Building to a Diverse Firefighting Force

This episode is part of our new Skilled Labor Series hosted by MCJ partner, Yin Lu. This series is focused on amplifying the voices of folks from the skilled labor workforce, including electricians, farmers, ranchers, HVAC installers, and others who are on the front lines of rewiring our infrastructure. Brandon Smith is a wildland firefighter and the co-founder and CEO of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program. Brandon graduated with a Bachelor's from UC Berkeley in Interdisciplinary Studies and Black Studies. After graduation, he worked in education and eventually found his way to wildland firefighting. We previously talked with a hotshot firefighter named James Sedlak to understand the day-to-day details of the job itself. In this episode, Yin and Brandon's discussion focuses on building the firefighting talent pipeline, bringing more awareness to this field of work, and getting more people into it.