On June 1, 2023, Victor Stagnaro officially stepped into his new role as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, after 13 years as the Foundation’s Managing Director and previous Director of Fire Programs.

Stagnaro was the Board of Directors’ unanimous selection for the role after a national search to identify a leader to replace Chief Ron Siarnicki, who is currently serving out his role as Executive Director. As CEO, Victor will spearhead both the NFFF and its affiliate organization, the First Responders Center of Excellence. He will guide all family and fire service efforts during a time when line-of-duty deaths honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial continue to increase due to occupational health threats and behavioral health-related deaths.

With his experience in running all operations at the Foundation—and his previous 25 years with the Prince George’s County Fire/Emergency Medical Services Department (MD)—Victor embodies a keen awareness to the importance of the Foundation’s mission. He is fully aware of the devastating impacts of a line-of-duty death and will utilize his extensive leadership skills and commitment to the mission to shepherd the organization into the future.

“I am humbled and honored to have been entrusted to lead the important work that we do. Here at the NFFF, our focus every single day is to support the families of our nation’s fallen firefighters so that they know without exception that their firefighter will be remembered,” Victor noted. “And our work does not stop there. We are also on the ground supporting those departments that have suffered a loss. We provide exceptional programming to assist and guide them —while also enabling departments across the country to learn from the past to reduce preventable loss, both operationally and through the health and wellness of each individual member. We are mission driven, and I pledge to do whatever it takes to maintain our people-first approach.”

Now that he has transitioned from Managing Director to CEO, the NFFF is embarking upon a search to identify the Foundation’s new Managing Director. Those who are interested in learning more about what this key strategic role entails—and how to apply—are encouraged to review the opportunity posted on the website.