Shirley Gamble served as the Senior Advisor to The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Urgent Matters initiative, which is working to help hospitals eliminate emergency department crowding and help communities understand the challenges facing the health care safety net. Ms. Gamble has over 20 years experience in the health care industry serving as an executive with Incarnate Word Health Services, Texas Health Plans HMO, and Tampa General Hospital. As a Partner of Phase 2 Consulting, a health care management and economic consulting firm, Ms. Gamble led performance improvement and strategic planning engagements for major hospital systems, managed care entities, and university faculty practice plans. She has an M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Robert R. Bass, M.D., F.A.C.E.P.

Robert R. Bass, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., received his undergraduate and medical degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 and 1975 respectively.  Prior to completing his undergraduate education, he was employed as a police officer in Chapel Hill, NC and served as a volunteer member of the local rescue squad.  Dr. Bass completed an internship and residency in the United States Navy and is currently board certified in both emergency medicine and family medicine.  He has served as a medical director of emergency medical services (EMS) systems in Charleston, South Carolina, Houston, Texas, Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, DC. 

Since 1994, he has been the Executive Director of the Maryland Institute for EMS Systems, the state agency responsible for the oversight of Maryland's EMS and trauma system.  He is an Associate Professor of Surgery (emergency medicine) at the University of Maryland at Baltimore and an Associate Professor in the Emergency Health Services Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 

Dr. Bass is a founding member and current President of the National Association of EMS Physicians.  Additionally, he serves on the Board of Director of the American Trauma Society, the University of Maryland Medical System and is the immediate past chair of the EMS Committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians.  He is an active member National Association of State EMS Directors, and past chair of their Joint Legislative Committee, Public Access Defibrillation Committee, and Communications Committee.

Kaye Bender, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.

Kaye Bender, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., is Dean and Professor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing. Prior to assuming that position, she was Deputy State Health Officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health for 5 years and Chief of Staff for the Mississippi State Department of Health for 10 years. She began her career as a public health nurse in 1977 and held many public health staff and supervisors positions in the local public health system in Mississippi prior to coming to the state office.

Dr. Bender has a B.S.N. from the University of Mississippi; an M.S. in Community Health Nursing from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Health Sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and is a graduate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Western Consortium Public Health Leadership Institute.

Dr. Bender has served on several local, state, and national public health and nursing committees and has held several offices in public health and nursing organizations. She is the Chair of the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and is the former chair of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Management Committee. She also recently served on two Institute of Medicine (IOM) Study Committees: “The Future of the Public's Health in the 21^st Century” and “Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?” She continues as a consultant to the Mississippi State Department of Health on a variety of public health issues.

Dr. Bender has published several articles and book chapters and has provided numerous presentations on public health and nursing topics. Her research area of interest is public health and health systems research. She has successfully managed a project entitled “School Health Nurses for a Tobacco-Free Mississippi” in which school nurses were employed to implement interventions to reduce or prevent tobacco use among school-aged children. Currently, she manages a School Health Nurse Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Project funded by a private foundation in Mississippi.


A. Brent Eastman, M.D.

A. Brent Eastman, M.D., is currently the Chief Medical Officer of ScrippsHealth and N. Paul Whittier Chair of Trauma.  He previously served as the Medical Director of Trauma Services at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, from 1984-2002.  He is also a Clinical Professor of Surgery & Trauma at the University of California, San Diego, Adjunct Professor for the National Resource on Aging & Injury at San Diego State University, and a principal investigator for the San Diego Crash Injury Research Engineering Network (CIREN) Project.

Dr. Eastman received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, where he also did his general surgical residency and served as Chief Surgical Resident. He spent one year abroad in surgical training in England at Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals.

He has recently been appointed to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Regents. Dr. Eastman served as Chairman of the Committee on Trauma for the ACS from 1990-1994.  This organization sets the standards for the trauma care in the United States and abroad.  The position has led to his involvement nationally and internationally in the development of trauma systems in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa.  Dr. Eastman has authored or co-authored more than 25 publications and chapters principally relating to trauma.  He has held numerous appointments and chairmanships over the last two decades, including Chairman, Trauma Systems Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Board of Directors, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma; and Chairman, Grant Review Committee, Center for Injury and Prevention and Control at the Center for Disease Control.

Herbert G. Garrison, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.

Herbert G. Garrison, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Brody School of Medicine of East Carolina University.  He also serves as the Director of the Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program.  Garrison earned his M.D. and M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has completed residencies in emergency medicine and preventive medicine and a fellowship in prehospital emergency medical services.  He also served as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar from 1990-1992.  Dr. Garrison's clinical and research interests include injury prevention and prehospital emergency medical services.

Arthur L. Kellermann, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Arthur Kellermann is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Injury Control at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. Dr. Kellermann's research focuses on injury prevention, with special emphasis on preventing firearm-related injuries and deaths. He has also conducted landmark research on prehospital cardiac care, use of diagnostic technology in emergency departments, and health care for the poor. His papers have been published in many of the nation's leading medical journals. He is a member of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence and serves as an advisor to the Atlanta Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Following the Olympic Park Bombing in Atlanta, he served as a member of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Commission on 911. In 1997, he received the Hal Jayne Academic Excellence Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Mary Beth Michos, R.N.

Mary Beth Michos, R.N., is the Chief of the Department of Fire and Rescue for Prince William County in Virginia.  Prior to assuming the duties of Chief in 1994, she was associated with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service since 1973.  Chief Michos is past Chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs' (IAFC) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Section, is nationally known for her work with the American Heart Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Washington Regional Heart Association.  She also chairs the Board of Directors of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) and serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart Attack Alert Program.  She was Chair of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Task Group on EMS Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents and is a member the Metro Chiefs Section of IAFC.

Fred A. Neis, R.N., M.S.

Fred Neis currently serves as Director of the Emergency Department of Carolinas Medical Center, the flagship hospital for Carolinas HealthCare Systems.  Prior to this, he served as Clinical Manager of Emergency Services for Oregon Health and Science University (5/02-10/03), and earlier as Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Human Services (9/00-5/02).  Mr. Neis is also an experienced firefighter, field paramedic, and flight nurse.

Mr. Neis earned his B.S.N. and M.S. in Nursing Administration from the University of Kansas.  He also completed paramedic training in 1990 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.  Neis is an active member of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT).

Jerry L. Overton, M.A.

Jerry Overton serves as the Executive Director of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA), Richmond, Virginia, and is responsible for the overall supervision of the Richmond Emergency Medical Services system.  His duties extend to planning and administering the high performance Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system design, negotiating and implementing high performance provider contracts, maximizing fee for service revenues while minimizing governmental subsidies, development of quality patient care protocols, and the implementation of innovative equipment and treatment modalities. Mr. Overton was previously the Executive Director of the Kansas City, Missouri, EMS system.  In addition, he has provided technical assistance to numerous EMS systems throughout the United States and to governments and agencies in Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia, and Canada.  He designed an implementation plan for an Emergency Medical Transport program in Central Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Mr. Overton is a faculty member of the Emergency Medical Department of the Medical College of Virginia and the National EMS Medical Directors Course, National Association of EMS Physicians.  He serves as the President of the American Ambulance Association and is on the Board of Directors of the North American Association of Public Utility Models.

Nels D. Sanddal, M.S., REMT-B

Nels D. Sanddal, M.S., REMT-B, is the President of Critical Illness and Trauma (CIT) Foundation and is currently on detachment as the Director of the Rural Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Technical Assistance Center (REMSTTAC).  Nels has been involved in EMS since the 1970s and has held many state, regional, and national positions in organizations furthering EMS causes, including president of the Intermountain Regional EMS for Children Coordinating Council and core faculty for the Development of Trauma Systems Training Programs for the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Nels is a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician-Basic, volunteers with a local fire department, and has been involved with the CIT Foundation since its inception.  He holds a M.S. in psychology and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in health services.

Daniel W. Spaite, M.D.

Daniel W. Spaite, M.D., is currently a medical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Base Hospital Medical Director at the University Medical Center in Tucson, and Medical Director of Air Medical Transport for LifeNet Arizona.  He also chairs the Southeastern Arizona Regional EMS Council, serves on the Pima County EMS Council, and is a member of the Southeastern Arizona Regional EMS Medical Directors Committee.  In addition, Dr. Spaite has several national EMS responsibilities, including as a Site Reviewer for the EMS System Evaluations being conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Chair of the EMS Minimum Data Set Task Force for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a member of the National EMS for Children Advisory Board of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and on the Steering Committees for NHTSA's EMS Agenda for the Future and EMS Research Agenda for the Future.  Dr. Spaite has authored more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts and has presented his research on cardiac arrest, injury prevention, and analysis and modeling of Fire Department-based Emergency Medical Services systems at many conferences internationally.