About Jesse D. Free, C.D.
Learning Strategist. Instructional Design Leader. Community Steward. Canadian Armiger.
I Design Learning That Works.
My name is Jesse Free, a Learning Strategist and Instructional Design Leader based out of Waterloo Region, Ontario. My practice is built on over twenty years of designing and delivering training that transfers from the classroom to the job, across military, emergency services, municipal government, and corporate contexts.
Fox Niner Group exists because good training isn't accidental. It's designed, deliberate, methodical, and always with the learner's actual performance in mind.
Background
Background & Expertise
My instructional design practice spans leadership development, emergency services training, municipal government, and adult professional education. I work from first principles: starting with what the learner actually needs to do differently, then designing backwards from that outcome.
Current and recent engagements include the design and delivery of a comprehensive 13-module Leadership Development Programme for a Crown Corporation, spanning four leadership levels from Team Lead to Director.
I hold credentials as an NFPA Fire Service Instructor I and Fire & Life Safety Educator II, am certified in Situational Leadership II, and am pursuing the Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation through the Institute for Performance & Learning.
Beyond the classroom, I bring extensive experience in ceremonial leadership, such as a licensed marriage officiant (Ontario Registration No. 77006), Ceremonial and Parade Commander, and memorial and civic ceremony facilitator. This work draws on the same discipline and attention to protocol that defines my instructional practice: every ceremony, like every training programme, succeeds through careful design and precise execution.
Credentials & Honours
Six Areas of Practice
Instructional Design & Training
- CTDP Pathway — Institute for Performance & Learning (I4PL)
- Situational Leadership II — The Ken Blanchard Companies
- eLearning Facilitator Certificate
- Certified Project Officer (CPO) — Institute of Project Management
- Public Information Officer — NFPA 1035 (IFSAC)
Security & Protective Services
- Certified Master Elite Instructor-Trainer (CMEI-T) — ATAB
- Certified in Security Supervision & Management (CSSM) — IFPO
- Certified Protection Officer Instructor (CPOI) — IFPO
- Situation Awareness Specialist — Advanced Practitioner (SAS-AP)
- Ontario Security Guard Licence — Ministry of the Solicitor General
Fire & Emergency Services
- Fire Service Instructor I — NFPA 1041 (IFSAC)
- Fire & Life Safety Educator II — NFPA 1035 (IFSAC)
- Fire & Life Safety Educator I — NFPA 1035 (IFSAC)
- Firefighter II — NFPA 1001 (IFSAC)
- Hazardous Materials Operations — NFPA 1072 (IFSAC)
Honours & Service
- Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers — Governor General of Canada
- Canadian Forces Decoration (C.D.)
- Heraldic Bearings — Canadian Heraldic Authority, Vol. VIII p. 371
- Captain (Retired) — Canadian Armed Forces
- Commanding Officer, 104 "Starfighter" RCACS (two appointments)
Indigenous Relations
- Certificate in Indigenous Studies — University of Alberta
- Indigenous Learning Series (5 courses) — Canada School of Public Service
- Aboriginal Awareness — Canadian Armed Forces / DND
- Introduction to Aboriginal Consultations — Government of Canada
Ceremonial & Celebrant
- Registered Marriage Officiant — Province of Ontario (Reg. No. 77006)
- Certificate of Appointment — CSMC
- Parade Commander and Civic Ceremony Facilitator
Rooted in Waterloo Region
I am an active volunteer and first responder within my community. These roles reflect the same values that guide my professional practice: readiness, reliability, and showing up for the people around you.