Many people believe EMS careers are limited to a few possible jobs. A look at the 11 members of the NAEMT board of directors paints a very different picture. All have been involved in EMS for many years and most have backgrounds that began with EMS field work. Check out the possibilities and notice that most of these diverse careers are not confined to a single title.
No one job or title defines Ken Bouvier. He started his EMS career in 1974 at the Westwego, Louisiana, Volunteer Fire Department and from there moved into EMS, industrial firefighting and leadership, Hazmat, and international speaking, writing and training. Currently, he is the fire chief for Monsanto Company in Luling, Louisiana, and the special events coordinator for New Orleans EMS, as well as a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. Ken is still a volunteer firefighter at Westwego.
Putting in long hours and hard work over 29 years as a paramedic, a registered nurse, a trauma nurse specialist and a certified emergency nurse, educator and manager, Will Chapleau is currently the fire chief for the City of Chicago Heights Fire/EMS Department. Will is the chairman of NAEMT’s PHTLS division and is widely known as an international teacher and lecturer. He also serves on numerous national and international committees and projects.
CMSgt. Rick Ellis has been involved with EMS since 1978, serving with volunteer, paid and military services. He is currently a Nationally Registered paramedic and a certified emergency medical dispatcher and is the command functional manager for the office of the command surgeon, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Robins AFB in Warner Robins, Georgia. He provides oversight on operational and training issues for more than 5,000 enlisted medical personnel in nine Air Force specialties.
While washing limousine-style ambulances for his father’s ambulance business, Jerry Johnston got EMS is his blood in the early 1970s. He is currently EMS director at Henry County Health Center in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and manager of a BLS/ALS/Critical Care transport service located in Burlington, Iowa. Over the years, Jerry has worked in both private and hospital services as a basic provider, paramedic, training officer, paramedic instructor and education coordinator. He still loves running calls but also finds time to serve in a variety of national EMS leadership roles.
As a retired Chief Master Sergeant with the US Air Force and 33 years of EMS field and instructing experience, Bob Loftus has created an EMS education and consulting business in Marion, Illinois. In his business, Bob teaches CPR and first aid for two local American Heart Association Training Centers, as well as doing EMT-B continuing education program development for a local community college. Over the years, he has filled numerous state and national EMS leadership positions.
During his 25-year career, Gregg Lord has worked in both suburban and urban EMS as an EMT and then a paramedic. He rose through the ranks to become chief of EMS operations for the second busiest EMS system in New England in Worcester, Massachusetts, from which he retired four years ago. Lord holds a bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing his master’s. He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on EMS operations at high-impact incidents. He is also an adjunct faculty member for various universities and agencies, lecturing frequently on domestic preparedness and operations. Lord’s current position is as a senior policy analyst for EMS at the Homeland Security Policy Institute at the George Washington University. Previously, he had served as division chief for EMS for Cherokee County Fire Department in Cherokee County, Georgia, where he integrated EMS and the countywide fire department.
Rising through the ranks in one of the world’s largest EMS systems, Paul M. Maniscalco’s career has included roles in field response, command and management assignments in the communications division, training division, field services bureau, office of the chief of operations and commander of the special operations divisions. Previously, he served with suburban-based community volunteer EMS and also as a volunteer fire officer. He has worked on international capacity development projects, helping to build EMS systems and disaster response capacity in developing nations. He is currently a university professor, lecturer, author and internationally recognized terrorism and disaster expert, and he has numerous appointments and assignments with governmental and academic institutions. Along the way, he has earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration—public health and safety, a master of public administration degree, specializing in foreign policy and national security, and he is presently a candidate for a doctoral degree in organizational behavior with a focus on disaster management.
As a single mom working as a business manager in a hospital, Connie Meyer became a volunteer EMT in 1982. From that beginning, she went on to become a paramedic and is now a field training officer and EMS captain for Johnson County Med-Act in Olathe, Kansas. She orients and trains new providers and also is very active in a number of state and national associations.
Patrick Moore became interested in EMS when, as a member of a 4-wheel drive club, he and several friends started a volunteer ambulance service in the early 1970s to meet a local need. His career progressed through a variety of positions in the formation of both private and hospital-based ALS services that followed in his community. Pat served as operations coordinator for more than 21 years with Conway Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Response Team, where his knowledge and skills led him to his current position as Faulkner County, Arkansas, Coroner – a position he’s had since 1989. Besides being well-known as an expert death scene investigator, Pat is still involved in his state’s EMS educational conference and insists upon his staff’s continuing education by providing some of that education himself as he continues as an EMS educator.
Working for the government of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, John Roquemore is an EMS program compliance specialist, assuring that all the ambulances, personnel and provider organizations comply with regulations (local, state and national). His EMS career path included the U.S. Marine Corps, where he retired as a Master Sergeant, and medical training officer for a local volunteer fire department for over 20 years. John lectures and teaches nationally on disaster and terrorism preparedness related topics.
Combining EMS with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in business administration, Ed Sawicki continues his career by helping educate physicians and surgeons on medical devices with a Fortune 500 company. Along the way, Ed has worked as an EMT, intermediate, paramedic and eventually became a paramedic captain and EMS instructor with the San Francisco Fire Department.
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