President’s Guild
Chaplain Larry Grihalva, J.D., MICP
Clinical Director Continuing Education, National Center for Chaplain Development
Larry Grihalva holds three professional licenses as an attorney, chaplain, and paramedic, with over 25 years’ experience in the field of prehospital emergency medical care. Larry holds a B.A. degree from UCLA, and a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. Prior to becoming Costa Mesa Fire Department’s first Emergency Medical Services Coordinator in 2001, Larry served as a Paramedic for the Los Angeles Fire Department, a Faculty Instructor at Daniel Freeman Paramedic School, and a Senior Director for the American Heart Association. In addition to his regular duties, Larry serves as a Basic Life Support Regional Faculty Instructor for the American Heart Association, and as Chairman of the California State Firefighters Association EMS Committee. Larry is certified as a DOHS/CONTOMS Tactical Medical Director and as an OCIAC Terrorism Liaison Officer, and holds multiple prehospital medical certifications. Larry also holds multiple firearms instructor certifications from the National Rifle Association and California Department of Justice. In his off-duty time, Larry is actively involved in his church and nephew’s Boy Scout troop. He enjoys playing guitar and drums, family activities, reading, and Bible study.
Sr. Chaplain Lee Shaw
Law Enforcement and Fire Service Chaplaincy of Napa
Lee has served in many ministries and was ordained in 1980 at Calvary Chapel of Napa, California. He later became the founder and Senior Pastor of Morning Star Christian Fellowship of Napa serving that congregation for almost twelve years (1985 – 1996).
While serving as a pastor, Lee became interested in the Chaplaincy ministry. After some initial training he was invited by then Police Chief Dan Monez to serve as Chaplain for the Napa Police Department (1996). After much consideration, further training, and some encouragement from close friends, he became Napa’s first Chaplain. Lee then became the founder and Senior Chaplain for the Law Enforcement and Fire Chaplaincy of Napa County.
Lee currently serves ten law enforcement and fire service agencies in the city and county of Napa, California, making sure that each agency gets their fair share of donuts. He also serves as an Intermittent Chaplain for the California Veterans Home Memorial Chapel in Yountville, CA. In addition to his role as Senior Chaplain where he supervises a team of Chaplains, his professional affiliations have included the Federation of Fire Chaplains (FFC), the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC), The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (AAETS), and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).
Lee and his wife, Mary, had the privilege of serving extensively at “Ground Zero” in New York after the collapse of the World Trade Center, September 11th, 2001 – going back to New York three times under the auspices of the Red Cross SAIR Team, Peace Officers for Christ, and another time to exclusively attend FDNY funerals to show support for our American heroes. Lee and Mary also served extensively at Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA., during the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.
The primary purpose of the chaplain program is to provide immediate services to law enforcement personnel, fire fighters, community agencies, and to local citizens through crisis intervention skills so vital during times of extreme difficulties. Some of their services include assisting at SWAT operations, death notifications, suicides, fatal accidents, domestic disturbances, and to respond to assist and support victims and witnesses of crime, critical incidents, and other traumatic events.
The chaplain’s assistance not only help the officers and fire fighters in their personal lives but also relieves them of duties for which they are not specifically trained, therefore helping them to stay focused on what they know and do best – protecting our citizens. Thus the program has a positive and profound impact on both our law enforcement agencies, fire services, and on our community.
Lee is a Master Certified Chaplain with the International Conference of Police Chaplains, a certified ICPC Trainer, a member of the ICPC Disaster Response Team, a Board Certified Crisis Chaplain with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, a member of the Billy Graham Evangelical Rapid Response Team and has a Masters Degree in Chaplaincy Ministry. He has received extensive training in Critical Incident Stress Management through ICISF, including six certificates in specialized training from ICISF. Lee and his wife Mary have lived in the Napa Valley since 1976. They have three children and three grandchildren
Sr. Chaplain Steve Ballinger
Living Shield Ministries
Chaplain Steve was on staff at Harvest Christian Fellowship as an associate pastor from March 1993 until August 2008. Prior to entering into full-time ministry, Steve was employed with the Riverside City Fire Department for 19½ years. He was a firefighter for eight years, and a fire suppression captain for 11½ years.
Chaplain Steve knows the type of society that the men and women of law enforcement and the fire service have to deal with on a daily basis. He understands how discouraged they can become on the job. He knows how jaded they can become towards those they care for and love the most—their family. He is very familiar with the effects their job can have upon them and their family members. He is acquainted with the anger that can arise as they see the tragic aftermath of a drunk driver, or the results of a domestic violence call. He has experienced the stress of having to deal with personnel problems on the job. He can identify with the difficulty in performing their job. His desire is to help these men and women perform better both in the workplace and at home.
Chaplain Steve founded the Shield of Faith Ministry in 1993 which was an outreach for police officers, firefighters and their families in order to encourage them in their profession and spiritual walk. After 14 years the ministry ended in order that he could focus more on his chaplaincy work.
Chaplain Steve was a chaplain with the Riverside Sheriff Department (Jurupa Valley) for three years prior to taking the lead chaplain role for the Riverside Police and Fire Department. He is a member of the Cal-Fire Chaplain Corps, Southern California Chaplain Association (SCCA), OES Chaplaincy, International Conference of Police Chaplains, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), National Center of Chaplain Development (NCCD), The Counseling Team International (TCTI), and the BGEA Rapid Response Team.
Chaplain Steve has received training in and is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management, including four certificates of Specialized Training. Chaplain Steve is an Approved Instructor with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), able to train others in Law Enforcement Perspectives for CISM Enhancement, Grief Following Trauma, and Pastoral Crisis Intervention I and II. He is also a trainer for National Center for Chaplain Development (NCCD).
Chaplain Steve has trained up a crisis counseling response team in his church that is able to respond to the aftermath of any critical incident in order to provide emotional and spiritual care and support. He has also had the opportunity to train other police and fire chaplains from different agencies.
Chaplain Steve is a volunteer member of The Counseling Team International (TCTI) which responds to critical incidents to assist in debriefings after a line-of-duty-death or other major crisis. He has been directly involved with line-of-duty-deaths of police officers and firefighters from different agencies (Riverside Police Department, Riverside Fire Department, California Department of Forestry, California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriff Department, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, Rialto Police Department).
Chaplain Steve spent 16 days in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attack against America providing emotional and spiritual care to many members of NYPD and FDNY at ground Zero. He took two teams of chaplains to New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustov to minister to the New Orleans Police Department and Fire Department. He has been to Washington D.C. for National Police Week on four occasions where he has assisted in debriefing and counseling police officers and family members of those who had been killed in the line-of-duty.
In 2008, Chaplain Steve, along with three other chaplains from across the United States, spent eight days in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis devastated the region and killed over 100,000 people. While there he was able to assist in training 44 pastors in trauma and grief counseling in order for them to provide crisis intervention to their church body and community.
Chaplain Steve and his wife, Sonja, have been married for 29 years and reside in Riverside, California. They have four sons and nine grandchildren.
Chaplain Don Higgins
Tracy Police Department
Don has served since 1994 with the Tracy Police Department as a volunteer chaplain. He and his wife, Carol, arrived in Tracy in 1984, planting a church called Crossroads Christian Church, where they pastored for 20 years. After merging Crossroads with a sister church in 2004, Don served as staff pastor and grief counselor with Fry Memorial Chapel and in 2007 was hired by the City of Tracy to work in the Finance Department.
Chaplain Don is an ordained minister and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Theology. He is a Master Certified Chaplain with the International Conference of Police Chaplains, also serving since 2002 as the Northern California representative for the ICPC. He is certified in Advanced CISM , Post Trauma Syndromes and Suicide Intervention with the ICISF. Chaplain Don served with the Port Authority PD CISM teams at the World Trade Center disaster site following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and was a member of an ICPC Advance Team responding to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He was awarded the Tracy Police Department Outstanding Service Award in December, 2001 and the Meritorious Service Medal in June, 2007. Don is an original member of the California POST Chaplain Standards Committee, whose work was interrupted by the 9/11 attacks, and is currently advising on the completion of that work. He is also a founding member of the California Law Enforcement Chaplain Consortium.
Don and Carol have been married 32 years and have raised 4 sons.
Chaplain Steve Lowe
Pacific Youth Correctional Ministries
Pacific Youth is an evangelical Christian 501(c)(3) non-profit California corporation. Incorporated in 1985, Pacific Youth provides chaplains, para-chaplains and Christian institutional volunteers in correctional settings (juvenile halls, camps, ranches, shelter care homes, jails and prisons) and in community settings (gang intervention, family guidance and training or consulting for other agencies).
With a primary focus on delinquent youth, Pacific Youth targets county juvenile facilities. Incarcered youth need immediate intervention to help curtail a delinquent career that often continues to age 24. Effective correctional ministry (including chapel services, Bible studies, one-on-one counseling and discipleship, aftercare and sensitizing the Christian community to the needs of troubled youth) shortens delinquent life spans and protects the community at large from prolonged criminal activity.
As a chaplain placing organization, correctional administrators can be confident that each Pacific Youth staff person is fully trained, certified in their capacity and closely supervised. It is the mission of Pacific Youth to pursue excellence in the delivery of religious programming and services.
Each Pacific Youth staff member is an independent contractor who must raise his or her personal funding and ministry expenses as a home/foreign missionary. These monies come form foundations, churches, grants and concerned individuals who believe investing in youth at risk is a sound stewardship that promises immediate as well as eternal rewards.