Chief Brent VanKeulen is a 27-year veteran of the Oregon Fire Service, beginning as a student volunteer firefighter and rising through the ranks as the Division Chief at Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVF&R). TVF&R is the largest fire district in Oregon, serving over a half million citizens. TVF&R is a unique governmental agency that supports business-minded solutions and innovation, all while delivering world-class customer service.

While at TVF&R, Chief VanKeulen held multiple positions and worked in all areas of emergency response. As a Division Chief, Brent managed the operations of a large training division responsible for training over 500 employees. Other assignments included leading the EMS division, implementing EMS transport, expanding services to an additional city, and managing innovation initiatives, including the development of an in-house iOS iPad application that uses artificial intelligence to assist emergency responders with better decision making.

Since retiring from TVF&R in 2019, Brent continues to support the public safety community in a consulting capacity. He most recently (Sept. 2020 - June 2021) served as the Interim Chief for the Dundee Fire Department (OR), where he led a work group that evaluated multiple regionalization options for the department. He currently serves the Western Fire Chiefs Association as Deputy Director, contributing across multiple channels ranging from strategic planning, partnership facilitating, policy review, and executive recruitment.