Professional Experience

Josh has served for 25 years as a Chicago firefighter, currently assigned as the Captain for the Hazardous Incident Team positioned at O’Hare International Airport. Throughout his career Josh has held numerous administrative positions, including a two-year assignment as the Mayor’s Office Liaison to the Chicago Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management and Communications during which he represented the Chief Emergency Officer on multi-agency city committees, served as an internal and external representative of the Mayor’s Office, and assisted in the evaluation of emergency operational plans. He also held a two-year assignment as the First Deputy Director for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications and was responsible for overseeing 9-1-1- and 3-1-1 call center operations, emergency management, traffic management, crossing guards, the first responder radio communications system, the citywide camera network, and the city operations center. Earlier in his career, Josh served as the Commander of the Chicago Fire Department’s Tactical Operations Intelligence Center, an operational Commander for the Joint Hazardous Assessment Team, and a departmental spokesperson. Josh rewrote the Chicago Fire Department’s authorizing ordinance in 2016, lead the Department’s successful effort to achieve an ISO rating of 1, and has worked in a public safety planning capacity for multiple large-scale events such as the 2005 and 2016 World Series, 2008 Election Night Rally in Grant Park, 2012 NATO Summit, Chicago’s 2016 Olympic Bid, and Chicago’s 2010, 2013, and 2015 Stanley Cup Parades.

As an instructor for the Illinois Fire Chief Association’s Chief Fire Officer Certification Program, Josh teaches the course curriculum on legal and administrative functions.

Education and Training

Josh earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from St. Xavier University, Juris Doctorate from the DePaul University School of Law, a Master of Science Degree in Public Safety Administration from Lewis University, and a Master of Arts Degree in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Committees and Professional Organizations

Josh currently serves as a member of Underwriters Laboratories’ Standards Technical Panel for Heating and Cooling Equipment, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology First Responder Working Group (former chairperson and executive steering committee member) and the Chicago/Northern Illinois American Red Cross Hero’s Breakfast Selection Committee. He is a former executive committee member for the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy Board of Directors, advisory council member and chairperson for the Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise, and member of Chicago’s Local Emergency Planning Committee.