QUINCY, MA -- The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) has announced that Elizabeth Willi, public information officer for Palm Harbor Fire Rescue in Florida, has been named the 2026 Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year.

Willi will be formally recognized at the annual Stars at Night Awards gala during the NFPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 21.

Each year, the Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year award recognizes a dedicated educator who is employed by a local fire department or fire marshal’s office in the U.S. or Canada and consistently utilizes NFPA’s materials, demonstrating outstanding service and creativity in addressing the community’s evolving fire safety needs.

Willi brings more than 20 years of leadership in fire and life safety education, building a sustainable, community-wide prevention model grounded in NFPA programs and resources. By integrating NFPA materials into lesson planning, outreach, and long-term initiatives, she has institutionalized prevention efforts beyond traditional campaigns. She has delivered targeted education to high-risk populations, including kitchen fire safety programs for older adults in low-income housing facing language barriers, and NFPA-based curricula for teens through her Safe Sitter program. Her innovative outreach, including quarterly utility bill inserts that brought NFPA messaging to every household in her community, demonstrates her commitment to making life-saving information accessible to all.

Willi serves as chair of the Pinellas Council of Safe Kids Florida Suncoast and vice chair of the Safe Kids Florida Suncoast Executive Board, overseeing safety initiatives across five counties. Through collaborations with the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida State Fire Marshals Association, and the Red Cross, she has supported the distribution of carbon monoxide alarms and smoke alarms using NFPA messaging. A certified CPR instructor and Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Instructor, Willi leads car seat certification trainings, mentors technicians, and works tirelessly to ensure families have access to certified assistance. During the 2024 hurricane season, she helped distribute nearly 300 car seats to families impacted by flooding—demonstrating her ongoing commitment to data-driven, community-focused safety.