Director of Family Programs
Joanne Rund recently served as the first female Fire Chief of Baltimore County Fire Department in Maryland (BCoFD) where she managed a staff of over 3,000 career and volunteer members and a budget of 124 million dollars, until being selected to serve as the Family Programs Director for the National Fallen Firefighters.
Joanne entered the fire service as a volunteer in Sykesville MD, continuing to serve as a career provider in Howard County until appointed as Chief in Baltimore County where she retired as Fire Chief with over 38 years of service.
Since 2009, Joanne has been a strong advocate with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, holding roles such as Maryland state coordinator, Region III Advocate Coordinator, and executive secretary position on the Board of Directors.
Joanne is highly certified in health and safety, including being a level 4 certified command officer. She chaired the Maryland Metro Chiefs Life Safety Committee, whose mission is to educate all Maryland providers on the 16 Life Safety Initiatives, and reduce the line of duty deaths. Since 2006, she has served on the Executive board of the Safety Health and Survival Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and currently holds the position of Secretary. She has served on a joint committee for Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) regarding recruitment and hiring practices in the state for Emergency Services. In 2019 Joanne was appointed to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1500 advisory committee.
Joanne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Safety Administration, Certificate in Public Safety Executive Leadership and graduated from the IAFC’s Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FESDI). She resides in Carroll County MD with her husband Michael. Joanne and Michael have two wonderful children and 10 beautiful grandchildren.
