Doug has spent his education and career building strong resilient teams, and courageous leaders. When the world is looking to firefighters when things are at their worst, it is crucial that leaders and strong teams are there to solve the unsolvable.  High-Reliability Organizations, Leadership agility, and forging courageous organizations is how we thrive in chaos.  

Chief Doug Cupp has gained extensive applied knowledge through work experience and education from participating on two  Incident management teams and previously working as a Structural Collapse Rescue technician with FEMA's Colorado Task Force 1. Doug has responded to some of the nation's worst disasters including hurricanes, flash floods, wildfires, and man-made disasters.  In addition to his leadership experiences, Doug is a graduate of Harvard's National Leadership Preparedness Initiative, Harvard's Public Leadership Credentialing, a  Master's Degree in Safety, Security, and Emergency Management, National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program, and an additional graduate certificate Fire Service and Emergency Services Management and is a graduate of the. Doug was recently credited with the rapid but complex decision that saved two towns, many lives, and hundreds of structures during the Lake Christine Fire. One Type 2 IC said, "this was the best local team ever". Doug has placed on his highest values on developing future leaders and training future decision-makers to increase performance in chaotic times.  

Doug has found his passion in developing future leaders through teaching:  Doug is an instructor for the National Fire Academy and is a human factors and leadership coach for Mission Centered Solutions.  In his time a Division Chief of Training he developed full officer development programs. Doug has received numerous leadership awards for his ability to lead in times of crisis.