The Tucson Fire Foundation’s has an amazing board and we’re super excited to welcome two new board members! A big welcome to Leesha L. Heard and Heath Evans! We’re really looking forward to their contributions.
To learn more about our Leesha and Heath, read on….
Leesha Heard, a native Mississippian, relocated to Arizona in 2014 for a position at Casino Del Sol Resort. She is responsible for the casino’s occupational safety and health programs, safety training, and property and casualty claims. She has worked in the gaming industry for more than 16 years. She worked for Ameristar Casinos from 1994-2008 in multiple levels of Risk Management. She elevated to the casino’s Corporate Director of Risk Management in 1994 and served in that position until 2008. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Jackson State University. Leesha has served as Co-Chair of the American Gaming Association’s Diversity Taskforce from 2007-2008. She served for 13 years on the Conference Programming Committee (CPC) of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS). She served as Co-Chair of the CPC 2006-2007 and as Chair 2007-2008. Leesha recently earned the Authorized OSHA 501 General Industry Trainer through the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) in December 2016. She is also earned her Certificate as a Respirator Fit Tester from 3M through a collaboration with the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) in March 2017.
Heath Evans has been serving the greater Tucson area in public safety for 25 years and currently serves as fire chief of Rural Metro Fire Department in Pima County. He follows his family legacy of public service with most of his family having life-long contributions in education, healthcare, law enforcement and fire service. Heath began his journey in public safety as a law enforcement explorer in high school. He started his professional career in the fire service with the Northwest Fire District, where he progressed through the ranks of firefighter, engineer, paramedic, captain and battalion chief before retiring as a Deputy Chief directing training for the 200 firefighter strong fire district. Heath continued his career with Rural Metro Fire as a Deputy Chief directing daily operations out of 8 fire stations and serving nearly 90,000 residents in areas surrounding the city of Tucson. He has also spent his entire career involved with wildland fire response, and served on a Southwest Type 1 Incident Management Team managing large wildland fires across the United States. He is now the interim Fire Chief for Rural Metro Fire Department. Heath earned his Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in 2004, and his Masters of Science in Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2009. He is an instructor for the Arizona Center for Fire Service Excellence as well as Pima Community College. Heath was recognized for his achievements in 2017 by receiving Chief Fire Officer designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Arizona Fire Chiefs Association, and Pima County Fire Chiefs Association. Together with his wife and children, he has fostered and rehabilitated dozens of neglected horses over the years. During their free time, the Evans family can be found exploring all that southern Arizona has to offer.
