Crystal Yates-Gale, MBA (she/her/hers)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Project Manager
cay43@drexel.edu

Ms. Crystal Yates-Gale is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Project Manager at the Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST). She oversees the FIRST Center's DEI research portfolio, including the development of the DEI FIRE Toolkit--an education, assessment, and training resource developed from best practices to advance DEI initiatives in the fire and rescue service.

Ms. Yates-Gale has over 23 years of experience in the fire and EMS industry. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance and Assistant Deputy Commissioner of EMS, gaining extensive leadership experience. In 2014, she led the effort to launch the EMS Community Risk Reduction and Mobile Integrated Health Unit which pursued innovative strategies to use patient-centered, mobile resources to reduce unplanned hospital visits and connect patients with substance use disorder to necessary care.

Ms. Yates-Gale is a long-time partner of the FIRST Center. During her time at PFD, she mentored the Firefighter Injury Research, Epidemiology, and Evaluation (FIRE) Fellows each summer, providing insight on EMS work from her time as both a paramedic and an EMS leader at PFD.

Her healthcare background is diverse and includes prehospital care, health insurance experience, and strengths-based family coaching. Ms. Yates is passioned about health equity and has served on a structured community action team focused on reducing maternal mortality. She was a member of the Advisory Committee for Cities Changing Diabetes in Philadelphia. She participated in the Philadelphia Resilience Project and OD Stat overdose mortality review committee. She also served as an EMS consultant for Primary Maternity Care in Milford, Connecticut.

Ms. Yates-Gale is a Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Leadership. The Commonwealth Fund's mission is to promote a high-performing, equitable healthcare system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable people. Ms. Yates-Gale received a BS in Professional Study from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Yale University School of Management. She also completed a certificate program at the Thomas Jefferson University Municipal Innovation Academy. She is a Philadelphia Leadership alumna.