Dr. Kristen Wheldon is the President and Founder of the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA), a nonprofit organization created to bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service, aiming to establish a specialized discipline of fire service psychology.
As a licensed psychologist, her career has included work in correctional settings, military and law enforcement environments, and the court system. Dr. Wheldon also served as the Director of Behavioral Health for the Los Angeles Fire Department, where she provided psychological services to firefighters and their families, managed peer support and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams, conducted behavioral health training, and supervised two doctoral psychology students. Recognizing the lack of specialized psychological care for firefighters, she founded FSPA.
Additionally, Dr. Wheldon has contributed to the development of the Executive Fire Officer Program curriculum for the United States Fire Administration and is an active instructor. She is a member of the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard for Emergency Responder Occupational Health and Wellness committee and serves on the Public Safety Sector Council for the National Occupational Research Agenda at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
