Tiffany L. Edgecombe, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Director Fire Services and Municipal Services
A passionate team builder, creative problem solver, and systems thinker, Tiffany leverages a diverse career spanning engineering, training and development, and emergency services to lead complex organizational change and drive results through strategic planning, structural transformation, and leadership and team development initiatives. With a keen eye for data and the ability to translate insight into clear, compelling narratives, she aligns stakeholders around a shared purpose and supports adoption of new ways of working. By creating trust and psychological safety through astute listening, Tiffany quickly learns and analyzes systems, intentionally managing the people-side of change to help individuals and teams navigate transition, build capability, and achieve their potential. She is as passionate about solving complex problems as she is about building highly effective, resilient teams.
Current Responsibilities
Project Coordinator
Municipal/Emergency Services
Years of Experience
15+
Location
Alberta
Qualifications
Labour Relations (American Professional Management Services)
Effective Command
ICS 300
Dare to Lead Trained
Master’s Certificate – Adult Training and Development (York University)
Ph.D. – Mechanical Engineering (University of Calgary)
M.Sc. – Mechanical Engineering (Queen’s University)
B.Sc. – Mechanical Engineering (University of Alberta
Professional Designations
Professional Engineer
Awards
City of Edmonton’s Cultural Commitment Award
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) – Leadership
Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation’s Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Graduate Engineering Scholarship
National Science and Engineering Research Council Post-Graduate Scholarship
EMERGENCY RESPONSE LEADERSHIP
EFRS Deputy Fire Chief (Acting) – Community Safety and Risk
- Executive sponsor for updates to the Fire Rescue Services Bylaw and Quality Management Plan, providing strategic oversight for the development of a Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan to improve community safety and revenue sustainability, and accountable for governance, Council-facing recommendations, and organizational alignment throughout implementation.
- Initiated development of meaningful KPIs to increase efficiency and reduce risk
- Oversaw Emergency Management team to improve responsiveness of emergency support response teams; oversaw the development of a novel drone program to mitigate wildfire risk and support safety and tactics of suppression personnel
- Initiated and led the design of a Canada-first FireSmart neighbourhood ambassador program, using wildfire risk mapping to identify high-risk communities, coordinating cross-departmental and external partnerships, engaging City Councillors to build political and community support, and enabling frontline staff through alignment with FireSmart Canada training and materials to support successful program adoption.
EFRS Deputy Fire Chief – Administration / Training and Logistics
- Led the people-side transition to a new executive structure, introducing an Assistant Deputy Chief level and reorganizing portfolios from Training and Logistics to Administration. Drove adoption through extensive engagement, mapping staff concerns and priorities, articulating clear WIIFM messaging, and consistently anchoring rollout decisions to “what we heard” from stakeholders.
- Established a formal Training/Operations Working Group, embedding Operations leadership into training governance and leading the people-side adoption of new roles, decision-making, and development processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of training delivery.
- Led multiple organizational change initiatives, including restructuring the wellness portfolio, strengthening OH&S systems, and reducing procurement-related liabilities through internal process, structural, and governance change to improve effectiveness, accountability, and risk management
- Increased outreach and recruitment engagement by leading the design and adoption of novel programs, intentionally managing the people-side of change required to align stakeholders and sustain participation
EFRS Dean of Accreditation and Registrar Services
- Project team member for the Diversity in Fire Recruitment study
- Developed novel systems to track training programs and reduce liabilities in ensuring fully trained staff
ENGINEERING
- Established new training division for Public Safety section of EFRS; leading both the analytical design and the people-side change to transition staff to new training structures, resulting in reduced training costs and improved onboarding and on-the-job skill development
- Initiated and implemented competency roadmaps, building awareness, desire, capability, and reinforcement to embed new training processes and ensure effective and timely staff development
- Led the development and implementation of EFRS emergency access and fire access guidelines within the City of Edmonton construction standards, intentionally managing the policy and practice change through cross-department collaboration and targeted training for internal and external stakeholders to improve the quality, consistency, and efficiency of development permit application reviews.