SFPE Foundation Appoints Sean Donohue, Ann Jeffers, Steve Kerber, and Chris LaFleur, to Board of Governors

June 22, 2023

The SFPE Foundation, a charitable organization focused on enhancing the scientific understanding of fire and its interaction with the social, natural, and built environments, announces the appointment of four new governors to its board of governors.

The new governors were appointed in May, and include the following:

Sean Donohue, PE, P.Eng, FSFPE, vice president, Fire & Life Safety, West, WSP USA;
Ann Jeffers, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, University of Michigan;
Steve Kerber, Ph.D., FSFPE, vice president and executive director, Fire Safety Research Institute, UL Research Institutes; and
Chris LaFleur, D.Eng., PE, PMSFPE, manager of risk and reliability analysis for Sandia National Laboratories.

“From funding research on the environmental and health impact of large-scale fire events, to studying opportunities for better integration of fire protection systems in building information modeling, to expanding resources on fire risk mitigation in the wildland-urban interface, to understanding the impact of water supply and climate change on fire protection systems, and so much more, the SFPE Foundation continues to enhance the scientific understanding of fire,” stated Leslie Marshall, Ph.D., director, SFPE Foundation. “With the leadership of experts like Sean, Ann, Steve, and Chris – along with the support of generous donors and partners – the SFPE Foundation is expanding our impact and working to achieve our mission of engineering a resilient, sustainable, fire-safe world for all.”

The SFPE Foundation also acknowledges the invaluable contributions of outgoing governors Kathleen Almand, PE, FSFPE; Justin Biller, PE, FSFPE; and Bryan Klein.

SFPE Foundation programs and research are financed through the generous support of donors, including SFPE, SFPE chapters, SFPE members, governmental agencies, leading companies and organizations, and others. Demand for SFPE Foundation research funding support far exceeds available funds. The SFPE Foundation periodically invites research proposals through both open calls and specific requests for proposals.