Our Directors

Michael S. Williams, President & Executive Director

Williams spent over a dozen years in California law enforcement and was a POST certified field training officer. In 2006 he founded the Fire Services Training Institute (FSTI) to find solutions to the challenges confronting the volunteer fire service. He has been an active member of California State Firefighters’ Association (CSFA) since 1994, having served on the volunteer and public relations committees, and as a southern division deputy director. He sits on several local organizations including the Santa Barbara County CERT Executive Committee, Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council, the Tri-Counties Training Officer’s Association, Santa Barbara Chapter of CAER and is a founding member of the Santa Barbara PIO group Emergency Public Information Communicators (EPIC). Since 2008, Williams has served on the California State Board of Fire Services representing CSFA and the volunteer fire fighters of California. He has received many professional awards including the Los Angeles Police Department’s “Meritorious Unit Citation,” Santa Barbara Citizens’ Council on Crime “Thomas Guerry Award,” “Skill in Conflict Resolution” award and the California State Firefighters’ “Tom Garner Award” for his seven year production of HELOPS in Santa Ynez.

In 2012, FSTI was named as one of the group recipients of the California Volunteers Governors Award for the countywide Santa Barbara County CERT program. FSTI provided the program for the Cities of Buelton and Solvang as well as the Santa Ynez Valley.

Williams is an established writer on public safety issues and co-host of the California Fire Safe Council and FSTI sponsored radio show Community Alert on KZSB – AM 1290 in Santa Barbara.

Kathryn D. McKee, SPHR

Kathryn D. McKee, SPHR, is President of Human Resources Consortia, a consultancy specializing in providing solutions to Human Resources issues. Prior to forming her own firm, she was Senior Vice President and Regional Human Resources Director for Standard Chartered Bank, Senior Vice President Human Resources for First Interstate Bank Limited, And SVP Compensation and Benefits at First Interstate Bancorp.

Previously, McKee had been Manager, Corporate Compensation; Director, Equal Employment Opportunity; and Director, Management Development at Twentieth-Century Fox Film Corp. She also served as Director, Industrial Relations for Cal Custom/Hawk Division, Orion Industries, and Manager, Corporate Compensation at Mattel, Inc.

She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the UCSB Foundation; a Director on the Boards of the Fire Service Training Institute, and the Executive Committee of EPIC (Emergency Public Information Communicators). She is Chair of the City of Santa Barbara’s Civil Service Commission, was Foreperson of the 2010-2011 County of Santa Barbara Civil Grand Jury and served as the 2011-12 President of the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara Chapter.

She was 1991 Chairman of the Society for Human Resource Management, President of the Laguna Playhouse; Past President of the Grove Shakespeare Festival, The National Human Resources Association, the SHRM Foundation and the Human Resource Certification Institute. She is listed in “Who’s Who in America.”

She served as an Executive-in-Residence in the CSULB College of Business Management/Human Resources Department and now teaches for the UCSB Technology Management Program and for UC Santa Barbara Extension.

She received NHRA’s 1986 Member of the Year, PIHRA’s 1990 Award of Excellence in Human Resources, SHRM’s 1994 Award for Professional Excellence and in 2004 was SBHRA’s Member of the Year.

McKee’s publications include “Leading People Through Disasters: An Action Guide”; 12th Annual Disaster Resource Guide, “The Mouse in the Room”; IPMA HR News, :How Prepared are you for When Disaster Strikes?; the chapter, “Moving as the Markets Move: Planning for Resizing”, published in “Resizing the Organization; “Human Resources: Insurrection or Resurrection” published in the Human Resource Management Journal”; “New Compensation Strategies for Emerging Career Patterns” which was published by HR Magazine and won the distinguished William W. Winter Award from the American Compensation Association.

She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara receiving Senior Honor Key and Outstanding Senior Woman Awards. She completed the UCLA Certificate Program in Business Management, and the Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Jerry Davies

Insurance Industry, corporate and trade association media, public relations, legislative advocate and marketing consultant. He is currently the Chairman of the California Fire Safe Council (CFSC), effective January 1, 2015. CFSC is a California organization offering financial grants to more than 160 local fire safe councils in the state to fund local fire prevention and disaster safety programs. Serves on the Board of Fire Services Training Institute and immediate past board chairman and communications committee member of the Insurance Information Institute, Insurance Information Network of California and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Davies experience includes 35 years in television, radio and newspaper news and as a public relations, legislative advocate, marketing and external media communications officer in insurance trade associations and in insurance companies throughout the U.S.

Davies holds a BA Degree in Journalism and Business, University of Miami, Florida and a MS Degree in Journalism and Sociology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Kevin Nida, FSTI Director

Kevin Nida is one of the original founders of FSTI, and is a Battalion Chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, serving since 1980. Kevin is currently assigned as a Battalion Chief and Policy Director under Mayor Garcetti’s administration and LAFD Technical & Operations Lead on the LA-RICS Project.

Kevin served for 10 years as CSFA’s President and is their immediate past President. Kevin has an extensive emergency services and emergency communications back ground. He also served the San Fernando Police Department as a Designated Level I Reserve Officer from 1987-2000.

Barbara J. Andersen, Vice-President

Barbara Andersen most recently served as the Chief Strategy Officer at the Santa Barbara Foundation where she provided departmental leadership and oversight of community engagement, which included communications and marketing, grantmaking and initiatives, evaluation and learning, as well as public policy and advocacy. Barbara also facilitated the Foundation’s investments in emergency and disaster readiness, including the Community Disaster Relief Fund. Previously, Barbara founded All Points North Consulting, a firm specializing in strategic planning, partnership development, and program evaluation for nonprofit organizations and foundations. She also served as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Orfalea Foundation for four years, where she was primarily responsible for initiating and overseeing national and state level partnerships, managing program evaluation and documentation efforts, and policy engagement aligned with multiple programmatic initiatives including school food reform, youth development, early care and education, and emergency readiness. Barbara holds an MPA with a concentration in International and National Security Policy and a BA in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Vice President
barbara.andersen@cafsti.org