Dr. Jennings is a rare blend of education, training, and experience in the field of public safety. His Doctorate in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University is backed by over 20 years of fire service experience in New York and Maryland, including serving as Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety for the City of White Plains, NY from 2002-2008, and Chair of the Board of Fire Commissioners for the City of Ithaca, NY. He holds a Chief Fire Officer designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

Dr. Jennings is a recognized authority on community-level fire risk and analysis and long-range planning of fire and emergency services. He is an Alternate to the National Fire Protection Association’s High Rise Building Safety Advisory Committee (HRB-SAC)and was an advocate for increased safety standards for tall buildings following 9/11. He helped lead nationally-recognized innovation in police-fire coordination in White Plains.

Dr. Jennings is co-editor(with Adam Thiel) of Managing Fire and Emergency Services, published by the International City Management Association. He was recently named a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) in recognition of his sustained contributions to the fields of fire engineering and management.