Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service

As the fire service becomes a microcosm of American society, Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service provides a useful tool to effectively address key issues and challenges of cultural diversity.  This book provides valuable lessons on cultural competence, the value of cultural differences, and the acquisition of cross-cultural skills to be used in fire science college courses or fire academies at the city, fire-district, state or federal level.  An advanced and exceptional multicultural writing team, the authors bring years of experience from positions of  Organizational Psychologist, Criminal Justice instructor and State Police patrol supervisor working side-by-side with firefighters.  Real world experience combined with strategies, information and tools in this progressive work will result in improved firefighter performance and professionalism.

Herbert Z. Wong, Ph.D., is an organizational psychologist, provides cultural awareness and diversity training to fire service and other public safety officers on local, state and federal levels nationwide.  Dr. Wong is Professor of Psychology and Research Director with the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at John F. Kennedy University.  He is President of Herbert Z. Wong & Associates, a management consulting firm to over 300 businesses, universities, government agencies and heathcare corporations specializing in multicultural management and workforce diversity.  Dr. Wong has written extensively on workforce diversity, cultural competency and multicultural leadership issues.

 

 

As a training and organization consultant, Aaron Olson specializes in employee performance evaluation reviews, employee and organization assessments, staff development, curriculum design and customized instruction.  He has provided training to businesses, law enforcement, corrections, fire service, medical, 911, and transportation professionals.  He is also an Internal Affairs and Backgrounds Investigator for Local Government Personnel Institute, Salem, Oregon. Aaron is a published writer.  He has co-written two instructor manuals and two textbooks.  He co-authored Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society 4th Edition by Prentice Hall and recently Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service by Prentice Hall. Aaron is an adjunct instructor at Portland Community College where he teaches accredited criminal justice college courses.  He presently teaches Introduction to Police, Introduction to Courts, Evidence, Criminal Investigations, and Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice Professions.  He designed the first Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice Professions classes at Portland Community College and also the CARE Approach which is taught at the college and other venues. Aaron holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.  He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice from Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.  He is a United States Army veteran and a retired commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. Aaron is a retired police supervisor from the Oregon State Police (OSP) in Portland, Oregon.  His duty assignments included being a patrol officer, regional communications supervisor, police recruiter/hiring supervisor and a patrol supervisor.  The offices he worked out of were Beaverton, Portland and Salem.  In 2002 he established the “Police and Emergency Services” workshops to Immigrants and Refugees which he continues to facilitate as a consultant. Aaron has taught at Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) Basic, Supervision, Middle-Management, Executive Development and Regional schools; as well as OSP’s cadet, communications, recruit, and in-service schools.   In 2003, he was awarded the Regional Trainer of The Year Award by DPSST for “Excellence in Training” for teaching the Instructor Development Course “Train-The-Trainer” and mentoring new instructors.