Welcome to Day 3 Of The EMS Leadership Summit

About the Session:
In the remote Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska, scarcity is a strategy. Facing vast distances, limited resources, and an inexperienced Gen Z workforce, leaders adopted a "self-rescue" mindset. This reshaped recruitment and culture, driving advancements in training and clinical performance to ensure consistent care. Learn how to harness scarcity as a driver for innovation and resilience, applying these frontier lessons to EMS systems of any size.

About the Speaker:
Tracey is the Deputy Director of EMS for the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough, a frontier system spanning 25,000 square miles in Southcentral Alaska. A veteran paramedic, she spent more than 25 years in Newark, New Jersey, as a ground medic, educator, and flight medic before relocating north to help build Alaska’s only municipal third-service EMS agency. She is an inaugural recipient of the American Ambulance Association’s EMS Vanguard Award (2023) for her contributions to prehospital healthcare. She is an author, national speaker, and member of the EMS World Editorial Advisory Board.

About the Session:
Based on insights from the acclaimed book *Helping the Helpers*, co-authors Bonnie Rumilly, LCSW, EMT-B, and Lt. David Dachinger (Ret.) will highlight the unique challenges faced by EMS providers and EMS leaders and present actionable strategies to create a healthier work environment.

This presentation will explore the intricate layers of burnout, shame, and self-criticism that EMS personnel face, and we’ll uncover strategies to break the cycle of self-judgment, compassion fatigue, and provider burnout.

About the Speakers:
Bonnie Rumilly, LCSW, EMT-B, is a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and first responder mental health. A 24-year EMS veteran and retired Chief, Bonnie served as a clinician in Newtown following the Sandy Hook tragedy. She is a Certified EMDR therapist, a Clinical Director for the Fairfield County Trauma Response Team, and co-author of Helping the Helpers.

David Dachinger is a retired Fire Lieutenant and EMT with over 20 years of emergency services experience. A prominent advocate for responder wellness, David hosts the Responder Resilience and Igniting The Shift Within podcasts. He is a bestselling co-author of Helping the Helpers and serves as a peer coach for 22Zero, helping others navigate the complexities of trauma.

Together, Bonnie and David combine clinical expertise with decades of frontline experience to bridge the gap between emergency services and sustainable mental health.

About the Session:
In high-pressure environments, the ability to stay grounded, think clearly, and lead with purpose is what separates reaction from effective leadership. Drawing from 21 years of military service and real-world operational experience, Rob Cook shares practical insights on resilience, awareness, and mission-driven leadership. This talk explores how leaders can maintain clarity under stress, support the people around them, and reconnect to the deeper purpose behind their work. Through powerful storytelling and practical principles, Rob shows how awareness and adaptability allow leaders and teams to navigate uncertainty while maintaining wellbeing, resilience, and mission focus.

About the Speaker:
Rob helps leaders stay grounded and think clearly when pressure is high and the stakes are real. He is a business executive with RISARC and a 21-year U.S. Air Force veteran whose career has been defined by mission-focused leadership and resilience. His work centers on awareness, adaptability, and helping individuals and organizations stay steady as they navigate pressure and uncertainty. Drawing on decades of experience protecting critical assets and supporting high-level operations, Rob brings a practical “boots-on-the-ground” leadership perspective to life and business. He combines real-world operational experience with a people-first approach that emphasizes awareness, resilience, and team-driven success. Rob is passionate about equipping leaders with the mindset and practical tools needed to stay focused, make sound decisions, and lead effectively in complex environments.

About the Session:
The presentation will speak to how Wayfound engaged with a large organization who was tasked to provide wildfire support, including coordination of resources and fire suppression, to embed mental health supports throughout the wildfire season. We had mental health professionals who deployed to fire camps to be on the ground with fire suppression personnel, including firefighters, paramedics, engineers, etc., to provide in-the-milieu mental health supports to those who were engaged in frontline work. This is a novel approach to taking care of those working in a high-demand, high-stress environment. The presentation will discuss how the program came to be, what the training and deployment involved and the feedback gathered regarding the impact of the program.

About the Speaker:
Dr. McElheran is a clinical psychologist who is focused on developing, disseminating and evaluating novel interventions to support trauma-exposed professionals maintain their psychological wellness throughout their careers. She is the developer of the Before Operational Stress and Trauma-Informed Leadership programs. She continues to practice as a psychologist and embeds the learnings from those working on the frontline and in leadership positions to program development. Dr. McElheran is engaged routinely domestically and internationally to speak about proactive ways employers can take care of the psychological wellbeing of their personnel.

About the Session:
For the general public, EMS clinicians are often viewed as the super heroes saving lives and are ever present on the worst day of one’s life. However, the statistics demonstrate that, unlike Clark Kent who removes his Superman cape following the completion of a mission, the stoicism that exists within our profession is unhealthy and potentially deadly. This is a true emergency that needs to be urgently addressed in an effective, professional, and compassionate manner.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Carol Cunningham is State Medical Director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS, Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, and a board-certified emergency physician. She completed the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leadership Program and is the recipient of the 2021 University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2012 American Academy of Emergency Medicine James Keaney Leadership Award. She earned the Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education and was selected as the 2021 National Preparedness Leadership Initiative Meta-Leader of the Year.

About the Session:
With changes to DEA regulations, EMS organizations have to be aware of their compliance of controlled substances at many regulatory levels. Dr. Kazan will talk about not only the details of these changes, but how you can engage with medication experts (pharmacists) to optimize your supply chain.  

About the Speaker:
Dr. Clayton Kazan serves as the Medical Director for the Los Angeles County Fire Department and brings more than three decades of experience in EMS and Emergency Medicine. Since beginning his career as an EMT while attending University of California, Los Angeles in 1994, he has served in roles ranging from dispatcher and instructor to emergency physician and EMS medical director.

Dr. Kazan is board-certified in both Emergency Medicine and EMS and is a Fellow of both the American College of Emergency Physicians and the National Association of EMS Physicians. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

Since joining LA County Fire in 2015, Dr. Kazan has led numerous innovative and nationally recognized EMS initiatives focused on education, quality improvement, and advancing prehospital care.