Obama Leader fights fires and changes lives

As California grapples with devastating wildfires, 2023 United States Leader Royal Ramey, co-founder and CEO of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (Opens in a new tab) (FFRP), is meeting the moment. His organization empowers formerly incarcerated individuals and others from marginalized communities to become firefighters, addressing critical labor shortages in wildfire prevention and response while transforming lives in the process.

“The idea for FFRP started when I was part of California’s fire camps that trains and deploys incarcerated people to fight wildfires while making less than $30 a day. I realized there had to be a way for us to transition this experience into a real career once I returned to my community,” Royal reflects.

Launching FFRP was no small feat for Royal, who had to confront the stigma surrounding his incarceration.

Since its inception, FFRP has graduated over 300 individuals.Today, several of FFRP’s graduates, who were incarcerated before their training with FFRP, are working alongside the more than 1,000 incarcerated firefighters deployed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to help contain the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

Royal says graduation day is his favorite part of the year. “Seeing our graduates celebrating with their family and friends—we know how much this day means not just to them, but to their communities as well,” he shares. “This is a celebration of landing a career that will sustain their families for generations to come.”

He credits the Obama Leaders USA program for helping him refine his leadership skills. 

“The Obama Leaders curriculum taught me how to navigate tough conversations and communicate effectively with decision makers,” he says. “It gave me tools to advocate for real change and put myself at the table where solutions are made.”

He says FFRP isn’t just about training firefighters—it’s about breaking cycles, creating opportunities, and protecting communities.

“If someone is good enough to fight fires in prison, they’re good enough to do it when they come home,” he says, referencing California’s AB 2147 (Opens in a new tab), which allows formerly incarcerated firefighters to have their records expunged and pursue professional fire service careers.

“There are 300 million acres in California that need treatment. Fires are only getting worse, and we can’t afford to wait,” he says, highlighting the urgency of addressing the labor gap while mitigating wildfire risks.

Through it all, Royal remains hopeful. 

“Hope is real, and it’s transformative,” he says. Seeing participants move from incarceration to six-figure salaries motivates him to keep going. “When they look at someone who’s been through what they have, it inspires them to believe they can do it too.”

In 2022, the program expanded to the Bay Area.

“There’s so much untapped potential in Northern California, and we’re committed to reaching those communities,” he says. However, he warns, the stakes are high: “If we don’t act, more towns will burn. Prevention is the key and we are unlocking the full potential in our communities to be part of this solution.”

Royal’s journey with FFRP is captured in a TED Talk (Opens in a new tab) and in the upcoming documentary Firebreak (Opens in a new tab), a four-year project chronicling the program’s origins. “It shows how we started out in a parking lot, just trying to figure things out. Watching it, I see how far we’ve come—not just me as a leader, but the organization as a whole. It’s a testament to the grind and growth of this mission.”

For Royal, his mission is clear: service. 

“I wanted to be a cornerstone for breaking the cycle of hopelessness in marginalized communities,” he says. “If everyone gives, everyone receives.”

Know an Obama Leader, Scholar, or alum helping with fire recovery?

Please share their information with us at leadersusa@obama.org.

Resources led by our alumni and partners for those impacted by the LA wildfires: