“About Our Speakers….”
Julie Bacon, RNC-LRN, BA, CPEN, CPN, C-NPT
After obtaining a degree in Criminal Justice and spending ten years in
law enforcement, Julie returned to college and obtained her nursing
degree. She had the good fortune to join a pediatric critical care
transport team. After a few years in nursing, she became the
coordinator shortly thereafter, and found the profession she loved!
Julie has been a neonatal/pediatric critical care transport nurse for 23
years, and has spent countless hours in the ground and air managing
patients from ten ounces to two hundred pounds. She currently is the
Chief Flight Nurse at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fl, a
combined neo/pedi team with ground and air capabilities, transporting
over 1500 patients a year throughout the state, country and
internationally.
Julie has earned certifications and instructor status in multiple
programs, and has had the opportunity to meet her passion of teaching
by speaking at seminars and conferences across the country. She has served as the Florida EMS for Children
Advisory Committee Chair for over 6 years, giving her the opportunity to influence pediatric pre-hospital care on a
number of state committees, including motorcycle, pedestrian and bicycle safety, disaster preparedness, and EMS
strategic visions.
A Floridian since the age of 10, Julie lives outside of Orlando with her husband, Ben, and near to her four children,
their spouses, and two grandchildren (BEST THING EVER!!). She is a lay pastor for her church, and enjoys working
with youth of all ages. Julie’s Kansas friends delight in stories of hurricanes, alligators, and sinkholes.
Barb Bancroft, RN, MSN, PNP
Barb is a widely acclaimed national speaker, noted for her humorous entertaining
and information packed seminars. She is the author of four books. Her latest is “Kiss
My Asparagus, An Essential Guide to Nutrition’s Role in Health and Disease.”
Many people can conduct health seminars, or write books on health, but very few
can make them both thoroughly informative and entertaining. Barb Bancroft makes
complex health topics easily understandable, appealing and hilarious.
Barb has provided more than 2200 educational and motivational seminars on
clinical topics and health maintenance topics to healthcare professionals and
corporations throughout the US and Canada. She has been the keynote/plenary
speaker for corporate groups such as Smith Barney/Citicorp and the Million Dollar
Round Table. She has provided keynote/plenary speeches for healthcare
associations including the Association for Practitioners for Infection Control, The National Association of Biology
Teachers, The Emergency Nurses’ Association, The America Academy of Nurse Practitioners, The Pacific Coast
Dental Association, and The Washington State Dental Association.
Barb has held graduate faculty positions at the University of Virginia and the University of Arkansas. She has
provided courses on Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Physical Assessment to both graduate and
undergraduate students. She is currently the Executive Director and President of CPP Associates, Inc., a continuing
education firm for corporations and healthcare professionals based in Chicago, Illinois.
Michael Abernethy, MD
After several starter careers as a steelworker, Army officer, EMT, metallurgical engineer and musician, Mike
Abernethy earned his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his
Emergency residency at the University of Chicago and was Chief Aeromedical Resident at the University of
Chicago Aeromedical Network.
He is the Chief Flight Physician with the University of Wisconsin’s Med Flight program, as well as an associate
professor and faculty member with UW’s EM residency program. He is a well-known lecturer at many regional,
national and international EM/EMS/HEMS conferences. With a career in helicopter EMS (HEMS) spanning over a
quarter century and several thousand patient transports, Mike is one of the world’s most experienced helicopter
flight physicians.
Rodney Bartz, RRT
Rod Bartz resides in Wichita, KS and has been a Registered Respiratory
Therapist since 1981. He graduated from Wichita State with a BA I 1982 and has
worked at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita for 27 years. He currently is a Clinical
Specialist for the Ventilation Team for CareFusion. Rod’s passion is teaching
patient synchrony to get the most out of your ventilator. He still professes to be
an adrenalin junky and works every other weekend as a Emergency Room
Respiratory Therapist at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Aaron Doonan, MD
Aaron Doonan, MD is a General and Interventional Cardiologist at MidWest Heart and Vascular Specialists in
Overland Park, KS. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases and also in Interventional
Cardiology.
He received his Medical Degree at the University Of Kansas School Of Medicine and did his Internal Medicine
Residency at the Internal Medicine Cleveland Clinic. He also did his Cardiology Fellowship at the University of
Minnesota and was the Chief Cardiology Fellow.
Jess M. Fulkerson, BA, FF/EMT-P, Reserve Deputy
Jess Fulkerson currently lives in Belfair, WA, working for the North Mason Regional Fire Authority as a
Firefighter/Paramedic/Acting Lieutenant. He also serves as a Reserve Deputy on the Mason County SWAT Team as
a Tactical Medic. He has a BA in Education (Minor in Biology) from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Jess has
served as either a volunteer or paid EMT/Firefighter since 1998.
Jess thinks of himself as a teacher or educator, even before that of a Firefighter or Paramedic. He uses his
experience of over 14 years in Emergency Services, to bring topics to people in areas of interpersonal
communication, personal and instructor development, conflict resolution, scene management/ICS, and tactical
EMS (TEMS).
Jess has a dynamic speaking style, incorporating candor, humor, energy and enthusiasm, which high- lights his
passion for EMS and firefighting. Jess enjoys public speaking and presenting a wide range of topics to a wide range
of audiences. In addition to teaching EMS at his home agency and at neighboring fire departments, he’s been a
speaker at local EMS conferences and at internationally attended EMS Conferences.
William Justice, F/F (Ret.), NREMT-P, TEMS-1
Bill is a frequent educator at regional, national and international conferences. His
user-friendly approach to emergency management topics provides a relaxed and
interactive atmosphere for all participants. His background has spanned a 36 year
career in fire-rescue, EMS and Law Enforcement. He is currently a regional
PHTLS/TNCC Coordinator, AHA Regional Faculty and a TEMS Operator/Instructor
for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and US
Marshals Task Force.
Bill assists local, state and federal law enforcement and military agencies with
education and response operations. He also provides business continuity
consultation for private sector companies and hospitals that include training in
NIMS, MCI/disaster response, business resumption issues and
international/offshore wellness, emergency management and air evacuation procedures.
Thomas J. Liebman, MBA, FP-C, CMTE
Tom is currently the Director of Field Operations for the STAT MedEvac program in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As Director of Field Operations, he is responsible for the
medical crew component of the program–180 flight paramedics and nurses, including
6 regional managers. In his spare time, Tom is an active volunteer with suburban fire
company in the north hills of Pittsburgh.
With 25 years of experience as a paramedic–18 at STAT MedEvac-Mr. Liebman
continues to practice clinically as a certified flight paramedic. Starting out as a casual
flight paramedic in 1996, Mr. Liebman has held positions as Compliance Manager,
Base Site Manager, and Outreach Coordinator.
Mr. Liebman received his BS in Business Administration from Clarion University, concentrating in not – for–profit
accounting, but quickly discovered that being a paramedic was far more exciting than being an accountant. In
2008, he completed his MBA in Health Systems Management at Grand Canyon University.
Before STAT MedEvac, Mr. Liebman served as Assistant Director for a rural, hospital based ambulance service
comprised of 4 stations and 60 employees; and as the Executive Director of EMMCO East, a regional EMS council
in Pennsylvania.
Coleman Martin, MD
Coleman Martin, MD is an interventional neurologist with Neuro-Interventional and Diagnostic Associates, PC,
practicing at Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute. He graduated from the University of Kansas School
of Medicine and completed his internship and residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa
City, IA. Additionally, Dr. Martin completed Fellowships at the University of Iowa in Neurology, Cerebrovascular
Disease, and Neurointerventional. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology and is
further certified in Vascular Neurology. He is also board certified in Neurocritical Care by the United Council for
Neurological Subspecialties.
Dr. Martin has extensive experience with intra-arterial stroke reversal using 5 generations of clot removal devices.
He also is very experienced in stent–assisted aneurysm coiling, angioplasty and stenting for intracranial
atherosclerosis and glue embolization. Dr. Martin has presented at numerous professional meetings as well as
institution–based educational programs.
Dwight A. Polk, MSW, LCSW-C, NRP
Dwight is the Paramedic Program Director at the University Of Maryland Baltimore
County (UMBC) in Baltimore, MD. Dwight has a Master’s Degree in Occupational Social
Work and is a Clinical Social Worker and Crisis Counselor for the Grassroots Crisis Center
and two Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams in the Baltimore region.
In addition to being a fulltime educator, Dwight is a national speaker on the EMS lecture
circuit, specializing in the psychosocial aspects of EMS care. He is a volunteer paramedic
in Maryland and is the co-author of two textbooks by Jones & Bartlett- “Pre-hospital
Behavioral Emergencies and Crisis Response” and “Law Enforcement Responder:
Principles of Emergency Medicine, Rescue, and Force Protection.” Dwight has written
for JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medical Services), publishing several articles on mental
disorders, and he has an interest in behavioral emergencies, suicide, and wellness issues.