Advocating the Business Case for Diversity

Adam Thiel is the fire chief for the City of Alexandria, Virginia. Adam is a thought leader—one who enlivens old processes with new ideas. The qualities that make Adam a thought leader were acknowledged by Governor Mark Warner back in 2002, when he appointed Adam—then a 27 year-old lieutenant with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue—to lead the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) through a critical post-9/11 transition and state fiscal crisis. “Initially it was surreal. Mark Warner had just become governor. I was asked if I would ever consider a gubernatorial appointment. I sort of laughed and said, ‘Right, whatever.’ Then lo and behold, a few months later I was offered the Executive Director position. In April of 2002, I got out of a fire engine’s front seat, changed out of my uniform, put on a suit, and drove to Richmond.”

Do not let Adam’s down-to-earth comment misrepresent his accomplishments. He transformed VDFP—modernizing systems, adding capacity, and enhancing capabilities.

Adam is also on the front lines advocating diversity in the fire service.

Let’s first start with Adam’s story of how he became a firefighter and the early years of his career.

“When I started college at American University in D.C., I always knew that I wanted to do some sort of public or government service. It was around the time of the 1st Gulf War so I thought that I would go into the military. One day, I took a wrong turn coming back from a Taco Bell, and drove by a fire station that was advertising for volunteers. I was a big scuba diver and my father was dying from cancer. Those experiences had gotten me interested in emergency medical services. I thought I’d just become an EMT. Then, I had my first ride on a fire truck and got hooked. I took off a semester, did my fire and EMT training concurrently at Montgomery County, Maryland Fire & Rescue and essentially lived at the firehouse getting as much experience as I could. I spent about a year with Montgomery County as a volunteer. I’m very thankful that I got my training with Montgomery County. They’re a phenomenal department with a great combination system.

“Instead of finishing my degree at American University, I decided to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to school, I was a volunteer firefighter at one department and a paid firefighter at another department.

“In my senior year, I applied to a number of different departments in North Carolina and Virginia. Fairfax County was my first choice but the wait was generally 12 to 18 months. So after I graduated I continued to work for other departments in North Carolina and taught at the local technical community college.”

Q. How has your perspective on diversity been shaped?

“I grew up in Chicago and lived in racially mixed neighborhoods. My parents were divorced but where I lived with my mom in a near-suburb was diverse and where my dad lived in Chicago was diverse. So I learned early on that ‘people are people’. It was a very strong message from my parents. Parents are very influential in shaping their children’s worldview. I’m fortunate that mine provided me with a lot of opportunities and experiences to understand that everyone is viable and what defines us as human beings is the same.

“Most of our family was in Virginia—we were kind of exiled in Chicago. We went back to Virginia every summer. That’s when I realized the differences toward race relations in attitudes and behaviors. Joining the fire department in the south really brought these differences to the forefront for me. At the same time, I realized that racism isn’t confined by geography.

“Sometimes racism is malicious and a lot of times it’s unconscious. Because race wasn’t a big deal for me growing up, I thought ‘Hey, I’m not racist, I get it.’ When I was in Harvard’s Senior Executive Program, I learned that if you’re a white male you have what’s called an ‘invisible backpack of privilege’. It was an ‘Ah-hah’ moment for me. I’ve also been fortunate to have several mentors who helped me understand the impact of racism in their lives.

“Ultimately, it’s not about whether racism is an issue for me but my understanding of how it matters to people who are the targets and how I can effect some positive change.”

Q: How did you come to be involved with the Equity & Diversity Conference?

“Sponsors for the Equity & Diversity Conference have rotated over the years. About 20 years ago, it was called the EEOAA Conference. At Fairfax County, I was very involved with the leadership of the local union, a human relations committee was formed and I was picked to become a member. Those conferences provided me with terrific learning—really opening my eyes to the issues of equity and diversity. Then the conference went on hiatus.

“When I got to VDFP, Dennis Rubin—now fire chief in D.C.—at the time was fire chief in Norfolk, Virginia. He wanted to rejuvenate the conference, along with a captain in the department named Peppi Dayton—a very energetic person and a real champion. I agreed that we could supply some funding and logistical support as long as there was a host department. The conference came back during my tenure.

“As soon as I got to Alexandria in 2007, I was told that the conference was looking for a host in 2009. I jumped at the opportunity and Arlington County Fire Chief Jim Swartz enthusiastically agreed to be our co-host.”

Q: What about sexism in the fire service?

“It can be a rough environment for women firefighters.

“Again, I can thank Montgomery County for giving me an experience that up-ended any male posturing taking hold. At the station where I volunteered, one of the shifts of career firefighters was almost all women. They were in positions of power. There were times when I rode with all women companies. They were very competent and efficient and plenty strong to do the job.

“My wife was a volunteer firefighter. That’s how we met. She went to Duke and I went to North Carolina. She hasn’t worked as a firefighter in years but at the time she was an outstanding firefighter—very tough and smart.

“We place this premium on technical skills and how big and strong you are when the job demands so much more. Recently, I had Mary Beth Michos talking to all the supervisors about emotional intelligence. Being emotionally adept—knowing and managing our feelings well and reading and dealing effectively with other people’s feelings—is just as important to our jobs.” [Mary Beth Michos is the former fire chief for Prince William County Fire and Rescue in Virginia and currently serving as deputy executive director/chief of operations for IAFC.]

Q: You’re very young—37. Have you experienced ageism?

“I would never equate racism or sexism to ageism—there’s an order of magnitude of difference. Ageism does exist in the fire service. It seems that you’re either too young or a dinosaur. As I moved up in my career I was always discounted immediately because of my age and the way I look. It has made me more empathetic to the other ‘isms’ that people experience. It’s a very small window but it has helped me a great deal.

“In Fairfax County, when I was promoted to lieutenant, I was told me that the company I was taking over was ‘retired in place’. They weren’t and I didn’t treat them with that expectation. The best thing that ever happened to me as a seven-year on-the-job lieutenant was going to work with firefighters who had 17, 20, 25, and 30 years of experience. They were great and as energetic as any group of firefighters I had ever worked with up to that time.”

Q: You have a master’s degree in public administration from George Mason University and you’re finishing a doctoral degree in public administration at Arizona State University. What’s motivated you to pursue so much higher education?

“For me, learning is about changing and expanding our mindset. A lot of the problems we have in the fire service relate back to what I believe is a mechanistic approach to training and a lack of appreciation for education.

“I almost dropped out of college in North Carolina because I already knew I wanted to be a firefighter and thought I could finish my degree later. I was encouraged not to do that.

“I remember being really pissed in this philosophy course when we had to answer the question, ‘What’s the meaning of life?’ I thought, ‘I know this. I’m taking care of people, helping people out, and dealing with the death of my father.’ It took me awhile to appreciate the value of critical thinking skills and different perspectives. I’m thankful for that general education.

“There were three things that attracted me to the fire service in the first place and the emphasis put on training was one of them. Team and family were the other two. Having played a lot of sports, I was always on teams. The family aspect was appealing because my own was a little messed up. With regard to training, I liked the idea that you could never know it all—there’s always something to learn. But there’s not much difference with the approach we take with our technical training and our leadership training.

“One of my biggest pet peeves is how we sometimes talk about helping people with their leadership toolbox. People are not machines. There is no toolbox that works for people. It drives me crazy when we assume that if we send people to the right training and give them enough tools for their toolbox it will work. It will only work if we’re using robots.”

Q: What are the diversity challenges in your department?

“If you saw the movie ‘Remember The Titans” you would know the role race has played in Alexandria. In August, Earl Cook became Alexandria's first black police chief. More than 30 years ago, he played on the integrated T.C. Williams High School football team that was depicted in the movie.

"We’ve made progress over the years for African-American representation but we still have plenty of work to do to truly reflect the gender and cultural diversity of our city—we have a very robust Hispanic community and a very robust Asian community.

“In the next few years, we’re hoping to add another 56 firefighters. Greater diversity with those hires also means expanding the conversation to include valuing diversity in such areas as thought, background and experiences.

“The case for diversity is often made on an ethical construct but I believe that there’s also a huge business case. A diverse organization can work in a global society; more quickly adapt, and bring different perspectives to bear when problem-solving. I often use a biological metaphor to explain this. The only way the human body works is because we have cell diversity—differentiated cells. If we only had one type of cell then we’d be closer to an amoeba. Organizations must work the same way. And that also applies to how we look at our ecosystems. We’re interdependent and connected.

“For me, diversity in the fire service is a bottom-line opportunity.”