Our Team

NCDRW operates from four core commitments:

▪ Systemic Integration: wellness embedded into every phase of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

▪ Lifecycle Support: care that follows responders across the full disaster continuum, including the

long-term recovery phases that receive the least institutional attention.

▪ Standardization: active development and promotion of national training standards,

evidence-informed best practices, and policies that protect responder health.

▪ Destigmatization: building cultures where seeking support is a professional norm.

Wendy C. Norris

Wendy founded the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force in 1999 and has led it for 26 years, managing 50+ volunteers and overseeing at-need and long-term care for agencies and families of fallen first responders across Texas and nationally.

She is a firefighter, chaplain, and public information officer with the Forest Bend Fire Department; a Master Chaplain/Instructor for the Federation of Fire Chaplains; an instructor for the Crisis Training Center; an adjunct instructor for Texas A&M TEEX; and the Texas LAST Coordinator for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

She chairs the State of Texas Disaster Behavioral Health working group on first responder mental health.

Her disaster response record spans 9/11, Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Harvey, the Santa Fe, El Paso, Midland/Odessa, and Uvalde mass shootings, the BP Refinery explosion, and the West fertilizer plant explosion.

She holds the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from Texas A&M TEEX.

Project Manager

Dr. Sara A. Jahnke, PhD

Science Alliance Lead; President, Science Alliance Inc., Science to the Station, and ResponderStrong

Dr. Sara A. Jahnke is a nationally recognized leader in firefighter and first responder health, focused on translating research into practical solutions for emergency services.

She serves as President of Science Alliance Inc., Science to the Station, and ResponderStrong, leading national initiatives in responder wellness and behavioral health.

Dr. Jahnke is also Senior Principal Investigator and Director of the Center for Fire, Rescue & EMS Health Research at NDRI-USA, overseeing more than $30 million in federally funded research and publishing 100+ peer-reviewed articles on cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, behavioral health, reproductive health, and substance use in first responder populations.

She serves on multiple national boards and received the 2024 Arthur J. Glatfelter Distinguished Service Award.

Science Alliance; Behavioral Health Advisor; Former Deputy Director,
FDNY Counseling Service Unit

Captain Frank Leto (Ret.)

Captain Frank Leto is a 38-year FDNY veteran and former Deputy Director of the FDNY Counseling Service Unit, where he helped build nationally recognized behavioral health programs for firefighters and families following traumatic events.

A responder to the World Trade Center on 9/11, he has supported departments nationwide after incidents including Hurricane Katrina, the Charleston and Aurora mass shootings, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Internationally, he has consulted with fire and rescue organizations in Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, London, and Haiti.

He is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional and graduate of the West Point–FDNY Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program.