Life Safety, Emergency Management Specialist
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To introduce myself, I am Anthony, a born and raised Chicago native. I was born into a two-parent, four-child home. During my formidable years, my parents opened their home to almost a dozen neighborhood kids that needed a safer home environment, despite barely being able to keep a roof over our heads.
At 18 (Likely to free me of the craziness of a crowded home.) I enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, and after active duty, I served as a reservist, most of the time at Great Lakes Hospital or Hines Veterans Hospital. My initial focus was physical therapy school. I pivoted and altered my studies to become a Fire Fighter/Paramedic.
I worked as a line FF/Medic for over 27 years until I tore my shoulder while interior firefighting and was forced into retirement. I am passionate about crisis planning and Emergency Management (EM)/Life Safety planning. Beginning in 2006, I was on a team implementing standardized crisis plans in over 140 schools.
What attracted me to the EM role is the ability to make a significant impact and scale quickly to save lives and make meaningful changes. The high point in my EM career is bringing the Stop The Bleed program to kids in Lawndale, Austin, Garfield Park, and Englewood. And also hardening schools in Highland Park, Schaumburg, Mount Prospect, and others.
It is, unfortunately, needed.
During my tenure as a firefighter, paramedic (27.5 years), I worked three years in Elmwood Park, and Mount Prospect, Illinois. I was fortunate to have a broad and full career. Other than roles typically expected of a front line FF/Medic I was a member of MABAS Div. 1 as a technical rescue specialist (16 years) responding to challenging Hazardous Material, Infection Disease, and below and high grade rescues.
I have also served as EMT Coordinator, paramedic and Allied Health Educator, paramedic school educator, and taught in-station continuing education classes for the full breadth of my career. I have also severed for most of my career on Northwest Community and Lutheran General Hospitals regions as a committee member. In addition I have over a decade of experience working in hospital (Gottlieb, now Loyola) as both a Corpsman and Pacemaker/EKG analyst (Unique Medical Imaging, TransMed Corporation 10 years).
I have all the skills, attributes, experience to excel in this role. I am an experienced risk, resilience, and crisis management professional passionate about helping organizations identify, evaluate and manage risk capabilities. I have extensive experience developing crisis plans for schools and organizations that prepare and educate staff to assert themselves confidently during emergencies when life safety is at risk.
In addition to working as a pacemaker analyst I have worked on many design build projects for health clinics and facilities.
Firefighter/Paramedic | Mount Prospect & Elmwood Park Fire Departments, IL 1990 - 2018
Paramedic | EMT-B Coordinator | Greater Chicago, IL 1993-2015
Concordia University | Adjunct Instructor & Educator | River Forest, IL 2005 – present
Hazardous Materials Operations 11/09/1999
Hazardous Materials Technician 06/06/2003
Hazardous Materials Technician A 06/06/2003
(The National Fire Academy)
Rescue Specialist/Confined Space/ 11/02/1998
Rescue Specialist Vertical I 05/10/2000
Rescue Specialist Vertical II 12/01/2000
Rescue Specialist Structural Collapse 04/27/2001
Rescue Specialist Roadway Extrication 11/19/2001
Rescue Specialist Confined Space 12/18/2001
Structural Collapse Operations 06/03/2002
EMT-B Adjunct Facilitator Instructor 07/14/1995
EMT Paramedic 06/15/1990 Current as of 2023
I am a committed lifetime learner; most recently, I completed my Master's in Threat Response Management from the University of Chicago. During that time, with the encouragement of my Capstone Advisor (A Nuclear Biologist at the Argonne National Lab) and the help of the Georgia Trauma Foundation leader Billy Kunkle. We (myself and fellow capstone co-author, Chicago Police Department Officer B.S.) set the goal of creating a deliverable for crisis planning and preparedness.
In support of the Presidential Preparedness Directive 8 (PPD8), we brought the Stop, the Bleed program to community grassroots organizations. We trained hundreds of allied health professionals and teachers to pass the lessons to students and lay personnel.
I am working toward being an accredited International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) member.
EDUCATION & TRAINING The University of Chicago, Master of Science in Threat and Response Management | Chicago, IL June 2019
Hospital Corpsman U.S. Navy Reserves 1987-1993
