After serving seven years in the US Army as an infantryman, Shad started his career in clinical social work by attending the University of Southern California and receiving his Master of Social Work. For the last decade, Shad has worked in community behavioral health in rural communities providing mental health, substance abuse and crisis treatment to adults, veterans and families. In his career, Shad has worked extensively in crisis response as part of a team including first responders and emergency department providers. Shad has developed rural residential substance use and mental health treatment programs, medication assisted treatment, medical detox and peer support programs. His personal experience with combat trauma and military humanitarian missions provides a foundation to support individuals and families who struggle with the stigma associated with mental health and the effects of working in a high-demand, and sometimes traumatic, career field.

Shad currently works for Global Medical Response, a national provider of air and ground emergency medical services. His role as national manager of clinical mental health, Shad is tasked with building supports and programs to increase the wellness and resiliency of employees, build peer support programs nationally, deploy and respond to sentinel events and provide education and consultation to leaders and employees on issues related to behavioral health.

Rhonda Kelly, RN, NREMT-P, MBA, started in EMS in 1996 serving as an expanded practice EMT in the Antarctic. She volunteered in rural EMS prior to joining Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) in Colorado as a Firefighter/Paramedic. She also obtained her RN and worked part-time as an ER and Psych ER nurse. In 2011, she became the Health & Safety Officer for AFR building a culturally competent and trauma-informed mental health program. In 2016, she founded ResponderStrong, a nonprofit dedicated to improving mental health supports for Emergency Responders, Healthcare Workers, and their families. In 2020, she integrated that program into the All Clear Foundation for which she served as Executive Director until she transitioned it to its research partner, NDRI Ventures, in 2024. In January 2020, she joined Global Medical Response as the National Director of GMR Life, GMR's health, wellness, and resilience program. She and her team serve GMR's 30,000 emergency medical personnel. They provide a range of supports including critical incident response, individual crisis response, a 24/7/365 crisis line, chaplaincy support, peer support, therapy dog services, and proactive education.

Kristen Wheldon, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist (CA License #PSY27027) with a specialized focus on the mental health, safety, and wellness of first responder populations. She is the Founder and current Board Chair of the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA), a national nonprofit organization established to bridge the gap between clinical psychology and the fire service. Previously, she served as Director of Behavioral Health for the Los Angeles Fire Department, where she provided direct clinical care to firefighters and their families, led the department’s peer support and critical incident stress management programs, supervised doctoral interns, and developed culturally informed behavioral health curricula tailored to the fire service. Her work with LAFD led to the founding of FSPA, which has since delivered training and consultation to fire departments across the U.S. and internationally, including the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, Andersen Air Force Base Fire Department (Guam), and San Francisco Fire Department.

Dr. Wheldon also contributed to the U.S. Fire Administration’s Executive Fire Officer Program as a curriculum developer and instructor, with a focus on psychological safety, organizational health, and leadership diversity. She has held prominent national roles, including serving since 2023 as a Principal on the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard for Emergency Responder Occupational Health and Wellness Committee. She presently serves on the CDC’s National Occupational Research Agenda for the Public Safety Sector Council. Additionally, she contributed to the California State Firefighters’ Association Health, Wellness, and Benefits Committee. In these various roles, she has provided subject matter expertise on policy, research, and legislation impacting firefighter health and safety.

With over a decade of clinical and forensic experience, Dr. Wheldon has worked extensively with law enforcement, probation, child welfare, and correctional populations. She currently leads Wheldon Psychological Services and On Duty Psych, providing therapy, consultation, assessment, and training with a continued emphasis on first responder communities. She is also a certified trainer in Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), Crisis Negotiations, and De-escalation Communication, and serves as an expert witness in trauma-related forensic cases for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.