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Our Team Amy C. Mauro, Esq. Executive Director Amy C. Mauro, Esq. is an accomplished and transformative leader who has worked on critical policy issues and strategic organizational change for twenty-five years, in both District and federal agencies and in three branches of government. Read More Larissa Bergin Board Secretary Larissa Bergin is a Partner at Jones Day. Her practice addresses the antitrust concerns arising from M&A matters, joint ventures, federal investigations, and commercial practices. Read More Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA Board Member Lisa Fitzpatrick is Founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, a digital health media company whose mission is to build trust and improve patient engagement among Medicaid patients through delivering culturally appropriate and relatable health information. Read More Carrie Kohns Board Member Carrie Kohns is the founder and CEO of strategic communications consulting firm, K&K Group, where she has been guiding political, corporate and nonprofit clients since 2018. She has more than two decades of experience in political strategy, policy development and communications management. Read More Babak Sarani, MD Board Member Dr. Babak Sarani is Professor of Surgery and Emergency Medicine and Chief of Trauma Surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. He and GW Hospital led the effort to provide whole blood to the paramedics in the DC Fire and EMS Department and to write the protocols which allow them to administer this life-saving modality to critically injured patients, resulting in a dramatic decrease in firearm-related deaths in Washington, DC. GW. Continuing to partner with the Washington, DC Fire Department, Dr. Sarani created and leads the only deployable Extrication and Amputation service in the District. Read More Tommy Wells Board Member Tommy Wells is a long-time DC resident, attorney, and public servant. Read More John A. Donnelly, Sr. Fire & EMS Chief and Honorary Co-Chair, ex officio Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr. was nominated by Mayor Muriel Bowser on September 4, 2020 to lead the 2,200 member DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. He was confirmed by the Council of the District of Columbia on December 15, 2020. Read More Steve Blivess Board Treasurer Steve Blivess is Chief Legal Counsel for Frederick County Public Schools. Blivess has spent the past 20 years as an attorney and labor relations professional with experience in litigation, as counsel to government executives, Fortune 500 corporations, family-owned businesses and individuals. Read More David Hoagland President, Local 36 of the IAFF and Board Member David Hoagland is President of Local 36 of the International Associated of Fire Fighters, representing over 2,000 members of the DC Fire & EMS Department. He is currently a Lieutenant and was most recently assigned to Engine 9 in the Adams Morgan/U Street neighborhood. Read More Robert Holman, MD Board Member Dr. Robert Holman is Associate Dean of Admissions at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He retired from the practice of medicine in 2024, after serving as the Medical Director of the DC Fire and EMS Department for eight years, the Department's longest serving Medical Director. He served in that role following 24 years of private practice of Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine. Read More Ronald Siarnicki Board Member Ronald Siarnicki spent 24 years in the fire service as a volunteer and professional firefighter before retiring and then serving as Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for 22 years. Read More Balchander Jayaraman Board Co-Chair Balchander Jayaraman is a recognized leader with over 18 years of emergency preparedness experience that includes evacuation and response plan development, Continuity of Operations planning, resilience assessment, HSEEP compliant exercise and scenario design and training, evacuation map creation, and program and project management. He is an effective consensus builder who has successfully worked with business leaders, government officials, advocacy groups, and community based organizations to generate support for innovative approaches to emergency preparedness planning. Read More Milton Douglas Board Member Milton Douglas retired from the DC Fire & EMS Department in 2022, after 35 years of service, at the rank of Assistant Fire Chief of Technical Services. Read More Kate Fogle Archivist Kate Fogle manages the Foundation's Virtual Exhibit, the History of the DC Fire and EMS Department in Photos, Videos, and Oral Histories, and supports the Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum on behalf of the Foundation. Read More Renee McPhatter Board Member Renee McPhatter is proud Ward 7 resident who has lived in the District of Columbia for over 30 years. She is Associate Vice President for Government and Community Relations at George Washington University. Read More John Sollers Board Member John Sollers retired from the DC Fire & EMS Department in 2021 at the rank of Assistant Fire Chief. During his 35 years with the Department, he specialized in special operations, incident command and response to technical rescue and hazardous materials incidents, logistics and facilities, fleet maintenance, program management, emergency planning, operational readiness, and instructing and training and motivating team members. Read More

Foundation In The Media Part of the Foundation's mission is to educate the community about the life-saving mission of the DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department. These stories do that and more, bringing you closer to the every day lives of our first responders and the Foundation that supports them. Read Executive Director Amy C. Mauro, Esq.'s Testimony advocating that capital funds for a new Training Academy campus and fleet maintenance facility stay in the Department's FY 26 budget. Fire Department Adviser Ignited Change Behind the Scenes Read this Washington Post profile of Foundation Executive Director Amy Mauro and learn how her eight years as Department Chief of Staff watching first responders save lives with more resources motivated her to revive and grow the Foundation. Photo Credit: Clarence Williams, Washington Post Alert Medic 1 Podcast: Managing Crisis: Leadership Pearls with Amy Mauro, Organizational Change Consultant and Executive Director, DC Fire & EMS Foundation Listen to this episode of the Alert Medic 1 podcast and hear about the innovative work of the DC Fire & EMS Department and the journey that its senior leaders and rank and file personnel took to get there. Capitals and Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation Celebrate Organization’s 50th Anniversary with $50,000 Donation to the DC Fire & EMS Foundation Funding also Benefits Nine Other Community Partners Whose Efforts Touch the Region’s Military, Youth Hockey, Hockey Fights Cancer/Health and Wellness and First Responder Communities, including the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation Executive Director Amy Mauro with MSE Foundation Executive Director Liz Pace, MSE CEO Ted Leonsis, and other grantees Watch Executive Director Amy C. Mauro's Overbeck Lecture: Evolution of DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services - Through the Decades Focusing on Capitol Hill Fires. Holiday Fire Safety Tips + The 2025 Firehouse Decorating Contest Winner! Read this Washington Post article about the Foundation's virtual exhibit, A History of the DC Fire and EMS Department in Photos, Videos, and Oral Histories (at https://www.dcfireemshistory.org/). (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Tears Flow at a Poignant Figure Skating Event in Washington, DC (Nick Wass/AP Photo) How a Therapy Dog Helps First Responders After Potomac Crash Tragedy Washingtonian Magazine: Figure Skating Event to Honor Lives Lost in DCA Plane Crash "Legacy on Ice," March 2 at Capital One Arena, will also pay tribute to the first responders. John Walton, Voice of the Caps, Visits Engine 26 Listen to this episode of Caps This Morning with John Walton , where John shares his perspective on the importance of the work of the Foundation, as well as his time spent with members of Engine 26 and Truck 15 in Brookland. Laughter Saves Lives Watch Foundation Executive Director Amy Mauro talk to retired FDNY Firefighter John Larocchia of Laughter Saves Lives about why she and the Board of Directors revived the Foundation in May 2023. Laughter Saves Lives honors Larocchia's FDNY colleagues who were killed on 9/11. WTOP Story on Ambulance Wait Times at Hospitals What are hospital drop times and why should you care? Find out from this story , which explains that decreasing hospital drop times would increase the level and availability of life-saving resources in DC neighborhoods.

< Back Babak Sarani, MD Board Member Dr. Sarani graduated from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in 1997. He then completed his training in General Surgery at GW in 2004. Following this, he completed fellowship training in Trauma and Critical Care Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Critical Care Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He was recruited back to DC in 2011 where he became the Founder and Director of the Center for Trauma and Critical Care at The George Washington University Hospital. Regionally, Dr. Sarani is a leader in trauma care both in Washington, DC and in Northern Virginia. Dr. Sarani established the first trauma center in Arlington, Virginia and is now leading the effort to establish the first trauma center in Anacostia, Washington, DC. He is the immediate past Chair of the Washington, DC Committee on Trauma – a position that he held for six years. Dr. Sarani is now the Vice Chair and Chair Designate for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Performance Improvement Program, which is tasked with establishing evidence-based guidelines for trauma care nationally. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Trauma Society, past member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Secretary of the Surgical Critical Care Program Director’s Society, President of the Chest Wall Injury Society, past Chair of the Brady United Against Gun Violence Regional Leadership Council for Washington, DC, and past Editor-in-Chief of the Society of Critical Care Medicine textbook on the Fundamentals of Critical Care Support. Dr. Sarani is also an active researcher who has published the only papers evaluating causes of death following public mass shootings. These papers have altered response strategies and processes of care in many EMS jurisdictions throughout the United States. During his off time, he enjoys traveling with his wife and two daughters and eating at fine restaurants.

< Back Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA Board Member Lisa is a board-certified infectious diseases physician and a medical epidemiologist. She has experience serving as a member of the Center for Disease Control’s elite Epidemic Intelligence Service, as a foreign diplomat in the Caribbean, as an academic researcher, and as the former chief medical officer for the DC Medicaid program. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine/ National Academy of Sciences Roundtable on Health Literacy and an Aspen Institute Health Innovator Fellow. Lisa has lived and worked throughout the District of Columbia, including in Ward 8.

< Back Milton Douglas Board Member Milton is a native Washingtonian and a graduate of Frank W. Ballou Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, he went on to pursue classes in the field of Fire Science at the University of the District of Columbia. He was appointed to D.C. Fire & EMS January 20, 1987, as a Fire Fighter, thus was the start of a dream come true of a career in the field of fire service. During his tenure, he consistently demonstrated a commendable level of commitment to his professional growth and career advancement within the Department. On March 19, 1995, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant; followed by the rank of Lieutenant, January 17, 1996 and subsequently, the rank of Captain, April 4, 2004. In 2007, he embarked on a career shift that would ultimately groom him for the level of senior management with the promotion to the rank of Battalion Fire Chief, February 4, 2007. He was assigned to the Office of Internal Affairs and tasked with creating the office pursuant to the “Rosenbaum Taskforce on Emergency Medical Services Report and Recommendations of 2007.” He worked alongside the Fire Chief and his senior staff to ensure discipline was fair and equitable, and made certain members received fair and unbiased investigations, as well as, made sure penalties for misconduct were swift, fair and appropriate. April 27, 2008, he was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, a position he served in until he was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief of Technical Services.

< Back Carrie Kohns Board Member Carrie’s career includes notable roles serving prominent political figures. Most recently, Carrie served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., where she played a key role in shaping the mayor's messaging and media strategy. For seven years, she was the Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Karen Bass, now Mayor of Los Angeles, where she managed communications, policy and strategic initiatives to steer Bass’ agenda on the national stage. Prior to this, Carrie served as Chief of Staff and Communications Director for Mayor Adrian Fenty in Washington, D.C. Her leadership in these high-pressure environments allowed her to shape major public policy and communications strategies. Previously, Carrie served as the Washington Director and Communications Director for Rep. Loretta Sanchez, running her Capitol Hill operation, handling media relations and legislative initiatives. Carrie grew up in Washington, DC and lives in Ward 4 with her husband, a Metropolitan Police Department Officer, and her son.

< Back Balchander Jayaraman Board Co-Chair Mr. Jayaraman is currently President of Strategic Education Consulting, LLC, a minority-owned small business in the District of Columbia. His company creates emergency response and evacuation plans and training for District government agencies, schools, and residential buildings, as well as business continuity plans for private companies, and non-profits. He has specialized expertise in planning for the safe sheltering and evacuation of people with disabilities. Before starting his own company in 2010, Mr. Jayaraman was Project Director at Inclusion Research Institute, a non-profit research organization. He managed projects that increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities, increased voter participation in elections, and improved the preparedness of people nationwide through the development of an innovative Fire-safety planner and Readiness Action planner. Outside of work, Mr. Jayaraman has a distinctive track record as a civic activist, an elected official, and a top candidate in the DC Council At-Large race in 2020. He recently completed serving his fifth term as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) 6B, representing the Capitol Hill/Hilleast areas of Ward 6. He currently serves as an alumni board representative of Jenkins Hill Child Development Center, and DC Doors, a local non-profit that helps people secure permanent, stable housing. He is on the board of Capitol Hill Little League and also serves as an Umpire for the League. Mr. Jayaraman was born in Bangalore, India and moved to Overland Park, KS at the age of ten. He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School the University of Kansas. He moved to the District of Columbia in 1995 and lives in Ward 6 with his wife and son.

< Back David Hoagland President, Local 36 of the IAFF and Board Member David is a life-long believer in strong labor unions and follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was president of a carpenters’ union. David was raised part-time in Washington, DC, and lives with his wife and kids in Ward 5.

< Back Renee McPhatter Board Member Earlier in her career, Renee worked for D.C. Councilmember Kathy Patterson as the staff director for the D.C. Council Committee on Judiciary. In that role, she worked on issues pertaining to the Fire and EMS department. Renee also held other positions in the District government including serving as Deputy Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs for former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, and General Counsel for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. Renee earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

< Back Larissa Bergin Board Secretary Larissa works with clients in a variety of industries, including the technology, health care, retail, and pharmaceutical sectors. Many of Larissa's clients have international reach, and she has been involved in matters that require advocacy before governments throughout Asia, the EU, and North America. At the start of her career, Larissa clerked at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, where she addressed intellectual property, tax, and government contract issues, including Serco, Inc. v. United States (also referred to as the Alliant protest), a bid-protest case involving a $50 billion procurement for government-wide information technology and services. Larissa is a member of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association and is chair of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She is a Ward 1 resident and admitted in the New York, Connecticut, and District of Columbia bars.

< Back John Sollers Board Member John has extensive experience coordinating with both local and federal agencies and is a certified instructor in hazardous materials, incident management, and National Fire Protection Administration best practices. He is a graduate of the Executive Leaders Program: Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the University of Maryland.

< Back Amy C. Mauro, Esq. Executive Director Amy is a results-oriented manager and problem-solver known for her depth of knowledge on policy, legal, agency operations, budget, public safety and criminal justice issues. From 2015 to 2023, she served as Chief of Staff for the DC Fire and EMS Department during a time of significant transformation of the Department . She worked with retired Chief Gregory M. Dean, current Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr., and their executive leadership teams, to drive strategic budget investment, cultural and organizational change, and service improvements. The Department’s reforms and innovations, particularly in the area of EMS, have received national recognition and emulation. Prior to working for the Department, Amy served as General Counsel and Chief of Staff at the DC Office of Risk Management (DCORM), as well as a staff member in the Office of the City Administrator, DC US Attorney’s Office and DC Council. Amy is passionate about improving DC Fire & EMS services for DC residents, which includes her family and kids. She is currently working with the Board to build the DC Fire & EMS Foundation to the stature that the Department’s members and customers deserve. Amy is a DC native and lives with her husband Mark, and their two children, in Ward 6.