Leadership Team

Dean Shelton just finished his 21^st year as a Washington fire fighter.  A Captain and paramedic for the Marysville Fire District, Shelton was elected to the WSCFF Board in 2008 to represent the 10^th District, which runs from Everett to the Canadian border and out to the San Juan Islands and represents more than 700 union fire fighters.  In 2018, Shelton was elected WSCFF Vice-President.

A fire fighter for the city of Kent since 1984, Greg Markley currently serves as a Battalion Chief.  Markley served as President of Kent Local 1747 from 1996 – 2004, represented the 8^th District on the WSCF Board from 1997 – 2003, and has served as the WSCFF Secretary/Treasurer since 2003.

Currently the Station Captain of Station #1, downtown headquarters in Spokane, Mike Bacon has been a union fire fighter for more than 35 years.  He is also a Haz Mat specialist and a paramedic.  Since the beginning of his firefighting career, Bacon has been involved with the union.  He has held an elected position with Spokane Union Fire Fighters Local 29 for 28 years and currently represents District 1 on the WSCFF Board, covering more than 300 fire fighters in the city of Spokane.  He was elected to the WSCFF Board in 2004.

Jeff Wainwright began his fire service career in 1991 and is currently a Shift Captain with Spokane County Fire District #8, serving South Spokane County.  Wainwright was the charter President of the Spokane County District #8 Fire Fighters Local 3711, a position he held for 17 years.  Elected to the WSCFF Board in 2012, Wainwright represents the 2^nd District, spanning much of Eastern Washington and comprised of nearly 900 IAFF members in 25 locals from Yakima to the Tri-Cities to the Spokane Valley.

Tim Hoover, a fire fighter and paramedic for Snohomish County Fire District 1, was elected to the WSCFF Board in 2012 to represent the 3^rd District.  This district represents approximately 800 union fire fighters in 16 locals spread across the state from Port Angeles in the west to Chelan, Douglas, and Okanagan Counties in the east, with King and Snohomish Counties in the middle.  Hoover has been a fire fighter for 21 years, has held a number of elected positions, and has been involved in many union activities.

Mike Westland was hired in 2000 as a fire fighter and paramedic for East Pierce Fire and Rescue.  He also has been on the technical rescue team since 2008.  He has been President of Local 3520 East Pierce Professional Fire Fighters for eight years; prior to that he served as Vice President and Treasurer.  He was recently appointed as an IAFF State Field Service Representative.  In 2016, Westland was elected to the WSCFF Board to represent the 1,300 members of the 4^th District, which includes Pierce, Kitsap and Mason Counties.

Ryan Reese, the son of a professional fire fighter, became a volunteer firefighter at sixteen, and was hired at the age of 23 as a firefighter/paramedic. He is currently a Captain and a paramedic with Clark County Fire District 6 in Vancouver, WA.  Reese has been a member of IAFF Local 1805 since 199, and has served as president of IAFF Local 1805 since 2002.  He is also a Washington State Representative for the IAFF and in this capacity he organizes new locals, negotiates initial contracts and provides assistance during arbitration.  He also serves on the WSCFF EMS Committee.

Ryan Mudie became a professional fire fighter for Kitsap County in 2000 and was hired by the city of Tacoma in 2003.  Mudie has been active in the Tacoma Fire Fighters Union, Local 31, and has served as President since 2012.  He joined the WSCFF Board in 2012 representing District 6, which is comprised of more than 300 fire fighters in the city of Tacoma.

Craig Soucy has worked in the fire service for 24 years. He began his firefighting career with the city of Mukilteo and, since 1993,  has worked for the city of Renton where he has risen through the ranks from Lieutenant in 2008, to Captain in 2014, and to Battalion Chief with the newly formed Renton Regional Fire Authority in 2016.  Craig was one of the organizing members of IAFF Local 3482 in Mukilteo and has served as Trustee, Vice President and President of Renton Local 864.  He worked as a Legislative Liaison for the WSCFF from 2009 - 20011 and currently serves on the board of the WSCFF Medical Expense Plan (MERP) and Northwest Fire Fighters Benefits Trust (NWFFT).  In 2016, Craig was elected to the WSCFF Executive Board and represents the 7th District, comprised of  nearly 800 union fire fighters in the communities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Woodinville, Renton, Mercer Island, Skyway and the Seattle Fire Chiefs.      

Bill Mack joined the fire service in 1992 and currently serves as Battalion Chief with the Valley Regional Fire Authority.  Having served in contract negotiations and on local executive boards, Mack was elected to the WSCFF Board in 2013 to represent more than 500 union fire fighters in the 8^th District.  Most of this district is in southeast King County, and it includes Kittitas County and Ellensburg in the eastern part of the state.

An Engineer for the Kent Regional Fire Authority, Keven Rojecki has served as a secretary/treasurer, political action director, vice president and president of his union local, he worked on legislative affairs for the WSCFF from 2000 through 2010, and was elected to represent the 9^th District in 2007.  The 9^th District represents more than 800 fire fighters working in South King County and areas adjacent to the city of Seattle.

Theresa Purtell recently retired from the Seattle Fire Department.   She was elected to the WSCFF Executive Board in 2004 to represent more than 1,000 union fire fighters working in the city of Seattle.

Ricky Walsh became a career, professional fire fighter with the City of Hermiston, Oregon in 1983.  In 1986 he was hired as a City of Richland fire fighter and worked as a paramedic, lieutenant, and engine company Captain and served as the department's training officer.  He retired in 2013. Ricky was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Hermiston Firefighters Local 2752 in 1983.  In 1988 he was elected Vice President of Richland Firefighters local 1052 in 1990, and served as negotiations chair for 22 years.  An active participants in WSCFF issues, Ricky was elected to the Executive Board in 1993, he was elected Vice President in 1996 and served in that position until he was elected to the IAFF Executive Board as the 7th District Vice President in 2004.

Elected to the Board of Trustees in 2003, John works for the city of SeaTac Fire Department. He served as President and Vice President of the SeaTac City Fire Fighters.

Rich Kittinger was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2008.  He is a member of Local 106, Bellingham.  Rich began his firefighting career in 1994 with the Richland Fire Department, Local 1052, and was involved with the union immediately. He was hired by Bellingham in 1997 and has continued his union activity serving in various roles throughout his career.

Michael White began his professional firefighting career with the Auburn Fire Department in 2006.  Auburn merged into the Valley Regional Fire Authority (VRFA) in 2007, where White continues to serve the residents of Auburn, Pacific, and Algona.  He served on the Valley Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF 1352 Executive Board in charge of political action from 2008 until he was appointed as one of two WSCFF legislative liaisons in 2013.  He focuses advocacy efforts in the areas of worker's compensation, pensions, wildland firefighting and union rights.  In addition to working for the WSCFF and VRFA, White serves on the Board of Trustees for the Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Plan 2 Retirement Board.