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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Executive Management


Fire Chief
Brian Fennessy
Brian Fennessy became Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority on April 16, 2018.
 
Chief Fennessy began his career in 1978 with the US Department of Agriculture's United States Forest Service and the US Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management working as a hotshot crewmember, hotshot/helishot/helitack captain and ultimately crew superintendent.
 
In 1990, Fennessy joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and ultimately became Chief of the Department in 2015. One of his many accomplishments while with the SDFD was developing & establishing a multi-mission Fire/Rescue/EMS helicopter program designed to serve the citizens of the City of San Diego and the region.
 
Chief Fennessy has enjoyed a diversity of executive leadership and management experiences in both the wildland fire and metropolitan fire service communities. He believes that Mission-Driven Culture (MDC) is the future of the fire service and has presented on this topic at a variety of local, state, and national venues.
 
Chief Fennessy has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and has participated in hundreds of Fire Service, NIMS, and Incident Command Systems courses throughout his career. Fennessy has also completed many specialized leadership-training courses, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) program and for the last ten-years, represented the IAFC on the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee.
 
Chief Fennessy has held multiple Incident Command System (ICS) certifications and positions, has also served on National Incident Management Teams, and developed one of the first All-Hazard Incident Management Teams (AHIMT) in the US.
 

Fire Chief Communications
 
Deputy Chief of Administration and Support
Lori Zeller
Lori Zeller has been with the OCFA for 21 years. Prior to promoting to Deputy Chief in 2018, she worked through the financial ranks starting as OCFA's Assistant Treasurer in 1997, then Treasurer from 2000 to 2004, followed by her service as Assistant Chief over Business Services from 2004-2018.
 
Chief Zeller holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from California State University Fullerton and she completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Lori has been married to her husband Jay for 26 years and has three sons (Jeff, Drew and Justin).
 
Deputy Chief of Operations
TJ McGovern
Chief McGovern started his fire service career in 1991 as an Emergency Transport Technician (ETT) with the San Clemente Fire Department and made the transition to the OCFA in 1994, with the transition of the San Clemente Fire Department. During the time while working on the Emergency Transports, Chief McGovern attended the Santa Ana Basic Fire Academy and attended Paramedic School at Saddleback College in 1993.
 
In 1994, Chief McGovern was hired by the Garden Grove Fire Department (GGFD) as a Firefighter/Paramedic. He worked his way through the ranks of Firefighter/Paramedic, Fire Captain, Battalion Chief, Operations Chief, and Interim Fire Chief, prior to the GGFD’s transition to the OCFA.
 
During his tenure with the GGFD, Chief McGovern spent 8 years with CAL FIRE Incident Management Teams (IMT) and spent 4 years with the Orange County All Hazards IMT, serving in the Plans Section. Chief McGovern also holds a bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration.
 
Since the transition to the OCFA, Chief McGovern has worked at Battalion 11, Battalion 6, Emergency Duty Officer (EDO) assigned to the ECC, and most currently as the Emergency Command Center Division Chief.
 
Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Services
Rob Capobianco
A former City of Laguna Beach Lifeguard and graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Chief Capobianco began his OCFA career in 1988 as a Paid Call Firefighter with the Orange County Fire Department. In the more than 25 years since, “Capo” has ascended through the ranks as a Firefighter/Paramedic, Captain/Paramedic, Battalion Chief, Division Chief, and now Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Services/Training and Promotions.
 
Throughout his career, Chief Capobianco diversified his leadership and fire service experience in a variety of endeavors, including as Chief Arson/Fire Investigator; Training Officer; Chair of the Apparatus Committee; and FIRESCOPE Taskforce Liaison. As a Division Chief, Rob was the liaison to five south county cities, and he was honored as Chief of the Year at the 14th Annual Best & Bravest Awards.

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Assistant Chief of Business Services
Robert Cortez
Robert Cortez began his career with the Orange County Fire Authority in January 2019 and brings with him an impressive combination of education and diverse municipal government experience. Robert has held leadership roles in budget and finance, addressing homelessness, strategic planning, economic development, affordable housing and a variety of other disciplines. In his current capacity, he oversees the Business Services Department, which includes budget, finance, procurement, Clerk of the Authority and legislative affairs.
 
Prior to joining OCFA, Robert worked for the City of Santa Ana for over 19 years. During his tenure at Santa Ana, he held a variety of support positions, followed by progressions through the City's Budget and Research Office, Interim Administrative Services Manager, Assistant Director of Finance, Special Assistant to the City Manager, and promoting to the Deputy City Manager. Robert was an active participant, working closely with the OCFA through the City's transition of the Santa Ana Fire Department to OCFA in 2012.
 
Chief Cortez holds both a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

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Assistant Chief of Human Resources
Stephanie Holloman
Stephanie Holloman joined Orange County Fire Authority in August 2020 having served in management and executive management positions in the cities of Los Angeles and Riverside. In her role, she will oversee the Human Resources Department, which includes benefits, classification and compensation, recruitment, employee relations, and risk management.
 
Prior to joining OCFA, Chief Holloman led an award-winning HR team that was recognized for its accomplishments in the areas of leadership development, employee safety, and return-to-work programs. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, workforce development, policy development, safety and training.
 
Chief Holloman holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School.

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Assistant Chief, Field Operations South
Tim Perkins
Chief Perkins began his firefighting career in 1991 as a Paid Call Firefighter at Fire Station 19, and after graduating from both the Santa Ana Fire Academy and UCLA-Daniel Freeman Paramedic Education Program, he was hired full-time as a Firefighter/Paramedic at OCFA Station 22 in 1999. He promoted through the ranks as an Engineer, Fire Captain, and Crew Chief. Chief Perkins promoted to Battalion Chief in 2013 primarily working in Battalion 4 and Air Operations program manager. Before promoting to Assistant Chief of Operations in 2023 he was the Special Operations Division Chief.
 
Chief Perkins proactively sought to expand his experience in a variety of positions throughout the organization. In 2006 Chief Perkins joined California Task Force 5 participating as a Rescue Team Manager and Task Force Leader on California Task Force 5. He currently represents OCFA as the Task Force Representative serving as the liaison for FEMA’s program office. In 2009 he became a Crew Chief in the Air Operations Section. His aviation involvement ultimately led him to become an Air Operations Branch Director for Cal Fire Team 4 Incident Management Team from 2013 to 2023. He was selected as FIRESCOPE’s Vice Chair of the Aviation Specialist Group from 2018 to 2020.Chief Perkins also serves on the OCFA Incident Management Team 2 as an Operations Section Chief.
 
He holds an Associate Degree in Business Administration, another Associate Degree in Science in Fire Technology, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Studies from Long Beach State University. Chief Perkins and his wife, Danette, live in San Clemente and have two daughters, Alyssa and Aly.

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Assistant Chief, Field Operations North
Shane Sherwood
Shane Sherwood is assigned as Assistant Chief of Field Operations North. Previously Chief Sherwood served as the Division Chief of Division 2, which is responsible for the City of Irvine, John Wayne Airport, and the University of California Irvine. Chief Sherwood has been in the fire service for 28 years and has progressed through the ranks of Firefighter/Paramedic, Engineer, Fire Captain, Battalion Chief, Division Chief, and Assistant Chief of Field Operations. Chief Sherwood has also served in a variety of assignments throughout his tenure including, Air Operations, Hazardous Materials, Public Information, Fire Academy Coordinator, Fire Investigator, Task Force Leader for CA Task Force 5 and Plans Section Chief for Cal Fire IMT 6. Shane is currently a member of OCFA’s All-Hazards Incident Management Team Incident Commander.

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Director of Communications
Matt Olson
Matt came to the OCFA in February of 2022 with a strong history of leading a wide variety of award-winning communications projects, including video productions, social media campaigns, crisis communications, and nationally delivered presentations for multiple chief executive officers. Most recently, Matt served as the Deputy Chief of Staff & Director of Executive Communications in the Office of the President at Cal State Fullerton.
 
Matt is a member of the Writers Guild of America and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from Cal State Fullerton, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Loyola Marymount University, and a 100 Gross Ton Master Captain’s License from the United States Coast Guard. Matt is also a graduate of CSUF’s Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Academy and holds an Inclusion Champion Certification from the institution’s Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Programs.
 
Matt lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Shelley, and their two sons, Adam and Reid.

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Assistant Chief of Logistics
Jim Ruane
Jim Ruane, CPA (inactive), has been with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) since 1997. He joined OCFA just prior to formation of the Joint Powers Authority. Jim played a key role in OCFA's financial transition from a County Department to an independent agency. He then progressed from OCFA's Business Services Manager to Finance Manager, where he has guided OCFA's Finance Division since 2002.
 
In 2018, Jim was promoted to Assistant Chief of Logistics which include executive level activities of planning, organizing, and directing the departments of Fleet Services, Information Technology, Property Management, and Service Center.
 
Chief Ruane also serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the OCFA Foundation and Type-3 Finance Section Chief for Incident Management Teams. He has a Master's Degree in Organizational Management, a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Business Administration, and has completed the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program.

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Assistant Chief of Community Risk Reduction & Fire Marshal
Lori Smith
Lori Smith serves as the Assistant Chief of Community Risk Reduction & Fire Marshal. She has over 30 years of experience in the fire service, having served 12 years in management and executive management positions.
 
Chief Smith is a Cal State Fullerton graduate in Political Science and also holds a degree in Computer Information Systems and Fire Administration. She is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officers program.

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