Leadership

Dominic began his fire service career in 1997. After 4 years working as a wildland firefighter, Forest Service Hotshot and part-time firefighter; he was hired as a full-time structural firefighter with Salt Lake County in 2001.

During his career he has served as Wildland Specialist, Paramedic, Station Captain, Training Captain, Part-time Staffing Captain, Wildland Division Chief and was promoted to Assistant Chief in May of 2020.

Dominic holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Utah and has been a Paramedic since 2007. He is also certified in various wildland overhead positions.

Dominic was born and raised in Utah. With his wife Jillian and their four children, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors and traveling. He is a small business owner and a 5-time Ironman finisher.

Division Chief/Director Clint Mecham is the Emergency Manager for Salt Lake County.  His duties include oversight of operational, training, preparedness, mitigation and recovery for incidents involving all hazards within Salt Lake County.  This includes the Unified Fire Authority personnel that by interlocal staff the Salt Lake County Emergency Coordination Center

Division Chief/Director Chief Mecham began his fire service career in 1996 working as a Firefighter/EMT for Salt Lake County Fire Department, which later became Unified Fire Authority.  During his tenure at Salt Lake County Battalion Chief Mecham has worked as a Firefighter/EMT, Hazmat Specialist, Station Captain, Hazmat Captain, Special Projects Specialist, Safety Officer, Public information Officer and Deputy Emergency Manager for Salt Lake County.  Clint also serves as a Logistics Manager for Utah Task Force One and deployed to World Trade Center, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among other deployments.  He was appointed to his current position as Salt Lake County Emergency Manager 1 October 2013.

Division Chief/Director Chief Mecham holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Utah as well as a minor in Naval Science.  He served in the United States Navy until 1992.  He has also earned certificates and completed course work at other institutions in disciplines such as Chemistry and Management and Leadership.  Battalion Chief Mecham is a subject matter expert in fire service and hazmat for a Department of Homeland Security research and development project.  Battalion Chief Mecham has been an adjunct instructor for Salt Lake Community College and the National Fire Academy where he has taught courses in Firefighter Safety, Incident Command, All Hazards Finance Section Chief, All Hazards Safety Officer and Emergency Management, among others.

Division Chief/Director Chief Mecham is currently engaged.  When he’s not at work Battalion Chief Mecham enjoys competitive shooting sports, hunting, riding ATV’s, water skiing and spending time with his family.

Tara Behunin joined Salt Lake County Emergency Management in May 2022.

Tara was more recently a section manager at the Utah Division of Emergency Management. Tara has specialized in grants management, managing statewide liaison operations and the Utah Search and Rescue Financial Assistance Program.

Tara can be found often listening to music (all varieties), enjoys sports and loves spending time outdoors, including her family’s farm near Bear Lake.

Tina Brown is the PIO/JIC Manager for Salt Lake County Emergency Management since July 2018. She is responsible for the operation Salt Lake County’s Joint Information Center (JIC). Prior to working for SLCo EM, Tina was the Communications Specialist/Public Information Officer for the City of South Jordan. Previously she worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington DC. She has worked with many local and national news stations and worked for KUTV Channel 2, where she helped write and produce stories for “Get Gephardt.” Tina has her Master’s Degree in Public Information and Technology from Colorado State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Utah. She is also a certified Type III Wildland Firefighter.

Chet Ellis has been a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Unified Fire Authority for more than 15 years, having served the last 6 years at the rank of Captain. He is currently assigned to the Salt Lake County Emergency Management Division as the Deputy Emergency Manager and oversees Operations and Training/Exercise.

He spent most of his career serving the citizens of Millcreek and Olympus Cove as a Firefighter/Paramedic. He has also been a member of Unified Fire Authority’s Wildland Single Resource program and has deployed on many fires around the Western United States as a Wildfire Line Paramedic. He is a bagpiper for Unified Fire Authority’s Pipes and Drums and the Utah Firefighters Emerald Society. He has performed at many funerals and memorials around the country to honor our fallen public safety brothers and sisters.

He currently resides in Kamas, Utah with his wife, 2 daughters, and Great Dane.

Scott McNeil started in the Operations Section of SLCo Emergency Management Division in September of 2018. His Fire Service Career began with Salt Lake County Fire on their Wildland crew for the summers of 1997-1998. He was hired as a full-time firefighter with Salt Lake County Fire (Which later became Unified Fire Authority) in September of 1999. He has been fortunate in his career to work in some of the busiest stations with the best crews in the department. He was one of the first 3 firefighters to promote the then newly formed Heavy Rescue Specialist position in 2004. He became an Engineer several years later and holds that rank today.  He has been involved in the Heavy Rescue companies development and design, and has taught many classes in Technical Rescue. Scott holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science, and is currently pursuing his Bachelors Degree in Emergency Management.

Scott enjoys hunting, fishing, riding his horses and watching his kids’ athletic events.

Captain Keith Bevan has a firefighting and public safety career spanning three decades – his tenure being in Palm Beach County, Florida, Salt Lake County and Unified Fire Authority. Captain Bevan started with Salt Lake County Emergency Management in 2018. He currently serves as the Planning and Intelligence Section Chief for Salt Lake County’s Emergency Management. In addition to his career in firefighting, Captain Bevan has spent 21 years with FEMA’s National Urban Search and Rescue Response System. With duties ranging from Technical Information Specialist to Task Force Leader, and currently the Deputy Chair of the FEMA US&R National Advisory Organization. Captain Bevan has responded to such crises as World Trade Center attacks and the Boulder, CO floods; to serving as the Planning Section Chief for FEMAs Incident Support Team on numerous earthquake, tornado and hurricane responses including Katrina, Sandy, Irene, Irma and Maria. Captain Bevan continues his education and has been awarded certifications in such programs as Harvard University’s Crisis Management Program.

​Sheldon Baumgartner joined the Salt Lake County Emergency Management team as the GIS Specialist in April of 2018. In addition to providing mapping support to the team, he maintains our databases, conducts data analysis, and develops online maps and data gathering capabilities.  Sheldon has his Bachelors in Geography from the University of Utah and has worked for the State of Utah at AGRC, the City of West Jordan, and various private companies in Utah. He also joined the Utah National Guard and was the Geospatial Engineer section chief for 5 years with his unit.  Before joining SLCo EM he was working in Washington DC area as a contractor for a DoD agency. Sheldon also has 6 years of experience as a Wildland Firefighter with the State of Utah.

Becca Weiss joined the Salt Lake County Emergency Management team as the Planning Specialist in December of 2021. She is responsible for reviewing, maintaining, and developing emergency management plans/annexes/checklists for organizations within Salt Lake County. Before joining as a full-time employee, Rebecca worked as an intern with SLCo EM. She also has 4 years of experience as a Patient Care Tech where she worked at a level-1 trauma center in Omaha, Nebraska.  Rebecca is obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management and Disaster Science with concentrations in Intelligence & Security and Criminal Justice through the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding in the winter and hiking in the summer with her German Shephard, Kaimen.

John McClure is the Intelligence Specialist for Salt Lake County Emergency Management since September 2018. He is responsible for the identification of intelligence gaps, the collection of information, the development of intelligence, to be a liaison with outside agencies in an effort to prevent and or mitigate threats, and disseminate information and intelligence among partners and stakeholders.

John was the Strategic Intelligence Analyst for the Statewide Information and Analysis Center covering Domestic and International Terrorism. John was also an Intelligence Analyst on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Domestic Terrorism Squad.

John received his Master’s Degree from the Handa Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews. John has featured publications in Global Security Studies Journal, Stanford University, Utah Valley University; as well as collaborated on several North American regional documents under the auspice of the United Nations.

Val began her career with Unified Fire Authority in June of 2007 in the Logistics Bureau before moving to Emergency Management in November 2014.  Since starting Emergency Management, she has attended numerous courses and trainings, some of her favorite certifications include: All Hazards PIO, Situation Unit Leader, and Finance Section Chief. Val’s responsibilities include: logistics, finance, and coordinating projects with in the ECC. She is the proud Mom of 3 children (ages 12-19). Val and her husband spend countless hours attending football and soccer activities. As a family they enjoy camping, 4-wheeling, hiking, and spending time in Southern Utah.

Rhonda started working for Unified Fire Authority in September of 2016 as a part-time Receptionist. After a year, she moved to UFA’s Fire Prevention Division and became the Haz-Mat Administrative Assistant. Rhonda remained in that role for 2 ½ years before moving to the Emergency Command Center as the Administrative Coordinator.

Rhonda is a mom of 3 son’s and a grandmother of 6 amazing grandkids. In her free time, she love’s watching her grandkids play soccer, basketball, softball and gymnastics and she loves riding Roller Coasters with them at the amusement parks. Her favorite vacations are wherever you find Sun, Sand and Surf.

Captain Nathan Kay has more than 25 years of experience in public safety. He began his career in 1994 as a wildland firefighter for Salt Lake County Fire Department. In 1999 he was hired full-time with Salt Lake County Fire, now Unified Fire Authority. Captain Kay was a founding member of UFA’s Heavy Rescue Program. He served as a Firefighter/Heavy Rescue Technician and Captain in the program for more than 18 years. Captain Kay is an active member of Utah Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team. Currently, he is a Rescue Team Manager and Safety Officer for the team. He has deployed to numerous disasters across the country, including Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, the Boulder CO floods, and many more. He has taught at Utah Valley University as an adjunct instructor for their Recruit Candidate Academy. During his tenure, he has instructed over 500 current and prospective firefighters. He has an Associate in Fire Science from Utah Valley University and is working on a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management. Captain Kay joined SLCo Emergency Management in 2022 as the Logistics Section Chief/Captain.