Title: Fire Chief and Manager of Emergency Services
Years with Chevron: 30
Education: Cal State Sacramento, BS in Pre-Law Criminal Justice; Texas A&M, Fire Service Executive Chief Officer Certification
Tell us about your job at the refinery.
I manage the Emergency Services Division, which provides support to more than 3,000 employees and contractors who work at the Richmond Refinery and Richmond Technology Center. We work to ensure that the people who come to this facility every day are safe, secure and have the proper training.
What kind of work do you do?
The vast majority of work we do is preventative. We work each day in conjunction with the safety, operations and maintenance teams to eliminate hazards, identify risks and prevent incidents from ever happening. We take all the necessary time to make sure that our workforce is well trained in safety, security and emergency response protocols. We also train with the Richmond Fire Department as we rely on each other to be available to assist in times of need.
What is unique about the Richmond Refinery’s spill prevention program?
We understand the environmental and economic significance of all the areas in which we conduct business, and specifically, we know how special the San Francisco Bay is to our community. We oversee all of the emergency response planning and training for spill management at the Richmond Long Wharf, which is the largest and busiest wharf in the Bay Area. We are proud of our tremendous record of keeping products in the pipes and respecting the land we share with the community. Through years of effort from our operations personnel and emergency responders, we consistently achieve our highest priority of preventing incidents, and our record shows it.
Do your training programs go beyond the work at the refinery?
We recently partnered with the California Maritime Academy (a campus of California State University) and the Richmond Fire Department to build a state-of-the-art fire and security training facility on Chevron property. The Maritime Safety and Security Center is a full-scale training facility that can equip first responders and industrial workers with the skills needed to respond to fires on ships or rail cars, as well as HAZMAT situations, among many other emergency situations. This facility is a regional asset that will help prepare municipal and industrial responders for decades to come.
What do you like about working in Richmond?
My favorite thing about this community is that there are so many people who are trying to make a difference every day. I am fortunate to be on the Board of Directors for the Richmond Police Activities League – which helps Richmond youth by providing a safe location after school and on weekends to study, play sports, use computers and make art and music – all made possible by mentors who are volunteering their time. I also am involved with the Bay Area Rescue Mission, an amazing faith based organization which helps those in need get a helping hand – something particularly important during the holiday season.
What do you like about working for Chevron?
Throughout my career, I have come to see how professional all of Chevron’s employees are. Chevron seeks to always involve the right people, consider all aspects of a decision and truly work to become a positive part of our community. Chevron has given me the opportunity to pursue a career in Emergency Management, be part of an amazing Fire Department family and given me a leadership role that enables me to pass along the values of safety, a strong work ethic and professionalism to the next generation.
