition including being named Firefighter of the Year in 2019.
He earned his Fire Officer (FO) Designation in February 2015 and his Chief Training Officer (CTO) designation in June 2023.