About

Scott Foens is a historian who writes about emergency services and disaster history. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wichita State University, a Master of Arts in History from the University of Nebraska, and MBA from Saint Ambrose University. In 1993, he was inducted into the Gamma Rho chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national History Honor Society and recognized by the History Department staff at Wichita State with the John Lowell Ryjord, Jr. award for his senior thesis. While attending graduate school at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, SALUTE, the Veterans’ National Honor Society invited him to become a charter member in that school’s chapter. Scott's education goes beyond the history discipline to include training as an Emergency Medical Technician and paramedic in 1983.

In addition to his first book, Green Mountain, Scott wrote articles commemorating the birth of America’s modern emergency medical services systems through President Lyndon Johnson’s Highway Safety Act of 1966. Additionally, he composed another article for Emergency magazine that examined Medicare’s reimbursement approach to out-of-hospital acute care for those sixty-five and older.

When not writing, Scott often presents his ongoing research at both the Northern Great Plains History Conference and the Southwest Social Sciences conferences. He has presented papers on aspects of the Green Mountain derailment, rise and fall of grassroots enthusiasm for direct regulation of railroad rates in Iowa during the 1880s, and Iowa’s English-only mandate in 1918 by Governor William Harding. He serves as the Vice Chairman of the Marion Historic Preservation commission, leads a local history book club, and is a member of the American Historical Association.

Scott is a United States Air Force veteran who served two years, working for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and another two years detailed to the United States Air Force Europe command at Iraklion Air Station on the island of Crete and was on a temporary assignment to the unit assigned to support the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

After living throughout the United States, Scott returned to his home state in 2000 where he currently lives with his wife, Linda. He has 3 children, Nik, Sydnei and Fayde, who also live in Iowa.