Glendale, CA – On Tuesday, September 1, 2015, the City of Glendale announced the appointment of Greg Fish as its next Fire Chief and Philip Lanzafame as Director of the Community Development Department.
“I am very pleased that we have the depth of expertise in our organization that we can name both Greg and Phil to top positions within the respective departments,” said Mayor Najarian. “The institutional knowledge and expertise to maintain a Class 1 Fire Department and an award winning Community Development Department is critical to the safety and quality of life we so enjoy.”  
Chief Greg Fish replaces Harold Scoggins who left the City of Glendale to become the Fire Chief for the City of Seattle and Philip Lanzafame replaces Hassan Haghani who became Executive Director of Planning and Building Agency for the City of Santa Ana. 
  

Chief Fish began his career with the Glendale Fire Department in 1987 when he was hired as a Firefighter. In 1998, he promoted to the position of Fire Captain. In 2004, he was assigned to the Training & Safety Section of the GFD. He has an extensive history of training recruit Firefighters. In 2007, he promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief where he served in the Operations Section for five years. In 2013, he served as the manager of the Emergency Medical Services Section. In 2014, he assumed the role of Interim Deputy Fire Chief, receiving the official job title in March 2015. He began serving as the Interim Fire Chief in April 2015.
In 1999, Chief Fish began teaching Fire Science courses at Glendale Community College and served as an instructor at what is now the Verdugo Fire Academy.
Chief Fish was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. After graduating from Verdugo Hills High School, he attended Glendale Community College. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University. He is a proud member of the Glendale Kiwanis. He also serves as an associate member on the Glendale Chamber of Commerce Executive Board. He enjoys his involvement with the Glendale Adventist Medical Center Civic Advisory Board and serves on the Glendale Youth Alliance Board of Directors. He is also an active board member with the Glendale Fire Foundation. Chief Fish enjoys being a guest chef with the GFD Command Staff once a month at Ascencia. 
Chief Fish currently lives in Tujunga. He is married to his wife Maureen and they have four daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter.
  
Philip Lanzafame brings more than 25 years of experience as a local government official specializing in the areas of community development, economic development and housing. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Lanzafame was the City’s Director of Economic Development and the Chief Operating Officer of the Glendale Economic Development Corporation. Lanzafame lead the creation of an economic development corporation to continue business development and maximize public asset value throughout the City in California’s post-redevelopment era. In addition to his current duties in economic development, he is responsible for the orderly unwinding of the City’s redevelopment program and ensuring Glendale receives its rightful share of former redevelopment assets and funding. 
Lanzafame’s prior positions with the City included serving as the Director of Community Redevelopment & Housing, Assistant Director of Development Services and Economic Development Administrator. Before coming to Glendale in 1996, Lanzafame was a Redevelopment Project Manager for the City of Brea, California. In May 2015, Lanzafame was appointed the Interim Director of the Community Development Department overseeing five Department divisions including Building & Safety, Planning/Neighborhood Services, Urban Design & Mobility Planning, Housing and Administration in addition to Economic Development.
Mr. Lanzafame earned a Master of Public Administration degree, with distinction, from California State University, Northridge. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from San Diego State University and, in 2003, he was awarded a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellowship in the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Board positions with civic organizations include the Friends of the Glendale Public Library, Glendale Educational Foundation (Advisory member), Glendale Arts, and GEF Summer School, Inc. where he is the organization’s founding president.
Philip has been married to Melinda Lanzafame for 29 years. They have three children and live in Montrose, California.
“Both of these individuals are experts in their field,” said City Manager Scott Ochoa. “Their knowledge of the community will sustain the momentum that animates City Council’s vision and respects the legacy of their predecessors.”