2026 CONFERENCE SPEAKERS A-L

Dr. Antevy is a nationally recognized EMS physician, educator, and innovator dedicated to advancing prehospital care. Dr. Antevy is the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Handtevy and serves as EMS Medical Director for multiple fire-rescue agencies in Florida, providing medical oversight for more than 2,500 paramedics. Board-certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and Emergency Medical Services, he is widely known for his work in improving patient safety, pediatric emergency care, medication safety, and evidence-based EMS practice.

A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Dr. Antevy has educated thousands of EMS clinicians, nurses, physicians, and first responders across the United States and internationally. His contributions to EMS have earned numerous national awards and recognition for leadership, innovation, and excellence in prehospital medicine. Through his clinical practice, research, and educational initiatives, Dr. Antevy continues to champion safer, higher-quality care for patients and providers alike. 

Abby Bailey is the Hub/Program Manager for the Pediatric Pandemic Network at Norton Children's Hospital. With more than 20 years of experience in EMS, emergency preparedness, critical care transport, and healthcare leadership, she works with healthcare and emergency response partners to strengthen pediatric disaster readiness and resilience. Abby is a paramedic instructor, PsySTART trainer, and graduate of Columbia Southern University's Master of Public Administration program with a concentration in Emergency Management.

Dr Braithwaite has been a national EMS leader, including leadership roles with ACEP, NAEMSP and ITLS.  She has been an academic EMS physician, medical director for several air and ground EMS agencies, and state medical director for Missouri.  She currently serves as Medical Director of Patient Flow and Utilization Management at the Veterans Administration Sierra Nevada Healthcare System and has the honor of providing subject matter expertise in service to development of the VA National Emergency Ambulance Service program.

Remle Crowe is an expert in EMS research and quality improvement. Prior to earning her PhD in public health from The Ohio State University, her EMS career began as a volunteer EMT and instructor with the Red Cross in Mexico City, where she also worked at Ford Motor Company as a Powertrain Quality engineer certified as a Black Belt in Six Sigma. Now, Dr. Crowe blends her background in research and improvement science to improve community health and safety through the power of data as Senior Director of Research and Data Enablement at ESO in Austin, Texas.

Joseph Finney is a Washington University pediatric emergency medicine and EMS physician.  Dr. Finney is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine, and emergency medical services (EMS). He serves as the director of EMS at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Missouri EMS for Children Director of Prehospital Readiness. Dr. Finney is committed to simplifying the prehospital care of children through interactive education, research, and quality improvement. In addition to his clinical and educational activities, Dr. Finney focuses his time on prehospital research in pediatric seizure management and manual ventilation with particular interest in the use of ketamine for prehospital benzodiazepine refractory status epilepticus.

Captain Freshman is a young, driven fire service leader serving as the Public Education Officer and Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Coordinator for the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District. She work to develop data-driven MIH strategies that reduce 911 call volume, improve patient outcomes, and enhance system efficiency.

Her leadership style has been shaped by experience in high-volume EMS systems, where she developed a deep understanding of operational strain, system gaps, and the realities faced by crews on the street. That perspective fuels her passion for identifying and filling critical voids within EMS systems while strongly advocating for the paramedics on the floor.

Her work focuses on leveraging analytics, proactive outreach, and strong public relations to build community trust, support fire district members, and ensure the right resources are delivered at the right time. She is committed to advancing innovative, sustainable solutions that strengthen both patient care and the emergency response system as a whole.

Scott Gilmore is the Medical Director of St. Louis Fire Department, Affton Fire Protection District and Lemay Fire Protection District. He started his career in EMS over 20 years ago as an EMT-A working in a fire-based system. He continued his training and became an EMT-I, EMT-P and EMS Educator. Prior to becoming the Medical Director of the St. Louis Fire Department, he served as the Assistant Medical Director. In addition to being the Medical Director, he works as an attending physician in the Emergency Department at Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis, Missouri and serves on the Board of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.

Joe Holley is the Medical Director for the State of Tennessee Department of Emergency Medical Services as well as the Memphis and Shelby County Fire Departments and several municipal and private ambulance services in West Tennessee. He also holds the position of Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Holley received his Medical Degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, followed by an internship and residency at University Medical Center in Jackson. Dr. Holley has served on over 50 deployments, including Hurricane Katrina and the Pentagon on 9/11, as the Medical Director of the Tennessee Task Force 1, Urban Search & Rescue Team and serves on the national FEMA Incident Support Team. Dr. Holley is the Medical Director for Tier 1 Group, one of the nation’s leading Military training facilities as well as the Tennessee Fire Academy. He is a member of the CPACE Board of Directors, the National Association of EMS Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Holley is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services.

Chief Joles is the Division Chief of EMS for the Olathe Fire Department in Kansas and the International Director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs EMS Section. A member of FSEDI Cohort 13, he has nearly 30 years of experience in emergency services and is recognized for leading progressive initiatives in cardiac arrest survivability, clinical quality improvement, and regional EMS collaboration. He is a national advocate for fire-based EMS, focusing on workforce development, patient-centered care, treatment in place, pre-hospital blood programs, tactical EMS, and sustainable EMS reimbursement. He also serves on the Board of the Advanced Cardiac Resuscitation Consortium.

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 the President of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) and former Board Member of the American Ambulance Association. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 and EMS World Editorial Advisory Boards.

Mark D. Levine is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medicine Course Director at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He started his career as an Emergency Medical Technician—Basic. He graduated from New York University School of Medicine and completed his Emergency Medicine residency at the MetroHealth Medical Center/Cleveland Clinic program in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as a Flight Physician for Metro Life Flight. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. He was the former Medical Director of the St. Louis Fire Department and now serves as the Assistant Medical Director. He has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on Emergency Medicine and Pre-hospital Medicine, has edited a textbook on Emergency Medicine, and is a reviewer for EMS World Magazine.

Tom Lewis is the Mercy EMS Medical Director. Dr. Tom Lewis is responsible for comprehensive medical oversight of all clinical care provided in the Mercy EMS system throughout Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The ground EMS system is currently comprised of 29 stations in 14 counties.

Dr. Lewis is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2001, attended specialty training at the Michigan State / SCHI Emergency Residency Program with a special interest in prehospital care. He worked with ground and air ambulance services and developed a comprehensive regional tactical EMS system in Saginaw, Michigan. He continues to work with various governor advisory boards and regional EMS committees. Dr. Lewis has worked at the Mercy Emergency Level I Trauma Center in Springfield, Missouri since 2004 and helped develop an area tactical EMS program while staying involved in EMS education and training. Dr. Lewis is driven by the compassionate delivery of quality prehospital care and is actively involved in education and all aspects of clinical practice.

Chief Luckritz serves as Chief of Austin-Travis County EMS, leading the nation's largest municipal third-service EMS agency. With more than 25 years of experience in emergency medical services and healthcare leadership, he has served as a paramedic, educator, field supervisor, hospital executive, and EMS chief in several of the country's largest and most complex EMS systems. In Austin, he oversees a comprehensive EMS system that responds to approximately 150,000 requests for service annually and is recognized for its innovative community health, mobile integrated healthcare, and alternative response programs.

A nationally recognized speaker on leadership, organizational culture, and EMS system performance, Chief Luckritz is actively involved in advancing the profession through national service and advocacy. He serves as President-Elect of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and has held leadership positions with numerous state and national EMS organizations. His commitment to innovation and excellence in EMS has earned national recognition, including the JEMS EMS10 Innovators Award and the NAEMT Presidential Leadership Award.