Heather Schafer
It is with a heavy heart that I Post today’s selection of a woman from the fi re service to honor during this Women’s History Month. Heather Schafer has been the Chief Executive O ffi cer for the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) since 1994. I’m so sad to say that Heather passed away unexpectedly last night (3-15-2021) in her home. Heather’s family, the NVFC, and all the rest of us who knew Heather are still in shock at the news of her passing. For more than a quarter of a century, Heather has guided the NVFC in all of their endeavors to represent the interests of the volunteer fi re service in various arenas…and she did so quite e ff ectively. As a woman positioned among the highest levels of leaders in the fi re service, she guided the organization through a transitional period of growth and change in volunteer emergency services. In addition to managing the functions of the NVFC on a day- to-day basis, she also led the development and the evolution of the strategic vision for the organization. Her work in recruitment and retention of volunteers, as well as the safety/ wellness of volunteer fi re fi ghters, stand out among her many e ff orts. Heather and I worked together over the years on a It is with a heavy heart that I post today’s selection of a woman from the fire service to honor during this Women’s History Month. Heather Schafer has been the chief executive officer of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) since 1994. I’m very sad to say that Heather passed away unexpectedly last night (3-15- 2021) in her home. Heather’s family, the NVFC, and all the rest of us who knew her are still in shock at the news of her passing. For more than a quarter of a century, Heather has guided the NVFC in all of their endeavors to represent the interests of the volunteer fire service in various arenas…and she did so quite effectively. As a woman positioned among the highest levels of leaders in the fire service, she guided the organization through a transitional period of growth and change in volunteer emergency services. In addition to managing the functions of the NVFC on a day-to- day basis, she also led the development and the evolution of the strategic vision for the organization. Her work in the recruitment and retention of volunteers, as well as the safety/wellness of volunteer firefighters, stand out among her many efforts. Heather and I worked together over the years on a number of fire service projects involving multiple issues and organizations. Those included the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI),
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