Deborah Wallace & Frank Leeb

Deborah Wallace received a doctorate in ecology from Columbia University in 1971 and a certificate in epidemiology from Mount Sinai Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 1980. She was a pioneer of environmental impact assessment in the 1970s as manager of biological studies for Consolidated Edison and then the New York Power Authority. She also held positions at the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems at Queens College and worked at Consumers Union for nearly 20 years. Although now retired, she continues to analyze patterns of urban processes and their public health consequences. 
With her husband and colleague, Rod Wallace, she has studied the causes and consequences of the 1970s fire epidemic for almost 50 years. They coauthored the books A Plague on Your Houses: How New York City Was Burned Down and National Public Health Crumbled, Studies on the Collapse of Fire Service in New York City 1972–1976: Impact of Pseudoscience on Public Policy, Right-to-Work Laws and the Crumbling of American Public Health, and Politics, Hierarchy, and Public Health: Voting Patterns in the 2016 US Presidential Election. She served as an expert witness in litigation for victims of large plastics fires and wrote In the Mouth of the Dragon: Toxic Fires in the Age of Plastics based on these cases. 
 

Frank Leeb is the managing director of the First Responder Center for Excellence. He previously served as a deputy assistant chief in the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) before retiring in June 2024, after over 30 years of service with the FDNY. During his tenure with the FDNY, he held several senior staff positions, including chief of the fire academy, chief of training, and chief of safety. Frank has also been a member of the East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company in Long Island since 1983. 
Frank Leeb’s career has been defined by unwavering commitment to fostering growth through training and development, a central tenet of his leadership philosophy. He has lectured nationally and internationally on motivation, preparedness, leadership, and fire strategy and tactics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from the New York Empire State University and a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Frank was the keynote speaker at Firehouse Expo in 2022 and a presenter at the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control in 2022, 2023, and 2024. He served on an advisory panel for Underwriter Laboratories Fire Safety Research Institute’s “Study of Coordinated Attack Utilizing Acquired Structures” and is author of the best-selling book Cornerstones of Leadership On and Off the Fireground and coauthor of 30 Fires You Must Know. He is also a senior advisor and minority owner of CRACKYL magazine.