LEXINGTON, Ky. 鈥� Eight hundred words can鈥檛 capture every gasp and head-nod, but they can transmit the shockwave Danielle Thomas (COO, Lifeline Ambulance, California) and Carly Strong (COO, Riggs Ambulance, California) unleashed at the 2025 American Ambulance Association Annual Conference.
The session description promised something 鈥渆dgy and controversial,鈥� a talk that rejected 鈥減ro-women in EMS鈥� in favor of being pro-good leader. That framing wasn鈥檛 marketing fluff; it was the backbone of a 60-minute manifesto on character over categories, resilience over rhetoric and measurable results over demographic labels.
Following are top takeaways from their discussion.
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Leaders 鈥� full stop
Thomas and Strong refuse the qualifier 鈥渇emale.鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檙e just leaders,鈥� Thomas opened, dismantling the idea that one must choose between competence and gender. Industry panels often drift into side-by-side comparisons 鈥� how men lead versus how women lead, why promotion gaps persist, why harassment lingers. Thomas and Strong flipped the script: stop grading leadership on chromosomes. Start grading it on impact, they said, because stretch targets, balanced budgets and clinical outcomes don鈥檛 care who鈥檚 wearing the uniform.
Raw voices, real stakes
The pair spent 2 years lurking in a 42,000-member Facebook group for female first responders, collecting anonymous posts that speak louder than any bar graph:
- 鈥淚 was lead on a call, yet the fire captain handed instructions to my male partner.鈥�
- 鈥淧assed over for supervisor again鈥攎aybe I鈥檓 鈥榯oo emotional,鈥� or maybe I keep insisting we fix things.鈥�
- 鈥淓very shift feels like walking into a podcast you鈥檙e not allowed to join.鈥�
These aren鈥檛 one-off stories; they鈥檙e daily drip trauma. And yet Thomas and Strong flat-out refused to park the room in grievance. Each example became a pivot to practical tools:
- How do you convert silent corridors into collaborative teams?
- How do you defend your authority without mimicking someone else鈥檚 swagger?
- How do you hold colleagues accountable without blowing up the team dynamic?
MRI: Most Reasonable Interpretation
One communication tool anchored the talk: MRI 鈥� Most Reasonable Interpretation. Instead of reflexively thinking 鈥淭hey鈥檙e attacking me,鈥� MRI asks, 鈥淚s there a non-malicious reading, and can I clarify before I escalate?鈥� The discipline doesn鈥檛 excuse bad behavior; it delays the fuse long enough to have a productive conversation. On a chaotic scene or in a tense debrief, MRI can be the difference between solving a problem and cementing a feud.
Numbers tell a partial truth
Data framed urgency:
- Women now account for 50% of EMTs nationwide, yet only 10% of EMS-chief roles
- In a Yale resume study, gender-blind panels selected six women and one man; panels that could see names hired six men and one woman.
- Beyond EMS, just 29% of U.S. C-suite seats and 10% of corner offices are filled by women
Statistics confirm the gap, but Thomas cautioned against letting them become an alibi for underperformance. 鈥淏ias is real,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut so is grit. You can鈥檛 spreadsheet your way to credibility 鈥� you earn it call by call, quarter by quarter.鈥�
Grit, adaptability, results
Here鈥檚 the trio of competencies Thomas and Strong say every leader 鈥� regardless of pronoun 鈥� must cultivate:
- Resilience and adaptability. EMS is controlled chaos. Leaders absorb shock, pivot quickly, and still hit clinical and financial targets.
- Authentic stereotype-busting. Don鈥檛 change your style to fit 鈥渙ne of the guys.鈥� Challenge norms while staying unmistakably you. Credibility flows from consistency, not mimicry.
- Relentless results focus. Promotions and venture dollars follow outcomes. Track them, trumpet them and make them impossible to ignore.
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Dismantling the comfort of conformity
Thomas admitted her early-career strategy was to blend. She laughed at off-color jokes and convinced herself it was harmless. 鈥淐onformity feels safe,鈥� she said, 鈥渦ntil you realize it鈥檚 a glass ceiling in disguise.鈥� Strong nodded: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to be honorary dudes. We need to be excellent professionals.鈥�
Thomas confessed an early-morning realization that reframed her entire perspective on past workplace struggles. 鈥淔or years, I blamed colleagues for holding me back. At 4 a.m., I saw my part in the stalemate.鈥� That moment of clarity captured the essence of the session: real leadership requires reflection, not just resistance.
Her message wasn鈥檛 about self-blame; it was about growth. Leaders, she argued, need to examine their own patterns, communication styles and assumptions as much as they challenge the systems around them. Shifting from 鈥渨hy are they doing this to me?鈥� to 鈥渉ow am I showing up?鈥� is a hallmark of maturity and effectiveness.
That pivot 鈥� from grievance to growth 鈥� formed the heartbeat of the entire presentation. Thomas and Strong鈥檚 call to action was not simply about changing policy or exposing bias, though both are vital. It was about changing posture. Success, they reminded the audience, isn鈥檛 handed out 鈥� it鈥檚 earned through grit, adaptability and self-awareness.
And for those already in leadership? The work isn鈥檛 over. It鈥檚 time to look around, lift others up, and ensure your team reflects not just the diversity of your community, but the strength of its ideas. Strong closed with a line that landed like a challenge coin tossed across the dais: 鈥淒on鈥檛 beg for a seat at someone else鈥檚 table 鈥� build a better room.鈥� Judging by the extended applause, many attendees plan to do just that.
Bottom line
Danielle Thomas and Carly Strong didn鈥檛 ask the AAA audience to applaud them as 鈥渢railblazing women.鈥� They demanded everyone raise the leadership bar. If grit, adaptability and outcomes are your currency, you鈥檙e welcome in their economy. Anything less? Expect some MRI-powered, possibly 鈥渆dgy and controversial,鈥� feedback.
SA国际传媒 is using generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors.
