ݮӰ.com Editorial Advisory Board
The Editorial Advisory Board, comprised of some of the foremost experts in prehospital care, will work closely with ݮӰ editors and columnists to provide expert review of content and ensure that the sites’ quality and breadth of coverage of EMS issues continues to expand and improve. The board members will focus on the accuracy and utility of crucial information and resources made available to EMTs and paramedics across ݮӰ’s network of sites, as well as providing insight into trends of note for expanded coverage efforts.
Maria Beermann-Foat, PhD, MBA, NRP, has over 20 years of prehospital emergency care experience in privately-owned, hospital-based and county government-based emergency services. Dr. Beermann-Foat has served the community of Johnson County (Kan.) since 1999 and currently serves as a battalion chief of operations for MED-ACT- Emergency Medical Services. Since first joining the department as a paramedic, she moved up the ranks in the roles of community education officer/PIO, captain/field training officer, battalion chief of training, and division chief of quality management.
Through her position as a course developer and instructor for the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland – operated by FEMA – her efforts have contributed toward preparing fire department and EMS department administrators in the areas of quality management and application of research methods for organizational improvement.
Dr. Beermann-Foat received the 2019 Emerging Leader Award, during the Pinnacle EMS Leadership conference, from Fitch & Associates.
Dr. Beermann-Foat holds a Ph.D. in Organization Management from Capella University and a Masters of Business Administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She is currently completing coursework to obtain a city and county management certificate from the University of Kansas. She holds a six sigma green belt certification through Johnson County Community College. She is a member of the International City and County Management Association (ICMA), the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA), and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Kansas City Section. She has also held a position on the Diversity and Equity Committee for Johnson County Government since 2017.
Catherine R. Counts, PHD, MHA, is a health services researcher with Seattle Medic One in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She received both her PhD and MHA from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Counts has research interests in domestic healthcare policy, quality, patient safety, organizational theory and culture, and pre-hospital emergency medicine. She is a member of the National Association of EMS Physicians and AcademyHealth. In her free time she trains Bruno, her USAR canine.
Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, or her website, or reach out via email at ccounts@tulane.edu.
Ann Marie Farina, BS, is a mental health advocate and educator with deep ties to the first responder community. She currently operates All-Hazards Wellness, a mental wellness company based on the emergency management principles of preparation, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. From 2014 to 2020, she ran The Code Green Campaign, a first responder oriented non-profit organization focused on mental wellness in the workplace.
Between 2003 and 2016, Ann Marie worked as a paramedic and EMS educator in a variety of settings in Alaska and Washington. Ann Marie holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Central Washington University along with an Associate’s of Applied Science in Paramedicine from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Ann Marie is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. She can be reached at me@annmariefarina.com
Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.
He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.
Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.
Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for ݮӰ and is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.
Dan Limmer is a paramedic, educator and police officer who has been involved in public safety for more than 35 years. He has authored more than a dozen EMS textbooks including the Emergency Care textbook and is a frequent international conference speaker. He is the Chief Knowledge Officer at Limmer Education, a company he co-founded to publish high quality study and test prep programs. Limmer is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board.
Emily Pearce, BS, EMT-P, FAWM, DiMM is a paramedic and third-year medical student at the University of New Mexico. Emily has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and has been involved in EMS since 2008. She has worked as an EMT-Basic in rural Virginia, a search and rescue paramedic for the National Park Service in Grand Canyon National Park, and a prehospital educator and researcher at UNM.
Ernesto M. Rodriguez, MA, LP, is EMS chief (ret.), Austin-Travis County EMS.
David K. Tan, MD, EMT-T, FAEMS, is associate professor and chief of EMS in the division of emergency medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is double board-certified in Emergency Medicine and EMS Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Tan remains very active in EMS at the local, state and national levels as an operational medical director for local police, fire and EMS agencies. He is chairman of the Metropolitan St. Louis Emergency Transport Oversight Commission, vice-chairman of the Missouri State Advisory Council on EMS, and president of the National Association of EMS Physicians. Dr. Tan is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. He also provides medical direction to ݮӰ.com and the ݮӰ Academy.
She serves as one of the Louisiana Department of Health Region One EMS designated regional coordinators within the southeast area, responding to various emergencies where EMS support is needed or requested on a local/state level.
She has a PhD from Capella University in Public Safety/Emergency Management and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration from Loyola University in New Orleans.
Maria Beermann-Foat, PhD, MBA, NRP, has over 20 years of prehospital emergency care experience in privately-owned, hospital-based and county government-based emergency services. Dr. Beermann-Foat has served the community of Johnson County (Kan.) since 1999 and currently serves as a battalion chief of operations for MED-ACT- Emergency Medical Services. Since first joining the department as a paramedic, she moved up the ranks in the roles of community education officer/PIO, captain/field training officer, battalion chief of training, and division chief of quality management.
Through her position as a course developer and instructor for the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland – operated by FEMA – her efforts have contributed toward preparing fire department and EMS department administrators in the areas of quality management and application of research methods for organizational improvement.
Dr. Beermann-Foat received the 2019 Emerging Leader Award, during the Pinnacle EMS Leadership conference, from Fitch & Associates.
Dr. Beermann-Foat holds a Ph.D. in Organization Management from Capella University and a Masters of Business Administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She is currently completing coursework to obtain a city and county management certificate from the University of Kansas. She holds a six sigma green belt certification through Johnson County Community College. She is a member of the International City and County Management Association (ICMA), the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA), and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Kansas City Section. She has also held a position on the Diversity and Equity Committee for Johnson County Government since 2017.
Catherine R. Counts, PHD, MHA, is a health services researcher with Seattle Medic One in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She received both her PhD and MHA from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Counts has research interests in domestic healthcare policy, quality, patient safety, organizational theory and culture, and pre-hospital emergency medicine. She is a member of the National Association of EMS Physicians and AcademyHealth. In her free time she trains Bruno, her USAR canine.
Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, or her website, or reach out via email at ccounts@tulane.edu.
Ann Marie Farina, BS, is a mental health advocate and educator with deep ties to the first responder community. She currently operates All-Hazards Wellness, a mental wellness company based on the emergency management principles of preparation, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. From 2014 to 2020, she ran The Code Green Campaign, a first responder oriented non-profit organization focused on mental wellness in the workplace.
Between 2003 and 2016, Ann Marie worked as a paramedic and EMS educator in a variety of settings in Alaska and Washington. Ann Marie holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Central Washington University along with an Associate’s of Applied Science in Paramedicine from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Ann Marie is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. She can be reached at me@annmariefarina.com
Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.
He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.
Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.
Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for ݮӰ and is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.
Dan Limmer is a paramedic, educator and police officer who has been involved in public safety for more than 35 years. He has authored more than a dozen EMS textbooks including the Emergency Care textbook and is a frequent international conference speaker. He is the Chief Knowledge Officer at Limmer Education, a company he co-founded to publish high quality study and test prep programs. Limmer is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board.
Emily Pearce, BS, EMT-P, FAWM, DiMM is a paramedic and third-year medical student at the University of New Mexico. Emily has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and has been involved in EMS since 2008. She has worked as an EMT-Basic in rural Virginia, a search and rescue paramedic for the National Park Service in Grand Canyon National Park, and a prehospital educator and researcher at UNM.
Ernesto M. Rodriguez, MA, LP, is EMS chief (ret.), Austin-Travis County EMS.
David K. Tan, MD, EMT-T, FAEMS, is associate professor and chief of EMS in the division of emergency medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is double board-certified in Emergency Medicine and EMS Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Tan remains very active in EMS at the local, state and national levels as an operational medical director for local police, fire and EMS agencies. He is chairman of the Metropolitan St. Louis Emergency Transport Oversight Commission, vice-chairman of the Missouri State Advisory Council on EMS, and president of the National Association of EMS Physicians. Dr. Tan is a member of the ݮӰ Editorial Advisory Board. He also provides medical direction to ݮӰ.com and the ݮӰ Academy.
She serves as one of the Louisiana Department of Health Region One EMS designated regional coordinators within the southeast area, responding to various emergencies where EMS support is needed or requested on a local/state level.
She has a PhD from Capella University in Public Safety/Emergency Management and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration from Loyola University in New Orleans.