About the Authors
Leslie Anderson is the Program Leader for the Fire and Aviation Program at the Missoula Technology & Development Center (MTDC). Leslie has a bachelor's degree in forestry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in forestry from the University of Montana. She began working in wildland fire in 1979. Leslie was a smokejumper from 1984 to 1989 in Missoula, MT. She worked for 2 years in fire management with the Costa Rican National Park Service as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1989 to 1991. Leslie worked as an assistant district fire management officer on the Bitterroot National Forest from 1992 to 1997 before coming to MTDC as an equipment specialist in 1997. She served as a project leader for projects involving fire shelters and fire-resistant clothing before becoming a program leader.
Lisa Outka-Perkins received her master's degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminology from the University of Montana in 2001. She works for MTDC as a sociologist and project leader. Her most recent publication is "Volunteers in the Forest Service: A Coordinator's Desk Guide." Her most recent DVD projects include: "Personal Safety in Remote Work Locations," "Wilderness Rangers: Keeping it Wild," "Building Mountain Bike Trails: Sustainable Singletrack," "Collecting Fees in the Field: Mitigating Dangers," and "Working Along the United States-Mexico Border."
Jon Driessen received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado in 1969. Currently he is professor emeritus from the University of Montana, retiring after 34 years of service. Since 1977, he also has worked as a faculty affiliate at the Missoula Technology and Development Center. His most recent project has been the production of the Forest Service training program, Personal Safety in Remote Locations. He was also Project Leader for several other training programs, including Making a Crew, Driving Mountain Roads, and Focus on the Mission. He is currently working on an entrapment avoidance project for firefighters.
Theron Miller received his Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Montana in 1997 with an emphasis in natural resources social science. After graduating he was a research and teaching professor at The University of Montana where his area of focus was in applied social sciences directly related to management of natural resources on public lands. Theron joined MTDC in 2006 and is assisting with projects in Safety and Health, Recreation, and Fire and Aviation Management.
For additional information about firefighter cohesion, contact Lisa Outka-Perkins at MTDC:
USDA Forest Service
Missoula Technology and Development Center
5785 Hwy. 10 West
Missoula, MT 59808–9361
Phone: 406–329–3849
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: loutkaperkins@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC's documents are available on the Internet at:
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees can search a more complete collection of MTDC's documents, CDs, DVDs, and videos on their internal computer networks at:
