Board of Directors
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bOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Candace Ashby, President
Candace Ashby is a 35-year veteran with the Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD), currently serving as Battalion Chief in the fire suppression division. Prior to IFD, Candace worked for Perry Township Fire Department full-time and Greenwood Fire Department part-time. Over her fire service career, she has held a variety of positions including: Firefighter, Engineer, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Executive Officer, Inspector, Investigator, Safety Officer, and Instructor.
Candace holds a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership degree and was able to add to the body of knowledge in the fire service through her extensive dissertation study entitled: “A Phenomenological Study of Battalion Chief Leadership Development at Indianapolis Fire Department.” She also holds a Master of Science Degree in Management, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, an Associate in Applied Fire Science Technology, and has completed dozens of fire service-related courses.
Dr. Ashby is a lifelong learner while teaching a variety of management and leadership courses. In addition, she consults with police and fire department personnel on enhancing organizational performance. Candace has a strong desire and passion to continue research and development in the areas of management and leadership development, high-performing teams, interpersonal relations, emotional intelligence, communications, customer service, risk management, and organizational change.
She is also President and Founder of Key Fire Investigations, Inc., a private forensic consulting company specializing in fire and explosion investigations and vehicle theft analysis. She has testified as an expert witness in criminal and civil proceedings as well as in federal court. Her national certifications include: Certified Fire Investigator, Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator, Certified Fire Investigation Instructor, and Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator.
Eric Funkhouser, Vice-President
Eric Funkhouser last served as Fire Chief of the Bargersville Community Fire Department, where he led a department of 43 full-time personnel and approximately 50 part-time personnel. In addition to being a full-time fire chief, he also serves part-time as the Operations Chief of Whiteland Fire Department.
Eric has 22 years of fire service experience, starting as a volunteer firefighter back in 1999 and hired full-time in 2004 as a Lieutenant with the White River Township Fire Department. During his career, he has held the rank of Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Division Chief of Training, and Fire Chief.
Chief Funkhouser actively pursues numerous opportunities to further his education. He is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Johnson County, an eight-month leadership program administered by Franklin College. Eric also holds an Associate degree in Fire Science through Ivy Tech State College and is currently completing a Bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration through Columbia Southern University.
Eric has numerous fire service certifications, including Type III Incident Commander. He served as a member on the skills and test validation committees for the State of Indiana for the certifications of Fire Officer III, Fire Officer IV, Instructor I, and Instructor II/III and currently serves as the Quality Assurance Project Coordinator for the State of Indiana Fire and Public Academy Training System.
Eric has actively taught numerous classes throughout the state and serves as lead instructor of recruit classes for full-time firefighters and EMS personnel, as well as part-time firefighters. Chief Funkhouser currently serves on the Johnson County Joint Incident Management Team for the Covid-19 response.
Scott Cassin, Secretary
Scott M. Cassin last served as the Fire Chief of Pasco County Fire Rescue near Tampa, Florida, before retiring in 2023. He originally moved to Florida to work for Pasco County in 2010 after serving twenty-four years with the White River Township Fire Department just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. While in Indiana, he served in many different capacities, from firefighter to chief of the department. Working alongside a dedicated and talented group of other professionals, he helped propel the Indiana department from an all-volunteer force to a career department employing a mix of full-time and part-time professionals.
As Chief of the Department in Florida, Scott was responsible for around 900 full-time employees and 150 volunteers protecting 750 square miles of diverse populations and topography. He also served as Chairman of the Pasco County Consolidated Communications Board, which is responsible for overseeing the county’s 9-1-1 network infrastructure and dispatch system. As part of the northern portion of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, the department is firmly on the list of the top 10 busiest fire departments in the State of Florida and is home to one of the busiest Engine Companies and Paramedic ambulances in the United States.
Scott holds two Bachelor’s Degrees and a Master’s Degree in various disciplines from business administration to meteorology. He is a lifelong learner and has a passion for continuing education. As a servant leader, Scott employs a blend of different management styles and is able to adapt as necessary to foster better working relationships among varied groups.
Early in his career, Scott realized a desire to teach and enjoyed doing so for both new and experienced firefighters alike. This desire grew, and he eventually began educating new fire officers and helping to construct Company Officer Development courses for continuing education – a desire that continues today.
Kristi Hamblin, Treasurer
Kristi Hamblin serves as a Board Member and Treasurer for Elite Public Safety Consulting. With 27 years of experience in the fire service, Kristi brings extensive operational and leadership expertise to the organization. She currently serves as a Captain and Executive Officer with the Indianapolis Fire Department, where she has held a variety of roles focused on leadership, accountability, and operational excellence.
Kristi is deeply committed to advancing the public safety profession through ethical leadership, sound fiscal stewardship, and practical, experience-driven solutions. In her role with Elite Public Safety Consulting, she helps guide the organization’s strategic direction while ensuring responsible financial oversight in support of agencies and leaders nationwide.
Joel Thacker, Member
Joel Thacker is a 23-year veteran of the fire service. He currently serves as Division Chief of Prevention & Administration with the Plainfield Fire Territory and previously served with the Brownsburg Fire Territory and White River Township Fire department since 1992. During this time he has worked as an emergency medical technician and paramedic with both Wishard Hospital Ambulance service (now Indianapolis EMS) and Brownsburg Fire Department.
Joel is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Currently, he attends IUPUI where he is completing a Master's degree in Criminal Justice and Public Safety from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA).
As a certified fire instructor, Joel has taught a variety of fire department courses such as Strategy and Tactics, Apparatus Operator, and Fire Officer 1, 2, and 3 across the country and in Sicily. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has called on Joel to develop the first statewide online Administrative Chief Officer Program. Recently, Joel worked with Chief Officers from around the state of Indiana to revise the Administrative Chief Officer Program for future classroom delivery.
Additionally, Joel was a member of Indiana Task Force One, a Federal Urban Search and Rescue Team based in Indianapolis, IN, from 2004-2009. During this time, he served as a Certified Rescue Technician in the areas of vehicle/machinery extrication, rope, trench, confined space, and structural collapse rescue. He also served as a Planning Team Member within INTF-1.
Currently, Joel serves as an Admin/Finance Section Chief with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security District 5 Incident Management Team. In this capacity, he works with agencies facing large planned events and incidents that strain that organization's ability to manage the current event or incident. He has served the city of Indianapolis as the Admin/Finance Section Chief for Super Bowl XLVI and responded to Clark County during the 2012 tornadoes that devastated that county.
Throughout Joel’s fire service career, he has held every position in the department. Serving as a Lieutenant, Captain, Shift Battalion Chief, Chief of Training and Safety, Chief of Emergency Medical Services, and Chief of Administration affords him a wide range of perspective and experience. In these positions, Joel has had the opportunity to develop and implement emergency services policy and procedure in the areas of Firefighting, Emergency Medical Services, Rescue and Hazardous Materials Response. He collaborated to create the first Disaster Management Plan for the White River Twp. Fire Department and has worked with the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency to develop Disaster Response and Mitigation Plans.
James Engmark, Member
James B. Engmark is the Training Coordinator for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Franklin, IN, and the Deputy Fire Chief for the Needham Fire Department in Needham, IN. Jim is responsible for the training of 175 Sheriff’s Office employees, as well as Public Relations for the local schools.
Jim moved to Florida in 2011 to work as the Fire Chief for Little Gasparilla Island Fire Rescue after serving ten years with the White River Township Fire Department near Indianapolis, Indiana. While at White River Township, Jim served in many capacities from firefighter/EMT to EMS and Training Chief. Working alongside a dedicated team at White River Township, Jim helped develop White River Township’s Ambulance Transport service. Jim was also the White River Township Fire Department’s Public Information Officer.
In Indiana, Jim also worked with the City of Greenwood Fire Department as a Call Paid FF/Paramedic, and also as one of their fire investigators and Public Information Officers, and assisted with training in several aspects of the department. Jim also served as a SWAT team operator with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for approximately four years.
Jim also served as the Operations Manager with Ambitrans Medical Transport near Ft. Myers, Florida, Jim was responsible for over 200 employees and the operations of the ambulance service, which covered five primary counties: Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. Ambitrans is the busiest private ambulance service in Southwest Florida that does mostly inter-facility transfers throughout the state of Florida. Jim was also responsible for the Training Division, Logistics, and Maintenance Division, as well as training new employees.
Jim has an Associate Degree in Fire Science, EMT, FOIII, NFA Leadership Series, Instructor II/III, and has a continued passion to learn and teach.
Jim was involved with teaching and training throughout his career. Jim has taught several classes at fire schools across the state of Indiana, and he enjoys teaching and training experienced and new firefighters, EMT’s, and Paramedics. Jim enjoys the Leadership aspect of the Fire, EMS, and Law Enforcement field and wants to assist and train as many people as possible in Leadership.
Meg Hogwood, Member
Meg is a twenty-five-year veteran of the Pike Township Fire Department, where she currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Administration. Meg holds the rank of Battalion Chief, and prior to this appointment, she was the Shift Commander for B Shift. She has served in an array of roles within Pike, including Lieutenant, Captain, and Division Chief of EMS. She has held an Indiana State paramedic license for over twenty years.
Meg has taught many fire and EMS service courses for Pike and surrounding agencies. As the Division Chief of EMS, she was responsible for organizing and teaching the Emergency Medical Technician course to all recruit participants, as well as presenting the History in the Fire Service portion of Firefighter I. This portion of the fire curriculum remains her favorite subject to teach. Meg is also active within her organization, encouraging leadership development, supporting higher education for all firefighters, and working to improve promotional and hiring processes in order to ensure the capture of those best suited for the position at hand.
Meg has been involved in many aspects of fire service and EMS development at Pike and within the community, including founding the Project Lifesaver program at Pike Fire, as well as serving as a Board member of the District 6 EMS Taskforce. Meg’s education includes a master’s degree in public safety management from IUPUI. Additionally, she is a current third-year law student at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, with focused studies on government, state, and local law.