Final Palisades Podcast Episode of 2020 to Feature Chief Hogan

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Rounding out a year of interesting guests, the final episode of the Palisades Podcast to be released in 2020, hosted by longtime community members Maryam Zar and Steve Cron, will feature LAFD Deputy Chief and Commander of the West Bureau Armando Hogan—who has garnered more than 37 years of service.

“In recent years, with the increase in wildfires in and around the Palisades, Chief Hogan has been a fixture in our community,” Cron explained ahead of the episode. “He has spoken on numerous occasions with community groups in the Palisades about fire prevention and firefighting techniques.”

Hogan has served as community liaison officer for LAFD, where he represented the fire chief as his spokesperson, Cron said, as well as a firefighter, inspector, captain, battalion chief and assistant chief in various communities throughout Los Angeles.

“After serving as Assistant Bureau Commander for Operations West Bureau, he was promoted to Deputy Chief and Commander of West Bureau in February 2018, where he serves now as the Bureau Commander with the rank of Deputy Chief,” Cron added.

Hogan’s area of command includes Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles International Airport, the LAX coastal communities, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Griffith Park, Silver Lake, the hillsides and canyon communities that border Hollywood, Bel Air, and West Los Angeles, including UCLA.

“Chief Hogan has become a friend of the Palisades,” Cron said. “The community first met him when he spoke at a [Pacific Palisades] Community Council meeting about fire danger in the Palisades.”

He has since been a guest at a safety meeting at Palisades Charter High School, which was hosted by Zar, then the chair of PPCC. Since that meeting, he has stayed in touch with the Palisades and its community leaders, including Cron, who invited Hogan to speak about fire safety at an assembly at Calvary Christian School that was attended by more than 180 residents—many of which reside in the Highlands.

“Chief Hogan has since participated in the PAPA Fourth for July Palisades Parade,” Cron said, “and has kept the community abreast of important safety and fire updates and current events with regular emails.”

Hogan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in emergency services management from the Union Institute and University and a master’s degree in leadership from the University of Southern California, attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cron explained. There, he received an executive certificate for his participation in the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.

“Chief Hogan has been married to his lovely wife, Marcia, for 27 years, and has two adult children,” Cron explained. “He is a gifted speaker and knows everything there is to know about fire danger in the Palisades.”

The Palisadian-Post has partnered with Zar and Cron to present the Palisades Podcast. Each month, an interview, hosted by Zar and Cron, will be released, highlighting extraordinary lives listeners might not have otherwise had a chance to meet.

Previous guests include Anne Kerr-Adams, Lisa Sweetingham Wallin, PPCC Chair David Card and Councilmember Mike Bonin.

“Tune in for a great conversation with this remarkable man and extraordinary public servant this month, at the Palisades Podcast,” Cron concluded.

To listen to this episode of Palisades Podcast and more, visit palipost.com/palipodcast.