Our Leadership
Jake Heflin
Jake Heflin is an enrolled Tribal member of the Osage Nation and Cherokee Nation. He is from the Wa-Xa-Ko-Li District and Tzi-Zho Wah-Shtah-Keh clan. His Osage name is Tah-Wah Gka-Keh (Town Maker). Jake is the current President and CEO of the Tribal Emergency Management Association – “iTEMA”.Jake is a Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Long Beach Fire Department in California. He is currently assigned to the Community Services Division and serves as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program Manager and Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Fire Department. Jake has been with the Long Beach Fire Department since 2000 and has been involved in emergency services for over 30 years. Jake lives in Lakewood, California with his son, Jace.
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Jake started with the fire service in 1991 as a Paid Call Firefighter for the Orange County Fire Department. In 1994, Jake graduated from Paramedic School at Saddleback College in 1994. In 2000, Jake was hired by the Long Beach Fire Department. During that time Jake has been assigned to multiple fire stations throughout the City including stations 1, 2, 7, 8,12, 14, and station 9 where he spent 11 years. Jake is a member of California Urban Search and Rescue Regional Task Force #3, a member of the Long Beach Fire Department Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) team, and a Terrorism Liaison Officer. Previously, he has served as the LBFD Paramedic Committee Chair, a member of the LBFD Honor Guard, the EMS Committee Chair for the California State Firefighters Association (CSFA), and a member of the CSFA Tribal Committee. He also sat as a member of the California State EMSA Directors Advisory Group. Jake also served on the Board of Directors for the Long Beach Fireman’s Mutual Benefit Association for over 18 years. In 2006, Jake was awarded the “Member of the Year” for the California State Firefighters Association. In 2017, Jake was honored as the “Sworn Firefighter of the Year” for the Long Beach Fire Department. In 2018, Jake and members of the City of Long Beach communications team received a California Association of Public Information Officer Award for the production of “Virtual Ride-a-Long” and a STAR Award “For Every 15 Minutes” in Government Programming with Long Beach TV.
Currently, Jake serves as the First Vice-President for Friends of Long Beach Firefighters, a non-profit organization supporting community outreach in the City of Long Beach. In addition, he is a Paramedic Preceptor for Los Angeles County and has served as skills and peer instructor for fire and EMS-related training. As the CERT Program Manager for Long Beach, Jake oversees community preparedness activities for the fire department. Under his leadership, the Long Beach CERT program was nationally recognized and awarded the 2017 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award for their efforts with “READY Long Beach”, a community preparedness initiative targeted at increasing a “whole community” approach to building capacity, preparedness, and resiliency.
Back to top Currently, Jake serves as the First Vice-President for Friends of Long Beach Firefighters, a non-profit organization supporting community outreach in the City of Long Beach. In addition, he is a Paramedic Preceptor for Los Angeles County and has served as skills and peer instructor for fire and EMS-related training. As the CERT Program Manager for Long Beach, Jake oversees community preparedness activities for the fire department. Under his leadership, the Long Beach CERT program was nationally recognized and awarded the 2017 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award for their efforts with “READY Long Beach”, a community preparedness initiative targeted at increasing a “whole community” approach to building capacity, preparedness, and resiliency.
Dore Bietz
Dore Bietz (Northern and Southern Me-Wuk) resides on the Tuolumne Rancheria in Central California. After receiving a degree in Landscape Architecture, Ms. Bietz has worked for tribes specializing in realty and land use. As a former council woman, Dore understands the complexities of tribal governments and the need to foster better communication between tribes and outside agencies. An expert in California Indian land issues, Ms. Bietz has testified in front of Congress, worked with the administration on land regulations and served as a technical consultant to Tribes throughout the country.
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Ms. Bietz currently works as a Planner for the Tuolumne MeWuk Tribal Council where she is involved in every aspect of community development. Ms. Bietz also serves as the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal CERT as the Program Manager and is a CERT Instructor working with the Tribal Community in developing their emergency management system. Outside of her daily work routine, Dore is a member of the National Ski Patrol and serves as a first responder to both the Dodge Ridge and Kirkwood Ski Resorts.
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