Roundtable Talk - Get Ready for Safety Stand Down 2025

In 2010, Jeff Dill founded Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA). 

Jeff travels the United States & Canada holding workshops to educate firefighters, dispatchers & EMS about behavioral health awareness, moral injury and suicide prevention.  In 2010, FBHA began tracking and validating data on all FF, EMS and dispatcher suicides across the United States. In addition, FBHA offers ten workshops for first responders, counselors/chaplains, family members and preparing for retirement.

Jeff Dill holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling, is a retired Fire Captain at Palatine Rural Fire Protection District in Inverness, Illinois.  

Jeff speaks internationally about his work for his brothers and sisters.  The past ten years he has travelled over 1,000,000 air miles. His message offers hope and inspires all to enjoy life by understanding their own behavioral health.

On July 1^st, 2021 Jeff was appointed the new Behavioral Health Administrator for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

Robert Fash is a Specialist with the National Fire Protection Association. After serving in the fire service for 34 years, he has worked for NFPA for the past 8 years. Robert currently oversees documents pertaining to fire investigations; firefighter and emergency responder occupational safety, health and wellness; guidelines to structural firefighting and fire service training. Robert also oversees NFPA 1000, Accreditation and Certification for Fire Service, Public Safety, and Related Personnel to Professional Qualifications Standards, and is the staff liaison to the Correlating Committee for Professional Qualifications.

Dr. Abby Morris received degrees from Cornell University, and Georgetown School of Medicine and completed her residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is double board certified in Psychiatry/neurology and Addiction medicine. She has been a physician for over 20 years and has been working as a medical director for the last 17 years. She has worked in diverse medical settings but has been the Medical Director of the IAFF Center of Excellence, a stand-alone mental health treatment facility for fire fighters with PTSD, addiction, or other behavioral health challenges for the last 8 years. She has been awarded many local and regional honors for her academics and work in her field and is considered an international expert in first responder mental health and trauma. Dr. Morris has been on multiple news programs, panels, and conference forums and has been invited to teach in a variety of settings around the country and internationally. In addition to working with fire fighters, Dr. Morris volunteers with her county CIT/SWAT team as the medical consultant giving her a varied perspective on the needs of first responders. 

Kerry Ramella obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology from Northcentral University. Her doctorate research focused on the area of Creating Resiliency in the Fire Service.  Dr. Ramella is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Arizona as well as a National Certified Counselor.  Dr. Ramella has worked in and with public safety employees for over 30 years. She created her own business, Public Safety Crisis Solutions, LLC. to address the specific needs of public safety personnel and their families by offering consultation, training, EAP/BHAP Coordination, Peer Support Development and Behavioral Heath oversight. Dr Ramella is a Behavioral Health Consultant for the International Association of Fire Fighters assisting with Advisory Boards, Critical Deployments, Curriculum Development, Speaking and Testifying. She also teaches a Behavioral Health Course for California State University San Marcus Wildland and Urban Interface Fire Science Program.

Deputy Fire Chief Darin Wallentine began his fire service career in 1992 and now leads the Fire Administration Section of the Sarasota County Fire Department (SCFD). His extensive career spans over three decades and includes service with the Orange County Fire Authority in Irvine, California, and a distinguished tenure with the Tucson Fire Department (TFD), where he retired after leading the department’s Safety & Wellness Division.

Chief Wallentine brings 33 years of comprehensive fire service experience and leadership to his role at SCFD. He is responsible for overseeing key administrative functions, including fire training, logistics, capital projects, fire prevention, finance, and safety. His leadership also encompasses the department’s safety and wellness initiatives, focusing on occupational health through annual physicals, cancer prevention strategies, and behavioral health and wellness programs.

A cancer survivor himself, Chief Wallentine is deeply committed to advancing firefighter occupational cancer research and prevention. He actively collaborates with researchers from the University of Arizona, the University of Miami, and NIOSH/CDC and has contributed as a co-author to multiple peer-reviewed studies. He continues to support national research efforts through his work with the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS.org).