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Our Board Members
The Deer Springs Fire Protection District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors elected for staggered four-year terms.
Bret Sealey - President bsealey@dsfd.sdcoxmail.com
Bret was elected to the board in November 2012. As a project manager and Navy Veteran, he brings over 20 years of experience managing multi-million dollar budgets. His focus areas include long-term financial planning, community enrichment, and disaster prevention activities for the District. Highlights of his activities include development of the District's five-year budget projection, drafting the policy to support Community Emergency Response Team, and acting as a principal author and coordinator of the Deer Springs Community Wildfire Protection Plan. He is recipient of the Special District Leadership Foundation's Recognition in Special District Governance and is also a California Special Districts Association certified Board Secretary. A native of California, Bret has lived in Hidden Meadows for over 10 years and has been deeply involved in many community organizations. Bret holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Science in Information Technology Management, Associates of Art in Fire Technology and Emergency Management, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program at San Diego State University.
Mark Jackson – Vice President mjackson@dsfd.sdcoxmail.com
Retired Finance Executive (Fortune 50 Aerospace and Defense Company)Deer Springs Fire Protection District Treasurer (elected). Former Valley Center Community Planning Group two term elected member Skills & AbilitiesFinance Executive with 40 years’ experience leading the Finance function (Financial Planning, Procurement, Contracts and Pricing, Program Control, and Accounting). Mark was the Finance Director supervising in excess of 200 employees to support technology businesses with over 2500 total employees and revenue in excess of $ 750 million/year. Mark’s skill set includes hands on Strategic Planning, Contract Negotiation, Financial Plans and forecasts and workflow planning and scheduling for complex technology development, production, and operational maintenance for major Defense Systems.
Steve Kerrin - Secretary/Treasurer skerrin@dsfd.sdcoxmail.com
Steve joined the Deer Springs Fire Protection District Board of Directors in December 2022. A District resident since 1998, he has been a member of the Deer Springs Fire Safe Council since 2005 and a member of its board of directors since 2006, serving serving as President since 2019. He was principal author of the 2020 Deer Springs Community Wildfire Protection Plan and was honored with the 2022 Outstanding Leadership award from the San Diego County Fire Safe Council. He began his professional career in 1970 in the Space Sciences Division of Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena working on development of experiments for the Viking Martian Lander that ultimately analyzed Martian soil for possible signs of life. On leaving JPL, he was drawn into the environmental field specializing in atmospheric transport and tracer science. As a Senior Scientist and project manager for several companies, he designed and managed atmospheric transport studies as well as developed specialized ultra-sensitive atmospheric chemical monitoring equipment for commercial and military clients. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers in the scientific literature as well as a chapter on tracer science for a textbook on air quality modeling.
James Gordon – Director jgordon@dsfd.sdcoxmail.com
James Gordon specialized for more than 25 years in advising clients faced with complex high stakes business disputes, litigation and investigations, especially in cross-border matters. Mr. Gordon served as a consulting and testifying expert as well as a third-party neutral in a diverse range of business and discovery disputes. Mr. Gordon focused on Asia/China/US cross-border disputes and litigation since 2005 and was based in Asia from 2009 to 2012 as Managing Partner for Asia/China for a global expert services and consulting firm (NYSE:NCI). In China and throughout Asia and Japan, Mr. Gordon was the consulting expert and project lead on a diverse range of complex matters, including: special committee forensic investigations for Boards of U.S. listed Chinese companies; cross-border discovery; allegations of business fraud; undisclosed related third party asset transfers; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations; deep-dive M&A and FCPA due diligence; international arbitration; royalty disputes; intellectual property rights (IPR); and dumping/trade issues. Mr. Gordon has worked on many of the highest-profile regulatory and enforcement investigations in US history, including: the Wall Street IPO Securities Litigation; Tyco; WorldCom; Parmalat; HealthSouth; and Enron. His work has involved matters throughout Asia, China, Canada, UK and the United States advising clients and their counsel in responding to investigations by: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); NASDAQ; Federal Trade Commission (FTC); United States International Trade Counsel (USITC) and Congressional aand Senate Investigations.
Brian Holley - Director bholley.dsfpd@gmail.com
Brian was elected to the board in November 2018. As the owner of a building technology company and former construction executive, he brings over 15 years of experience managing large capital improvement projects including over 50 staff persons and budgets exceeding $ 100 M per year.He has deep experience in working with multi- discipline teams to identify and mitigate various risk situations to include emergency response plans.His focus has been on district master planning to include evaluating how technology can be further utilized for enhancing safety and effectiveness. Brian has a B.S. in Construction Management from Colorado State University and M.B.A in Halthcare Management from the University of Phoenix.