COLLEGE STATION, Texas —Cynthia Foster, head of the Wildfire
Planning and Preparedness Department at Texas A&M Forest Service received
the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Fellow Service Award on Wednesday,
Feb. 7 at a presentation ceremony in College Station.
The first female Department Head in Texas A&M Forest
Service’s 100-year history, Foster has been progressively responsible for the
Texas Interagency Coordination Center, the agency’s Emergency Operations
Center, implementation of a statewide dispatch system, wildfire aviation
management and managing the agency’s mobilization of emergency responders to
Texas disasters.
Under Foster’s direction, TICC has mobilized more than
60,000 emergency responders, 3,500 dozers, engines and aircraft to more than
100 notable Texas incidents including Hurricanes Harvey, Rita and Ike, the
Eagle Pass tornado, the explosion in West, the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery
and to thousands of wildfires.
“For more than a
decade, Cynthia Foster has been in the Southern Area. We have seen her evolve
into a knowledgeable, capable and efficient dispatcher and aviation management
officer, with safety of the resources as her first priority,” said Calvin
Miller, Center Manager of the Southern Area Coordination Center. “With her
skill set, she is able to advance Texas Forest Service into a higher level of
proficiency that other states are striving toward. She brings leadership,
decision making, organizational and situational awareness skills that make her
stand out among others.”
A 20-year employee of the Texas A&M Forest Service, Foster
originally hails from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources
where, as a wildland firefighter, she led an all-female engine crew, was a hand
crew leader and helitack crew supervisor. She was the lead dispatcher for the
Umpqua National Forest in Oregon and later the aviation dispatcher at the
Central Washington Interagency Communications Center.
“Cynthia is what I call a force multiplier; someone you want
by your side when managing a disaster,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Fire
Chief Mark Stanford. “Her actions make a difference and the state is fortunate
to have her in its service.”
Congratulations to Foster and to all the 2018 award recipients. Read the original Regents Awards news release at http://bit.ly/2nMtGn7
Pictured from left to right Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, Texas A&M Forest Service Department Head Cynthia Foster, The Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System Chairman Charles W. Schwartz, and Vice Chairman Elaine Mendoza.