Darrell Reid loves to lead organizations that are people focused, strategic, honour the diversity of Canada, innovate as a habit, aren’t afraid of change, and are fun to work for.
Darrell’s leadership experience includes CAO for Strathcona County, Fire and Emergency Management Chief and COVID-19 Task Force Chief for the City of Vancouver, CEO for Heart and Stroke Ontario, Deputy Fire Chief for Toronto Fire Services, and Union President for IAFF Local 2461.
Career highlights include being Incident Commander for the 2011 Slave Lake, Alberta fires and the 2013 High River, Alberta floods, two of the largest disasters in Canadian history.
Darrell served as the CEO for the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) of Ontario and as Chairman of the Provincial Advisory Board for Heart and Stroke British Columbia and Yukon, and founded the Society for Assistance to International Firefighters (SAIF) supporting first responders in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Since 2019 he has participated as a co-lead in a World Health Organization project in Mongolia, helping build sustainable models for emergency medical, rescue and emergency management capacity in that country.
He is a noted advocate and internationally recognized speaker on topics including mental health resilience, evidence-based decision making, strategy, labour relations, staff engagement, and the opioid crisis.
Darrell has an MBA from the University of Alberta, an Executive Fire Officer Designation from the US National Fire Academy, a Community Preparedness & Disaster Management Graduate Certificate from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a Canadian Safety and Security Certificate from Canadian Forces College.
Darrell is also a successful entrepreneur, founding Emergency Services Academy, an accredited and licensed Alberta private college for firefighters and paramedics.
