Dear FSWO community,
I wish to thank all of our FSWO members and partners for your support and guidance as I continue my role as Board President by acclamation. I have served on this board of directors since 2015 and it has been my proudest professional experience in terms of learning, networking, and advancing change. In the next year, I will work to further the FSWO mission to educate, empower and encourage women in the Ontario fire service.
As a member of the Hamilton Fire Department, I am excited to welcome the FSWO Annual Training Symposium to our training facility in November 2024. I will work hard to showcase all our department and city has to offer to the FSWO community.
I plan to bolster and develop the FSWO role as a subject matter expert in gender equity in the fire service by continuing to stay informed on the latest research and initiatives, representing FSWO in provincial, national and international contexts, including this year in the IAFC Diversity Executive Leadership Program.
Our organization has grown by leaps and bounds in the last five years - due in no small part to supportive grants that allowed us to develop our internal capacity and to hire a part-time executive director. I want to continue this work by focusing my attention on strengthening our organization’s financial sustainability through grant writing, new member drives, and building our base of sponsors.
Last, I would like to keep pushing FSWO to advance its own diversity, equity and inclusion focus. I will work to build policies and practices for our non-profit organization that build equity in FSWO and in the fire service across a number of equity-seeking groups.
Please reach out if you have ideas, concerns, and encouragement. I value your opinions and feedback.
Thank you,
Pike Krpan