Kelly Martin

President
Kelly Martin (board member since 2019, president since 2024) (ret) Chief of Fire and Aviation, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service, Pacific West Region, Yosemite CA. Kelly graduated from Northland College, Ashland WI with a bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education in 1986 and completing Technical Fire Management in 1996. Kelly began her federal career as a GS-3 with the Apostle Island National Lakeshore in 1984 while attending college and has worked her way up through the wildland fire ranks for the last 34 years. Her federal wildland fire career spans the National Park Service and the US Forest Service working in 6 different states. She has worked on helicopter modules as an assistant foreman and manager; Redding Hotshot crew in 1991; fuels and prescribed fire crews as a Type 1 Complex Burn Boss, Fire Behavior Analyst on Type 1 and Type 2 teams since 2006; Operations Section Chief and Operations Branch Director since 2014; and held several career leadership positions as a Fire Management Officer (Moab, UT; Carson City, NV; Placerville, CA; Yosemite, CA) on complex fire units since 1996.  Kelly is the past chair of two National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) programs: Fire Environment Committee (FENC) and the National Fire Management Leadership (M-582) course. Kelly Martin maintains a highly diverse skill set as a field practitioner in prescribed fire and wildfire management focusing on increasing the wise use of applied fire on large fire adapted ecosystems for forest health and resiliency especially due to drought, tree mortality and climate change.  Kelly is also a strong advocate for diversity, inclusion and gender parity throughout the Wildland Fire Community.  Her most recent efforts include providing leadership for the Women in Fire Training Exchange (WTREX) since 2016; a highly successful grass roots program aimed at promoting practical wildland fire skills and networking opportunities for both women and men.