OUTSTANDING FACULTY REPRESENTING REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

"Great speakers presenting invaluable information that will change your

  organization in every way."

- Pinnacle 2007 attendee

Pinnacle brings together the most knowledgeable, most experienced faculty on the topics presented. What's more, you'll have plenty of opportunities to network with presenters and peers in a relaxed, executive-level setting -- a Pinnacle exclusive.

Past presenters include:

BARRY BAGWELL is the assistant director of operations of the Mecklenburg County EMS Agency, which includes Charlotte, NC. He has guided the implementation of new processes and technologies that have significantly reduced response times.

DAVID CARTER is the director of FirstHealth EMS, a regional service in Pinehurst, NC. He previously directed the Children’s Hospital of Dallas Critical Care Transport Service. He has implemented multiple innovations that make a difference in the communities he serves.

PATRICIA DUKES is the chief of EMS for the City and County of Honolulu. She advanced through the ranks of her department, working her way up from the field. She is one of the few women in America leading a major EMS system.

JOSEPH (JAY) FITCH, PhD is the founder of the leading EMS/public safety consulting firm, Fitch & Associates. Jay has been an innovative advocate for improved public and private EMS systems and concepts for nearly 30 years. He is internationally recognized for his role in advancing modern EMS

GUILLERMO FUENTES earned a reputation as a deployment expert when he was the deputy director of operations for Urgentes-Santé, the EMS system for Montreal, Canada. He is currently the associate director of EMS for the Region of Niagara, Canada.

JOHN GARITZ is the former deputy fire chief in Springfield (OR), where he was responsible for EMS operations across a 2,000 square-mile urban and rural area. John served on the IAFC fee schedule negotiation team and now serves as the CEO of MedServ Patient Accounts Services in Platte City, Missouri.

FRANK GRESH is chief information officer for Paramedics Plus in Tulsa/Oklahoma City. Frank understands technology requirements for both communications and administrative applications.

DAVID HARRAWOOD is the former executive director of Sarasota County (FL) Emergency Services and was responsible for the County’s fire department, EMS, emergency management, 9-1-1 operations and beach lifeguards. He is known as a champion for the implementation of performance excellence principles and outcome measures.

DOUG HOOTEN is the director of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust (MAST), the public utility model system serving Kansas City (MO), and one of the earliest high-performance EMS systems. Doug previously directed services in Tennessee and Texas.

RICHARD A. KELLER is a partner with Fitch & Associates, the leading public safety consulting firm. He has developed and reviewed many major EMS system designs in North America. With nearly 25 years of consulting experience, Rick specializes in the economics of high quality air and ground EMS.

CHUCK KEARNS is the director of the Pinellas County (FL) Fire and EMS Administration, which contracts with 43 agencies. The agency responds to more than 150,000 EMS service requests per year. Chuck has a unique perspective on what it takes to be successful in today’s environment.

NADINE LEVICK, MD, MPH is an emergency medicine physician and academic. An internationally recognized vehicle safety research specialist, she is the founder of Objective Safety and the EMS Safety Foundation.

BRIAN MCGRATH is a principal at CAD North, Inc., where he developed a real-time adaptive CAD training simulator. He is formerly the manager of communications systems for Toronto EMS, the largest municipal EMS provider in Canada.

BRIAN MAGUIRE, Dr.PH previously was on the faculty in the Emergency Health Services Management graduate program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. His research focus is the occupational safety and health of the EMS workforce.

JERRY OVERTON is the executive director of Richmond (VA) Ambulance Authority. He is a former president of AAA and served as a member of the National Academies of Science IOM/EMS Committee. Jerry has provided technical assistance to EMS systems in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada.

JOE PENNER is the director of the Mecklenburg EMS Agency in Charlotte, NC. MEDIC serves as a technology innovation incubator for EMS. Last year the service won the Pinnacle Award. Joe is known as a leader who encourages excellence and leads by example.

PAUL E. PHRAMPUS, MD is the director of the Peter W. Winter Center for Simulation Evaluation and Research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

MARK POSTMA is the chief operations officer of the Sunstar EMS system serving Pinellas County, Florida, the third largest multi-jurisdictional system in the United States. Prior to Sunstar, Mark was the executive director of MEDIC EMS in Davenport, Iowa.

EDWARD M. RACHT, MD is the full-time medical director for the City of Austin/Travis County EMS System. He has been involved in EMS for 20 years and is active at the state, national and international levels. His presentation style is unique, cutting across clinical, administrative and motivational arenas.

TERENCE RAMOTAR is a leading fleet and logistics director. He is director for support services for Sunstar EMS in Pinellas County, Florida.

ANDREW RAND is the director of Advanced Medical Transport, a high-performance, not-for-profit organization serving communities in five Illinois counties. AMT is known for innovation and charitable reinvestment in the communities it serves.

ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ is the deputy director of Austin-Travis County EMS. He has worked extensively in public utility model and third-service organizations. He formerly served as director of field operations for the MedStar system in Fort Worth, Texas.

JOHN SINCLAIR is the current chair of the EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and serves as chief of the Kittitas County (WA) Fire Dist. 2.

TODD STOUT is the chief executive officer of Stout Solutions, based in Encinitas, Calif. He has been involved in improving productivity and pioneering early detection systems, situational awareness and data awareness software in the EMS community.

MIKE TAIGMAN is an educator, author, consultant, former paramedic and lifelong student. Mike consults on a variety of human resource, leadership, organizational development and labor relations issues.

JONATHAN WASHKO has held several leadership positions in high-performance EMS systems. Recognized as one of the top operational system design engineers in public safety, he is a skilled system status manager and deployment planner. He currently serves as the communications director at the Regional EMS Authority in Reno, Nevada.

DAVID M. WILLIAMS is a senior associate at Fitch & Associates, the leading public safety consulting firm. He is the researcher and author of the annual JEMS 200-City Survey and Salary and Workforce Survey. A PhD candidate exploring EMS organizational systems, he is formerly a commander with the Austin- Travis County (TX) EMS system.

MIKE WILLIAMS is vice president of the Regional EMS Authority serving Reno, Nevada, and formerly served as Florida's state EMS director. He led Grady Health Systems EMS in providing 9-1-1 service to Atlanta, and was also responsible for implementing demand-based deployment. He has also served as CEO/vice president of Southwest Operations for American Medical Response.

CHRISTINE M. ZALAR is a partner at Fitch & Associates coordinating the firm’s air medical programs and consulting. Her experience in hospital based emergency and trauma services has made her a leader in integrating prehospital programs into the core business of hospitals.