Developing a Collaborative Working Alliance

Battalion Chief Dan DeGryse (Director, Rosecrance Florian Program and Battalion Chief, Chicago Fire Department) has been a member of the International Association of Firefighters Labor/EAP committee since 2002. He served as the coordinator of the Chicago Firefighters’ Union Local 2's Employee Assistance Program for 14 years. He has bachelor degrees in both Fire Science Management and Psychology; holds certifications as an Employee Assistance Professional, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, Labor Assistance Professional, ARISE Interventionist; and has advanced training in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). Previously, he worked as a counselor at a hospital, where his experience included providing therapy for adolescents and adults in the area of addictions and behavior management. In 2009, he received the “Illinois Firefighter of the Year” award from the Illinois VFW.

Suzy Bird Gulliver, Ph.D., (Director and Chief, Warriors Research Institute; Professor, Texas A&M CMHSC) is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at Texas A&M Health Sciences Center. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University and worked at the VA Boston Healthcare System for 12 years. She founded the Warriors Research Institute within Baylor Scott & White Health in 2013 which has as its mission to improve quality of care available to emergency responders and military veterans via a program of scientific inquiry. She is a Fellow of Division 56, American psychological Association. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a FEMA grant related to reducing stigma and increasing behavioral health in fire service and has received prior NIH grant funding for work with risk and resilience in firefighter recruits. Her research into Fire Service personnel and veterans has yielded over 80 peer review publications and over $10M in grant funding.

Marc Kruse, Ph.D. (Director of Behavioral Health, Austin Fire Department) is the psychologist for the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and completed his graduate training at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Prior to joining AFD in 2011, he served as a licensed clinical psychologist and director of the data management division at the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans. He has extensive clinical and research experience working with trauma-exposed populations including firefighters, EMS providers, and military veterans, and is the two-time recipient of the department's Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the organization and research accomplishments.

Capt. Frank Leto (Deputy Director, FDNY Counseling Service Unit) responded on Sept. 11, 2001, to the World Trade Center as an officer in charge of a rescue team. Since 9/11, he has developed innovative outreach, counseling and education programs for firefighters and their families. He has shared his experiences with fire departments in Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and Okinawa, Japan, to aid military firefighters. He has assisted the London Fire Brigade after the transit bombings in 2005, and Urban Search and Rescue Teams following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Through his work with the FDNY and IAFF, he has supported numerous departments including those on the Gulf Coast after Katrina; Aurora, Colorado, after the theater shooting; Boston following the Marathon bombing; and Orlando after the Pulse nightclub shooting. He was one the first graduates of the West Point - FDNY Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program and is a Certified Employees Assistance Professional.