Board of Directors

Jim Estepp is the President and CEO of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable and the Andrews Business & Community Alliance. Jim became a CFSI board member in 1994.  Prior to joining the board, he served as Chair of the CFSI National Advisory Committee, which is composed of national fire service organizations that guide CFSI in establishing positions on national fire service issues. 

Jim is formerly Chair of the Prince George’s County Council where he served two elected terms; President Pro Tempore of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG); Chairman of the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; Director of the Maryland Security Council, Office of the Governor; Fire & EMS Chief of Prince George’s County and Director of Public Safety for Prince George’s County.

Peggy Echols retired in Charlottesville, VA in 2023, after a career with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Companies that spanned 34 years. She joined State Farm ® in 1988, and has served in a variety of leadership positions, including positions in Corporate Law, Public Affairs, Claims, and Underwriting.  She was introduced to CFSI early in her career when she served as Director of Federal Affairs. For more than a decade, she was the State Farm  Executive Sponsor of the Brookings Institution Global Perspective and Public Policy Program in Washington, D.C.  She retired as a Vice President of Operations, which included enterprise responsibility for Personal Lines Auto and Fire Underwriting. In this capacity, Peggy was a member of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s Board of Directors, an organization committed to mitigating loss of property and life due to severe weather and wildfire by encouraging individuals and communities to build safer and stronger homes and businesses.

In addition to serving on CFSI’s Board of Directors, Peggy currently serves on boards for the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, Piedmont Valley Community College, and Martha Jefferson Hospital.

Peggy received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Toledo College of Law, Toledo, OH.

Shane Ray began his fire service career in 1984 and worked through the ranks of career and volunteer organizations serving from firefighter to chief. He served 13 years as Fire Chief of the Pleasant View Fire Department in Tennessee. After serving as fire chief, he became Superintendent of the South Carolina Fire Academy and later was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley as South Carolina State Fire Marshal. Shane currently serves as President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, a role he has held since 2015.

Chief Ray is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Maryland’s Leadership Development Program, and the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Shane’s education not only comes from universities and institutions but from practical experience as well. He spent many years as the 1st Vice President of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Shane does not shy away from politics, he was the state legislative representative for the fire service in Tennessee and also served six years as the mayor of the Town of Pleasant View in Tennessee.

Shane was selected as Fire Chief Magazine’s Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year for 2005 and the recipient of the Eastern Kentucky University’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award for 2006. He was also selected as Tennessee Fire Chief of the Year in 2011. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by Governor Nikki Haley in June of 2014. Shane is honored to be a life member of the Pleasant View Volunteer Fire Department, the Berea, Kentucky Volunteer Rescue Squad, the South Carolina Firefighters Association, and most recently in 2019 to the Tennessee Fire Chief’s Association.

Since 1963, Steve Austin has been a member of the volunteer fire service. Having served in four states, he currently is a member of the Aetna Hose, Hook, and Ladder Company in Newark, DE, and the Allison Hook and Ladder Co in Harrisburg, PA. Austin has been a staunch advocate at the local, state, and national levels for numerous first responder issues, including the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant programs.  Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions with numerous organizations, including the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the International Association of Arson Investigators, and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association. He was the first chair of NFPA 1033: Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigators and the first chair of NFPA 1091: Standard for Traffic Control Incident Management Professional Qualifications. In 1997, FEMA Administrator James Lee Witt appointed Austin as Chair of the Blue Ribbon Panel that reviewed the state of federal fire programs and offered recommendations for enhancing USFA’s mission.

As a founding member of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association’s  Emergency Responder Safety Institute, Austin has dedicated significant time and effort to promoting safe operations on roadways for the fire service, law enforcement, and other responder groups. He is past president of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (DVFA), and was the first Chair of the Board of Directors of the First Responder Center for Excellence. His contributions to the fire service have garnered him many awards and recognitions, including the CFSI Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award and the NVFC Lifetime Achievement Award.  In addition, he was inducted into both the Firehouse Magazine Hall of Fame and the National Fire Heritage Hall of Legacies, Legends, and Leaders.

R. Keith Brandstedter is President of Glatfelter Specialty Benefits, a Division of Glatfelter Insurance Group and affiliate Division to VFIS. Joining the Agency in 2014, Mr. Brandstedter leads an experienced team of 22 associates in providing customized benefit solutions to our clients. Recently, Mr. Brandstedter was successful in developing two state-wide cancer programs in North Carolina and Delaware respectively. These new programs provide cancer benefits to over 60,000 emergency service personnel to help protect them as they serve their communities.

In 2021, Mr. Brandstedter expanded his role with Glatfelter Insurance Group and took on additional responsibility in VFIS Property & Casualty as the Regional Vice President of VFIS. In this role, Mr. Brandstedter assists our Western Regional Director distribution network meet the varied property, casualty, accident & sickness insurance needs of our emergency service organization clients throughout the Western United States. Overall, Mr. Brandstedter has over twenty-five years of experience in the insurance & financial services industry. Previous to joining Glatfelter Specialty Benefits and VFIS, Mr. Brandstedter served as the Vice President and Sr. Private Banker for the Wealth Advisory of Wilmington Trust Company. Mr. Brandstedter currently holds his FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 securities licenses and his Life, Accident and Health insurance licenses. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Joyful Noise School.

As a 27-year veteran of the Fire Service, Chief Green holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Safety and a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management. In March 1999, she became a career firefighter with the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department after serving as a volunteer firefighter for the Oxon Hill Volunteer Fire Department. On February 4, 2020, she became Prince George’s County’s thirteenth Fire Chief and the first woman appointed to this position. Prior to this historic appointment, she served as the Chief Deputy. In her capacity as the Chief Deputy, she was responsible for the Administrative Services Command. Under this command, she managed the agency’s Human Resources, Fiscal Affairs, Information Management, Risk Management and the Office of Service Excellence, Accreditation & Research.

During her tenure, Fire Chief Green also served as the Director of the Fire/EMS Training and Leadership Academy where her primary obligation was to provide training and career development for over 1,000 sworn personnel and approximately 1,000 volunteer members of the department. She also managed the High School Fire Science (Cadet) Program, designed for high school students who are interested in working in the Fire Services profession. Prior to her Command Staff experience, Chief Green served in a wide array of agency roles: Fire Fighter, Paramedic, Station Commander, Battalion Chief, Executive Assistant to the Public Safety Director, Chief of Staff for the Director of Homeland Security, Special Events Coordinator and Stadium Commander for FedEx Field.

To her success, Chief Green strongly credits hard work, preparation, and commitment. Under her leadership, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department operates as “One County, One Department, with One Mission…The Mission to Serve.” She is most sought after in the areas of project management, community partnerships and emergency preparedness.