CPaCE News

“The ceiling is not made of glass, it is made of concrete,” said Deputy Fire Chief Eleni Pappas from the Special Services Bureau of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  

A 2021 graduate of CSULB’s Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration (EMER) degree program, Pappas recently fulfilled a longtime personal goal of getting her master’s degree while also gaining the skills and experience to secure a career promotion to her concrete-breaking leadership role—as the first female Deputy Fire Chief in L.A. She currently manages the Fire Command and Control Dispatch Center, an enormous responsibility that oversees fire and rescue resources in response to 1,500 service calls each day.  

“The department does not automatically accept women leaders,” Pappas continued. “Many cultural and traditional barriers exist within the Fire Department that have yet to be dissolved.”   

Despite those barriers, Pappas has excelled since being promoted to her rank in 2021. Her other top-tier duties include managing the Fire Fleet Services Division, which directs the purchase and maintenance of thousands of fire engines, trucks, bulldozers, paramedic squads, and other fire department equipment; as well as the Construction and Maintenance Division, responsible for building, repair, and maintenance of over 250 fire department facilities including fire stations, training centers, and warehouses. 

Los Angeles County is considered one of the most disaster-prone counties in the U.S., and the Fire Department responds to a large number of wildfires, emergency medical rescues, multi-casualty incidents, and major-alarm structure fires—many of which require coordination with broader regional and state coalitions.  

“Every day is different,” Pappas explained. “I meet with my Division Chiefs daily to ascertain how the Divisions are functioning, what the challenges are, and how we can find support and solutions to the challenges.” 

I the journey to her current position, there were many important steps along the way. In 2018, Pappas became the first woman to be promoted to Assistant Fire Chief, which entailed a variety of challenging assignments. Not content to remain on that rung, Pappas decided to climb the ladder higher with the added boost of the EMER degree. She enrolled in the program in August 2019 and hit the ground running with studies that were directly related to her job. 

“I chose EMER because I believed it was the most applicable course of graduate studies for a fire chief employed by a large, regionally significant fire and rescue department,” she said.  “The online aspect of the curriculum allowed me to have flexibility in completing my studies while maintaining a full-time position at the Fire Department.”  

In addition to learning the basics of emergency management—developing crisis communications and business continuity plans—Pappas also engaged in a rigorous analysis of specialized topics such as systems thinking and meta-leadership development. The comprehensive EMER curriculum explored the legal and legislative history of emergency management in the U.S., including seminal emergency disasters that shaped subsequent response policies, as well as the social and financial aspects of emergency management. 

“The process was intellectually stimulating and re-focused my commitment to public safety,” said Pappas. “The studies challenged me, improved my thinking processes and my writing skills, and gave me confidence to be an innovative leader.”  

The program’s real-world simulations, including staged versions of a NASA space shuttle explosion and a climbing expedition of Mount Everest, provided exercises in conflict resolution and team work with classmates.  

“This holistic approach to emergency management is best because in the midst of a crisis or disaster, leadership and good character are paramount qualities,” said Pappas. 

Those qualities were clearly displayed in Pappas’ professional work, and in quick succession, her chief officer roles soon transitioned from Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief of the Special Services Bureau. By August 2021, she also graduated from the EMER program. 

“Attaining the master's degree gives me the tools to challenge the status-quo within the Fire Department,” she stated. “My experience in the program prepared me to become the Deputy Fire Chief. It taught me the importance of leading up, down, and across to other colleagues; and taught me to tap into the talented personnel who work with me to find collaborative solutions to problems.” 

Achieving great strides towards gender equality in one of the world’s largest metropolitan fire departments takes immense perseverance, and Pappas lets her job performance speak for itself. 

“I must go to work every day with the conviction that I will do good for the men and woman in my command who are serving the public,” she said. “I must ensure my actions are in alignment with public expectations. I want to be an innovative and out-of-the-box thinker and problem-solver. I want to be a example for all members of the Department by demonstrating that I am committed to serving the needs of the public.” 

Click here to learn more about CSULB's Master of Science in Emergency Services Administration degree program.