Keynote Speaker at Gardena Veterans Day

Anthony was fortunate to grow up in a loving household. His mother was a Junior High School Vice Principal and his father an engineer who instilled the importance of becoming a compassionate human and fighting for what you believe in.

He attended 135th St Elementary School, Peary Junior High and Gardena High School which makes him a proud Gardena Mohican!

At the age of 8, after attending a fire station open house and being so intrigued with the idea of coming to the aid of others during a time of need that he knew right then what his future held and told his dad, “This is who I want to be when I grow up”.

At 13, he joined the Fire Explorer Program which gave him the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the Gardena and Inglewood Fire Departments as a teenager. 

At 18, he decided to work for McCormick Ambulance Company to help prepare him for a career as a First Responder. Soon thereafter, he became an EMT, moved up to trainer, and eventually was promoted to Supervisor. During that time, he delivered 19 babies.

At the age of 21, Anthony went to work for The LA County Fire Department where he’s had various assignments such as fighting wild land fires as part of the Fire Camps Division, driving heavy equipment delivering supplies to various stations across the county, working at Headquarters, as well as the Lifeguard Division. 

In addition, Anthony teaches CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) in the event of a disaster and is also a proud Veteran having served in Iraq. 

Anthony is a California State Fire Fighters Association Board Member representing the interests of firefighters in LA County and at the state level in Sacramento. He has lobbied for safer techniques and advanced training to better protect our First Responders. 

He is also Senior Vice Commander at VFW Post #3261 in Gardena and in response to the growing number of Veterans and First Responder suicides, Anthony began working with Together for the Good, a non-profit organization that raises awareness to this important issue where he is now the Director.

In the hope of supporting our local youth, Anthony is a member of the Gardena Kiwanis Club and the Liaison Advisor for the Gardena High School Key Club. He is also the proud father of a son and daughter, one with a career in law enforcement.

Anthony loves speaking at events to encourage our young people, veterans and the community at-large. He is actively involved in city events and loves being engaged with people.