Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)
Board of Directors
President
William Jenaway
Dr. William F. Jenaway, CFO, CFPS is the President of the Board of Directors of CFSI.
Bill has over 40 years of fire service experience, including service as Fire Chief and Fire Marshal in East Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, and Chief and President of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Volunteer Fire Company. He also served as chairman of the municipality's Fire and Rescue Services Board. King of Prussia was the first all-volunteer fire department to receive accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Bill holds the CFO (Certified Fire Officer) designation from CFOD and is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) by NFPA. In 2001 he was named "Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year" by Fire Chief magazine at the annual conference of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Bill served as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 60 Commission which studied the fire and emergency medical service delivery system in Pennsylvania and developed legislative and operational recommendations to improve the delivery system. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Commission on Fire Accreditation, and served as Chairman of the Risk Management Standard (NFPA 1250) and Providing Emergency Services to the Public Standard (NFPA 1201) for the National Fire Protection Association, sitting on the Underwriters Laboratories Casualty Council, and a member of the distinguished "Gilmore Commission" appointed by the Presidents Clinton and Bush, which studied the readiness of the US to deal with domestic terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
The author of more than 200 articles on fire, safety and management-related topics, Bill has also written six texts on fire and safety discipline and four children's books. He has also testified numerous times before local, state, and federal legislative bodies. Dr. Jenaway is employed as the Executive Vice President of VFIS, and the CEO of their Education, Training, and Consulting subsidiary. Bill is an adjunct professor in the Public Safety graduate school at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA, and in the Legal Studies graduate school at California University of Pennsylvania and with Columbia Southern University. In January 2010 Bill assumed the elected office of Township Supervisor of Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Bill's free time is managed by his wife Joan and daughters Kelsey, Katie, and Lizzy.
Vice President
James Estepp
Mr. M.H. Jim Estepp is the President and CEO of the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable and the Andrews Business & Community Alliance. Jim is formerly Chair of the Prince George's County Council where he served two elected terms; President Pro Tempore of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG); Chairman of the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; Director of the Maryland Security Council, Office of the Governor; Fire & EMS Chief of Prince George's County and Director of Public Safety for Prince George's County. Mr. Estepp was named Citizen of the Year by the Prince George's Board of Trade, he was a recipient of the Elizabeth & David Scull Award for Outstanding Regional Leadership, COG's highest award and The Tom Bradley Leadership Award from the National Association of Regional Councils, its highest award. In addition Jim received the Janet L. Hoffman award for outstanding local administration from the American Society for Professional Administration (ASPA), Maryland Chapter. Mr. Estepp serves on several national and local boards including the Board of Visitors of the world renowned Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Jim lives in Croom and is a graduate of the Program for Senior Executives in State & Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA.
Lou Amabili
Louis J. Amabili joined the Hockessin (DE) Fire Company in 1947 and has remained active in the fire service for more than 62 years. A graduate of the University of Delaware in 1949, he was appointed the first Director of the Delaware State Fire School in 1964 and served in that capacity through 1996. Upon his retirement, the Governor of Delaware signed a resolution naming the school the "Louis J. Amabili Fire Training Center."
In 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Amabili to serve on the National Commission for Fire Prevention and Control which produced the landmark report, AMERICA BURNING." From 1973 to 1980, he served as President of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors; from 1978 to 1986, he served as charter member of the National Fire Academy Board of Visitors. In addition, Amabili served on the NFPA Board of Directors from 1980 to 1986 and was chairman of the Fire Department Instructors Conference in 1979 and 1980.
Formerly active on a number of committees for NFPA, IAFC and IFSTA, Amabili writes a featured article for Delaware Volunteer Firefighter Association's monthly newspaper and remains active with the association. He has been a member of the CFSI Board of Directors since 1985.
Christopher Neal
Chris Neal serves as Senior Executive Advisor for the Oklahoma Council on Firefighter Training. Prior to his appointment he served at Oklahoma State University (OSU) as Director of Fire Protection Publications (FPP) and Executive Director of the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) after four years as Program Coordinator for the Fire and Emergency Management Program (FEMP) in the Department of Political Science. Mr. Neal retired from the fire service in 1998 after serving the previous ten years of his career as Fire Chief with the Claremore and Stillwater (OK) Fire Departments. He holds a master's degree in political science, a bachelor's in organizational administration, and an associate's in fire protection technology and safety engineering from OSU, and is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer program. Chris currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy, and over his career has served on working committees and boards including IFSTA, NFPA, U.S. Fire Corps, Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association, and the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal Commission, and as an adjunct instructor at OSU in the Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology undergraduate and Fire & Emergency Management graduate degree programs. The joy of his life is his family - his wife Rose Ann; daughters Erin and Jessica, and sons Travis, Brett, and Michael.
Giff Swayne
William "Giff" Swayne has worked in the Fire Service industry for more than 28 years. He has worked for Angus Fire Armour, Chubb National Foam and for the last 15 years he has been President of Holmatro, Inc. a world leader in hydraulic rescue equipment. Since 1994 he has served as the Secretary of NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Department Rescue Tools. Swayne has taught as a guest instructor at TEEX (Texas Engineering Extension Service) and numerous State Fire Academies on subjects ranging from Fire Ground Water Supply to Flammable Liquids Firefighting. Mr. Swayne also spent many years in the volunteer fire service.
Mr. Swayne serves on The Board of Visitors for The University of Maryland Medical Center's R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the Nation's first and only integrated trauma hospital. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Fire and Emergency Manufacturer's and Services Association (FEMSA) the largest industry association representing equipment manufacturers and service providers to the emergency services. Mr. Swayne served as President of the FEMSA Board for 5 years.