Mr. Mark W. Light, MPA, CAE
International Association of Fire Chiefs

Mark W. Light is chief executive officer and executive director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). IAFC is located in Fairfax, Virginia and represents over 11,000 fire chiefs, chief officers, and fire service leaders. He is responsible for the overall management and leadership, in conjunction with an 18 member board of directors, of a non-profit organization with a budget of approximately 15 million dollars, and a staff of 75 people.  Before being appointed as the CEO, he served for five and a half years as the Deputy Executive Director.  

Prior to coming to the IAFC, he was the Fire Chief in Henrico County, Virginia, where he served for over six years. Henrico County was a metro size career fire department with 358 employees serving a population of over 255,000. The department is a full service department that responded to over 28,000 incidents (in 2000) each year and had a budget of over $27 million.

Prior to being appointed as the Fire Chief in Henrico County, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department. Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department is a large combination career and volunteer organization with 100 career firefighters/paramedics and over 600 volunteers. He served in numerous capacities in Roanoke County to include: Volunteer rescue member and firefighter, Dispatcher, Deputy Sheriff, firefighter, firefighter/Paramedic, Captain, Training Officer, Battalion Chief, and Computer Systems Manager.   

He has a Masters of Public Administration from Virginia Polytechnic and State University. He is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy, and completed a fire service Fellowship at Harvard University at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Light has completed the Executive Leaders Program at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey California. Additionally, he has been designated as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) by the American Society of Association Executives.