We are a team that passionately shares the values of 21st Century Leaders. We BELIEVE in our mantra “Learn, Grow, Lead” We are experts in building your personal and organizational capacity for growth and learning, and beleive that learning is enhanced by understanding and the using 21st Century Technology. See The Road Not Taken page for more of the philosophical underpinnings of 21st Century Leaders.
21st Century Leaders is a Strategic Partner for the National Emergency Medical Services Management Association!
Bruce Roemmelt, EdD, Sensei 21st Century Leaders, LLC
I joined my local Volunteer Fire Department in 1963 as a junior in High School. No big goals other than to get beer out of the vending machine on Apparatus Floor. After an aborted attempt to go to college I joined the US Navy where I served a year in the Crash Crew at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station, and 2.5 years in the Crash Crew on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid. With one tour to Vietnam in 1968 under my belt I decided that civilian life might be a better option! I separated from the Navy in 1970, and joined another VFD, this time to really fight fire
s. At that time I used my GI Bill to get an AAS in Business Management and was ready to join the work force full time. A buddy told me one night that a department had just hired him as a full time fie fighter. I asked him if they really paid you to do that and he told me, “not much, but they do pay.” I applied, they hired me as the 14th fire fighter and that started 23 years with the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue. I worked all over the county, rose to the rank of Captain and even got my Medic license by the time I retired (due to some cardiac problems in1993).
I spent all of my time on an Engine. Also along the way I got my AAS in Fire Administration. While with PWC I also had the opportunity to build and teach several classes at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, as well as at the local community college. I taught several on-line courses at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and I still teach at George Mason University. When I got out I thought that some more education might be in order. I wanted to get some return on learning the Fire and Rescue hand shake over the past 30 years. So I got my BS in Fire Administration from the University of Maryland. I wanted to teach fire fighters how to be better bosses. I had a thought that perhaps distance learning could be used as a model for delivering my training so I switched majors and got a Masters from The George Washington University in Educational Technology Leadership.
I was working on this new model, but it seemed that the FD bean counters wanted a bit more science to indicate that this weird stuff I was proposing was worth it. So I got my Doctor of Education sheepskin at NOVA Southeastern University in Instructional Technology and Distance Education. I even wrote my dissertation of The Impact on Emotional Intelligence using Effective Models of Performance in a Distance Learning Course Delivery Model. (Sounds complex but having a gnarly title on the first page is a big thing in education) When I was designing my dissertation to finish my Doctoral work I also got certified to administer, evaluate, and coach on the MHS Emotional Intelligence (EQi) assessment instrument and that is used in most of my classes to develop a baseline for each student. I’m also quite the fan of Dr. Albert Ellis and his model for assessing outcomes that are not optimal and changing the way you think about them so you can again improve your Emotional Intelligence. This Ellis model is the Emotional Intelligence equivalent of a PAR Check! Along the way I listened to Dr. Covey telling me that the best way to improve your Emotional Intelligence was to REALLY learn and apply his 7 Habits.
I’ve also intensively used the Video Arts/John Cleese video training programs to improve a bosses’ practical coaching, counseling, praise and criticism skills. In concert with these skill sets I’ve developed a set of “Boss Tactical Work Sheets” to enhance the non-emergency process in the same way Tac Work Sheets enhance the effectiveness of ICS. Then I started building these Distance Learning courses.
After doing several for The George Washington University, I started applying for grants from the Virginia EMS Division and developed and delivered some of the programs I’m offering here. The science says that when your want to improve your Emotional Intelligence, you need to re-program you brain over a period of six months or more. This kind of eliminates going to a conference and coming home pumped for a few days, and then going back to where you were.
The bottom line is repetition of what is called Kolb’s Learning Model – Watching, Thinking, Doing, Evaluating, REPEAT. So this journey is really one of React, Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. I did it in my active Fire and EMS Service career, and I’m doing it now, but in terms of my stuff and helping you with your stuff. Join us!
Nancy Wallis, PhD, MBA, MSPH 
With a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems and extensive experience leading large-scale organizational change, Nancy Wallis offers significant value to individuals seeking to improve their own personal and their organization’s leadership performance. Over the past 30 years she has concentrated her managerial, consulting and teaching on the practice of leadership in complex and challenging organizational settings (sounds like Emergency Services to me). She is fascinated by the seemingly infinite number of ways of interweaving emotional intelligence with the challenges and opportunities in the workplace, and has a rich experiential base for helping individuals do the same.
Her preferred coaching projects are with individual leaders who want to enhance their own leadership capacity and that of their team members. Dr. Wallis received her MBA and MSPH degrees from UCLA and holds a Change Management Leadership Certificate from the National Training Labs (NTL). She is a member of the Academy of Management and serves on the board of its Organization Development and Change Division. She teaches graduate students in MBA programs as well as doctoral students completing research in the field of leadership development. As a lifelong learner, she enjoys studying, practicing and supporting leadership development and transformation…her own and others’.
If you want to increase your team’s capability and skill in building trust, in managing conflict, and in learning how to learn together, Nancy can help you do this with our EQ Executive Coaching program. She will help you understand and reframe your organizational challenges as opportunities to develop – yourself and your team. Nancy is committed to the study and practice of leadership that improves the quality of human lives, in small and large systems, and where individual potential is key to the success of the enterprise.
Carl Tramontana, B.A. (Retired Deputy Chief FDNY)
Prior to joining 21stCenturyLeaders, Carl was the Director of Emergency Management for Westchester County, New York, where his responsibilities included emergency planning for the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, and management of several federally-declared disasters. 
Certified as a paramedic since 1979, Chief Tramontana has served in many capacities during his 27-year career with City of New York Fire Department’s (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service Command (and the New York City Emergency Medical Service, prior to their 1996 merger), including Deputy Chief responsible for EMS operations in the borough of Queens, Captain of the EMS Training Academy, and Lieutenant in the Special Operations Division.
A certified Hazardous Material Technician, he led HAZ-TAC (hazardous materials tactical) ambulance units deployed across the city, responding to hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction incidents. Chief Tramontana taught in the FDNY Hazardous Materials School, developing programs and training all FDNY personnel in response to hazardous materials and terrorism incidents. In 2004, he graduated from the Combating Terrorism and Leadership Program, the first curriculum taught jointly by the United States Military Academy at West Point and FDNY. Chief Tramontana was a member of the city’s Federal Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team (NYTF-1) since its inception in 1993, serving as a Medical Specialist. He responded with the team to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, as well as the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in 1993, 2001, and other USAR deployments, to participate in rescue and recovery operations.
As an adjunct instructor with both the National Fire Academy and George Washington University, Carl Tramontana taught in the EMS and Special Operations and Management of Health Sciences Organizations (basic and advanced) programs. He represented FDNY on the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations. Chief Tramontana is an instructor-trainer in the curricula for HazMat for Healthcare, the Incident Command System (ICS), the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
While working for New York City, he created and managed the EMS Command Officer Training Program, which has been used for EMS Officer training since 1991. During his career, Chief Tramontana received numerous honors and awards, including the Jack Pintchik Humanitarian Award, Executive Director’s Medal, Life Saving Medal, USAR Deployment badge and several Pre-hospital Save Medals. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Adelphi University, has served as a volunteer firefighter in Nassau County, New York, and was a peer counselor in the EMS Critical Incident Stress Management Program.
Melinda Duncan
Melinda Duncan started in EMS with her local volunteer fire and rescue department in 1981. She became an EMT within the year and then an ALS provider three years later. She was one of the first peer counsellors for the County’s CISM team and was promoted to Assistant Chief of EMS during her years as a volunteer. She was awarded a Life Membership of the Evergreen Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.
In 1985, Bruce introduced her to an organization called the Northern Virginia Regional EMS Council. In 1990 she became the Executive Director, and was responsible for developing, implementing and coordinating an effective and efficient EMS system serving the Northern Virginia region. The Council is a resource for EMS personnel and managers, hospitals, and affiliated groups. She recently retired after serving as Director for 24 years.
During her years with the Council, she was responsible for maintaining an effective liaison with federal, national, state, regional, private and public organizations, and associations involved in EMS planning and operations. She provided professional and technical guidance, advice, and assistance to EMS personnel across Northern Virginia, the National Capital Region, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Melinda assisted with the planning, coordination, and implementation of regional and state mass casualty and disaster training, exercises, and guidelines. She served on the State EMS Emergency Management Committee, as well as the NIMS National Emergency Responder Credentialing System EMS Work Group. She has worked with several consulting groups and helped develop the TEEX Radiological and EMS training modules.
She went back to college at the age of 50 and received her BS in business, summa cum laude. She has been an EMT instructor, BTLS instructor, an adjunct instructor for George Washington University and served on the Curriculum Advisory Committee for the EMS degree program at Northern Virginia Community College.
One of Melinda’s lifelong goals has been to help EMS providers become better at their job. Not just the EMS “practical skills” part, but the part dealing with people. That includes patients and families, bosses, and co-workers. After working with Bruce on several face-to-face and distance learning courses and actually seeing the incredible changes take place, she believes we are now meeting that goal!
Beth Adams, Quality Consultant
Education ** Bachelor of Science, Nursing – South Dakota State University, 1975 ** Master of Arts, Management/Human Relations – Webster University, 1977
A nurse paramedic, Beth spent 20+ years as an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) educator, prior to assuming her current position as the Quality Manager for the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department in Fairfax, Virginia. Beth has contributed to EMS on a national level by collaborating to write textbooks, in addition to serving on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Scope of Practice Task Force and most recently, on the NHTSA National EMS Performance Measures Project.
She has presented at regional, state and national conferences on clinical care topics in EMS, as well as leadership development, performance improvement and quality management. Beth served two terms on the Board of Directors for the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) and currently serves as the Course Co-Director for their National Medical Director’s Course and Practicum™.
Beth was the 2008 recipient of NAEMSP’s Keith Neely Outstanding Contribution to EMS Award and named to Who’s Who in EMS in 2001 by the Mobile Healthcare Forum. Other professional associations include: American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Emergency Nurses Association, National EMS Management Association and the Alpha Eta Honor Society.