INSTRUCTOR STAFF
Paula has 25 years of experience in Emergency and Trauma Health Care fields. She has held the positions of Trauma Coordinator and Trauma Educator within the Palm Beach County Health Care District, as well as having served on the Palm Beach County Trauma Ordinance Committee and Trauma Medical Review Committee. She holds a degree in Nursing from Youngstown State University and a degree in Health Care Administration from Florida Atlantic University.
John Holgerson
President/CEO
Masters in Business Administration, B.A. in Urban & Regional Economics, A.S in Fire Service Technology, A.S. in Emergency Services. 20 Years Fire Service Experience, Task Force Leader (Ret.) for FEMA USAR Task Force 2 in Miami, FL and Deputy Fire Chief (ret) for Key Biscayne Fire Rescue Department, Key Biscayne, FL.
John R. Diaz
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Program Manager
26 years in the fire service; Battalion Chief, Miami Dade Fire Rescue (Ret.). National Fire Academy Instructor and an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer. Mr. Diaz's most notable disaster operation was the Value Jet Crash as an Incident Commander.
Rick Sanda
South American Programs
Rick is a 20 plus year veteran and Technical Rescue Captain for the City of Miami, FL Fire Rescue Department. Currently Mr. Sanda holds the Safety Officer/Rescue Specialist for FEMA USAR Task Force 2 in Miami, FL and an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer.
James Cummins
Logistics Manager
USAR Connecticut Task Force One Logistics Specialist, with years of experience in equipment and transportation consulting. Mr. Cummins is also our point of contact for all outside private/government vendors, transportation security and vehicle maintenance.
Joe Sorrentino
Program Manager for CIDRE
A member of the City of Sunrise, FL Fire Rescue Department since 1983,
and Joe is a Captain assigned to the Technical Rescue Team and is also
a Planning Officer and Hazardous Materials Manager with FEMA's Miami Urban
Search & Rescue Task Force Team (FL-TF2). He is the program manager
for RTA's Disaster Management program and also the lead Rapid Intervention
Team and Firefighter Survival trainer for RTA.