Cultural competence, resilience and capacity building with Allen Lewis

In this episode, Stephen Wood is joined by Allen Lewis, who is an Adjunct Professor with Columbia Southern University and an Associate Consultant for Emergency Service Consulting International in addition to performing emergency and security sensitive work outside the United States.  They discuss Allen's experiences in disaster response and humanitarian response while working in developing countries focussing on cultural competence. As a paramedic, he has worked in medical services aboard ships above the Arctic Circle, in de-mobilized child soldier camps in South Sudan, mobile high threat protection teams in Afghanistan, and aboard helicopters over Iraq. As a well-travelled instructor and consultant in the fire service and EMS profession, he has trained firefighters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, and Iraq. Mr. Lewis has lived, worked, or travelled to 98 countries in his 25 years of fire, rescue, and EMS experience. A significant amount his career has been spent in non-permissive environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan he worked as a personal security specialist/paramedic under the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security High Threat Protection Program protecting American ambassadors. He is a National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer (EFO) graduate, a Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) credentialed Certified Fire Officer (CFO) and Certified Emergency Medical Services Officer (CEMSO), a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), as well as a Nationally Registered Paramedic, certified International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) Fire Officer, Instructor, and Investigator with the Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board. Professor Lewis holds dual Associate of Applied Science degrees in Fire Suppression Technology and Emergency Medical Technology - Paramedic from Chemeketa Community College, a Bachelor of Fire Service Administration from Western Oregon University, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia Southern University, and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.