Tell us a little bit about yourself 
My family and I moved to Eagle in 2016 from Portland, Maine where I was a medical resident in training. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in cell biology, Colorado State University with a master’s degree in cell and molecular biology, and the Medical College of Georgia with a doctorate in medicine. I am currently an emergency medicine physician at Vail Health and have been in practice here in the community for the past six years. My wife, Kirsten, and I have two children, Klara (age 9) and Katherine (age 5). Klara is in fourth grade at Brush Creek Elementary and Katherine attends Mountain Valley Lutheran Preschool.   

 Why do you want to join the ECPS Board of Directors?
As a practicing emergency medicine physician, I collaborate with ECPS each and every day at work. In my opinion, ECPS has done an amazing job over the past decades, working tirelessly to bring truly world-class, cutting-edge emergency medical services to our rural community. From the rise in our critical care paramedic numbers to the development of a dedicated Community Paramedic team, ECPS continues to grow and adjust to our community’s needs as well as the ever-changing healthcare landscape in which we practice. Led by a forward-thinking board and excellent medical director, we have attained a level of care that allows us to take care of nearly 6,000 patient encounters per year while covering almost 1,700 miles of terrain. I look forward to continuing this tradition as we pave the way forward for our organization and our community.

What are some of your prior board leadership experiences?
I believe that leadership and community involvement is at the core of community growth. Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of sitting on multiple committees and occupying various leadership positions, mostly in the healthcare setting.  Currently, I am the Chair of the Sepsis Committee at Vail Health and I sit on the Utilization Review Committee, the Medical Staff Excellence Committee, and the Trauma Committee at Vail Health.  During my time in these and other leadership roles, I have addressed issues such as physician engagement, resident education, medical staff education, and utilization review to ensure compliance with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. I look forward to bringing this diverse background to the ECPS Board of Directors.  I believe that my unique perspective will allow me to help bridge the gap between our community and our healthcare organizations and further elevate our care for all that we encounter. 

What skills, connections, resources, and expertise do you have to offer to our organization?
If given the opportunity to serve on this board, I will do so with the highest level of respect for our community, traditions and responsibilities while focusing on promoting access to cutting-edge paramedic services. I will do this by ensuring that we recruit the highest caliber of professionals to not only lead our organization but also to practice medicine in our community. Professionalism, respect, honesty and transparency will be at the core of my approach and I will aim to foster an environment that facilitates a seamless line of communication with all of our healthcare partners. As a practicing emergency medicine physician, I am positioned perfectly to form this bridge between EMS and clinical-based practices. In addition to this, I work closely with the current medical director of ECPS, Dr. Diana Hearne, who is also an emergency medicine physician at Vail Health. My experience serving on multiple committees at Vail Health and collaborating with EMS on a daily basis at work give me a unique set of skills and perspective that I believe will greatly benefit the ECPS Board of Directors and our community at large.

What are your hobbies and interests?
Eagle County is such a special place to live! When I am not at work in the hospital, you can find me riding and racing bicycles throughout our region, kayaking on our beautiful rivers, or exploring the mountains with my family. We love the variety of adventures that can be had in our community and fully embrace all four seasons.