In March, the Naperville Fire Department named Amy Scheller as its newest Deputy Chief, making her the first woman to hold the position.
Celebrating Scheller’s Promotion
The department recently held a ceremony at the municipal center to honor her alongside seven other promoted employees.
“It means a lot. I think it was solidified today as I was watching the promotions and the new members,” said Scheller. “The Deputy Chief position is an important role and I’m looking forward to learning a little bit more and moving forward.”
Local Experience
Scheller has served in the NFD for more than 20 years, starting with the department in 1998. She was also Naperville’s first female Fire Lieutenant about 10 years ago.
She hopes her promotion will be an inspiration to other young women.
“We have some women in our department now and I would love for them to be motivated by some of the accomplishments I’ve had,” said Scheller. “But I’m ready to move past and get to work. And I’m fortunate that I have a great network of mentors, role models, teachers that are both male and female.”
Both the fire department and the Naperville Police Department now have a woman serving at the second highest level of their organizations: Scheller and NPD Deputy Chief Kathy Anderson.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.