A former firefighter turned VP of HR, Chris brings fireground stories to life to show how the fire service’s hard‑earned lessons in decision‑making, resilience, and agility directly address the leadership challenges organizations face today. These are the types of skills that AI will not be able to replace! Through vivid stories and practical, transferable frameworks, Chris equips leaders in any industry to stay clear, steady, and adaptive under pressure.

Learning topics include:

- Decisive action under uncertainty: How to make strong decisions with incomplete information
- Emotional resilience under pressure: How to return to rational leadership after emotional activation
- Agile leadership in complex environments: How to balance alignment with autonomy
- Fire‑service frameworks you can use immediately: Using a simple decision model, EI reset tools, and building team clarity

PDUs - 2

• Power Skills- 1
• Business Acumen- 1

Catering: Metro Pizza 

Chris Whaley's Bio

Chris Whaley, an engineer by training, is a former firefighter and rescue diver turned VP of HR! He is the founder and principal consultant of Escape to Expand, where he brings together people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to unlock their full potential. His approach combines facilitation, team coaching, and a proven roadmap to help organizations drive results while fostering collaboration and engagement. With over 25 years of global experience across public service, consumer electronics, and medical technology solutions, Chris has led teams in emergency services, HR, business transformation, process improvement, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement. Chris holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Practitioner, PMI Project Management Professional (PMP), and a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Learn more at https://EscapeToExpand.com.