OUR MISSION
The Center For Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE), a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) corporation, promotes continuous quality improvement by providing training and career resource information to the fire and emergency service agencies and personnel that serve communities throughout the United States.
In addition, CPSE serves as the governing body for the essential entity organizations that offer accreditation, education, and certification services to first responder and fire service industry professionals and agencies. CPSE’s dedicated board members individually contribute a wealth of experience and fresh ideas to the progression of the industry.
CENTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EXCELLENCE
Board of Directors
Thank you for visiting the CPSE Board of Directors page! The board consists of five highly qualified individuals who comprise the heart of CPSE's leadership, ensuring consistency, relevancy, and excellence in all of our activities and programs. These five individuals manage all aspects of our operations, including the separate Commissions that head the agency accreditation and Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation programs.
Randy Bruegman, President
Fire Chief
Fresno Fire Department
450 M St.
Fresno, CA 93721
randy.bruegman@fresno.gov
Randy Bruegman began his career as a volunteer firefighter in Nebraska. Hired as a firefighter in Ft. Collins, Colo., Chief Bruegman served in several capacities including engineer, inspector, lieutenant, captain, and battalion chief. In addition, he has served as the fire chief for the City of Campbell, Calif., the Village of Hoffman Estates, Ill. and Oregon’s Clackamas County Fire District No. 1. Presently, Mr. Bruegman is the fire chief for Fresno, Calif., serving since September 2003.
He is a noted author and lecturer on such topics as leadership and managing organizational change in the fire service industry. Chief Bruegman is a contributing author to several publications including Fire Attack; The Strategy and Tactics of Initial Company Response; Making a Difference: The Fire Officer Role; Surviving Haz-Mat, Haz-Mat for First Responders; and The Volunteer Firefighter, A Breed Apart. He has also written two books, Exceeding Customer Expectations and The Chief Officer: A Symbol is a Promise.
Currently, Chief Bruegman is a member the Institute of Fire Engineers, the National Fire Protection Association, and is also a member of the review panel for building and fire research for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Mr. Bruegman, a Chief Fire Officer Designate, also serves on the editorial advisory board for Fire Chief magazine. He has served as president of the board of directors for the Center for Public Safety Excellence since 2003.
In the past, Chief Bruegman served on the accreditation task force for the International Association of Fire Chiefs for eight years, serving as vice chairman for six of those years. He was elected as president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs in August of 2002. From 1997 until 2000, he served as chairman of the Commission of Fire Accreditation International.
Chief Bruegman has a master’s degree in management, a bachelor’s degree in business and an associate’s degree in fire science.
John Drago, Vice President
City Administrator
City of Longwood
175 West Warren Ave.
Longwood, FL 32825
jdrago@ci.longwood.fl.us
John Drago has more than 25 years of fire service experience. Within these years, Mr. Drago served as the director of Fire Protection for Broward County, Fla. In addition, he has more than 20 years of executive management experience in local governments including his years as the city administrator for Okeechobee, Fla. and town manager for Golden Beach, Fla. Presently, Mr. Drago is the city administrator for Longwood, Fla.
Mr. Drago has written two fire service books and composed several industry-related articles.
John has also taught many courses to fire and EMS providers on working with city managers.
Currently, Mr. Drago is a member of the Florida Firefighters Standards, Training and Employment Council, a life member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and is a full corporate member of both the Florida and the International City/County Management Associations. For more than six years, Mr. Drago has served on the CFAI accreditation commission – three of which, he was the vice chairman. He also is a peer assessor and faculty member for the CFAI.
In the past, Mr. Drago served on the accreditation development subcommittee of the IAFC’s accreditation task force.
Mr. Drago has a master’s and bachelor’s degree in business administration and an associate’s degree in fire and safety engineering technology.
Michael Worthington, Secretary-Treasurer
Corporate Vice President & General Manager (retired)
Global Market Operations & Strategic Communications
Motorola Corporation
1302 Fox Glen Drive
St. Charles, IL 60174
mikenann@sbcglobal.net
Michael Worthington began his career in the fire services in 1966 as the fire chief for Pitt County, N.C. In this capacity, Mr. Worthington was responsible for 21 fire districts serving the county, in addition to managing the emergency communications networks. In 1971, he began has career with the Motorola Corporation as the district sales manager of state and local government for North Carolina.
As a thirty-year Motorola employee, Mr. Worthington held various positions within the communications sector in the United States, Latin America and Singapore, Southeast Asia. Although retired from Motorola as the corporate vice president and general manager of global market operations and strategic communications, Mr. Worthington continues to support Motorola's activities with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, Inc., the Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Fire Protection Association.
Mr. Worthington majored in industrial and technical education at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.
Cliff Jones, Board Member
Chief
Temple Fire Department
1400 East Apache Blvd.
Tempe, AZ 85280
cliff_jones@tempe.gov
Cliff Jones has more than 35 years of fire service experience. Within his years of experience, 19 were dedicated to serving Tempe, Ariz. as the fire chief. During his tenure, the Tempe Fire Department was among the first five departments accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
In addition to Mr. Jones’ position on CPSE’s board of trustees, he is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and was a past president of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. In 1997, he received the Career Fire Chief of the Year Award from Fire Chief magazine.
Mr. Jones has a master’s degree in public administration, a bachelor’s degree in political science, and an associate’s degree in fire science. He also completed Harvard University’s program for senior executives in state and local government in 1999.
Paul McIntosh, Board Member
Chief Administrative Officer
County of Butte
25 County Center Drive
Oroville, CA 95965
pmcintosh@Buttecounty.net
Paul McIntosh has more than 20 years of local government experience. Within those years, 13 were dedicated to a chief executive position and five were committed to service for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). As the former county administrator of Hernando County, Fla., Mr. McIntosh oversaw the consolidation of several county districts into a countywide fire and EMS district.
Currently, in addition to holding the office of chief administrative officer for Butte County, Calif., Mr. McIntosh serves as the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) county representative to CPSE and is an ICMA credentialed manager.
In the past, Mr. McIntosh was associated with the Emergency Medial Service, Fire, and Emergency Management divisions in different counties of California, Arizona, and Florida.
Mr. McIntosh has a master’s and bachelor’s degree in public administration.