Our Presenters
Get to know the medical professionals that will be presenting the events at our conference.
Matt Philbrick
Matt Philbrick is passionate about emergency medical services (EMS). He has served the EMS field for over 17 years in the following roles:
- EMT
- Paramedic
- Flight Paramedic
- Operations Manager
Additionally, Matt has worked in both rural and urban environments and has had a history of success working in the EMS field. Currently, he is the manager for GMR Life and provides resources, education, crisis intervention, and outreach service for the nation’s largest EMS provider, Global Medical Response.
Matt is located in the Greater Portland area. He sits as Chair of the Oregon EMS for Children Committee and is a former voting member of the Oregon State Trauma Advisory Board. He is an accomplished public speaker who has been featured at EMS Today, the Virginia State EMS Symposium, and other training events.
In late 2021, Matt served as the Branch Chief for an Oregon-requested FEMA deployment serving Southern and Central Oregon.
In 2020, he was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 EMS Leaders by the American Ambulance Association.
Curtis Ryun, BSN, RN
Curtis Ryun has been at Legacy Emanuel for 42 years and the Oregon Burn Center for 40 years. He was a certified nursing assistant (CNA) before becoming a night shift registered nurse (RN). He was an RN at the bedside for 21 years, then became an outreach coordinator 14 years ago.
He speaks to community groups, high-risk industries, first responders, and medical groups about burn prevention and treatment. He is a member of the American Burn Association (ABA) and ABLS National Faculty, as well as a recipient of the ABA National Prevention Award in 2018.
Curtis is transitioning to retirement in 14 months.
He speaks to community groups, high-risk industries, first responders, and medical groups about burn prevention and treatment. He is a member of the American Burn Association (ABA) and ABLS National Faculty, as well as a recipient of the ABA National Prevention Award in 2018.
Curtis is transitioning to retirement in 14 months.
Brian C. Beldowicz, MD
Brian C. Beldowicz came to the Legacy Medical Group after 17 years of active-duty service in the US Army. From 2009 to 2012, he was assigned to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where his team helped care for all combat casualties evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Upon returning to the US in 2012, he was assigned to the Joint Medical Augmentation unit of Joint Special Operations Command and served on multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Beldowicz has a master’s degree in Bioethics and Health Policy and is a member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.
Upon returning to the US in 2012, he was assigned to the Joint Medical Augmentation unit of Joint Special Operations Command and served on multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Beldowicz has a master’s degree in Bioethics and Health Policy and is a member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.
Dr. Hansen, MD
Dr. Hansen joined the Department of Emergency Medicine at OHSU as a full-time faculty member in July 2012. He is focused on researching the resuscitation and stabilization of ill and injured children in the prehospital and emergency department settings. He is particularly interested in studying pediatric airway and respiratory management in the prehospital setting. They are critical components of resuscitation in many pediatric emergencies that result from medical and traumatic causes. n Dr. Hansen’s free time, he enjoys whitewater rafting, backpacking, and skiing.
Chris Hamper, BS, NRP
Chris Hamper is a Nationally Registered Oregon State Paramedic, educator, and academic. He is passionate about advancing emergency medical services by bridging the gap between research in community health and EMS practice. Chris has presented at local, national, and international conferences on community paramedicine / mobile integrated healthcare and racial and gender disparities.
He holds a dual faculty position in the Department of Emergency Medical Services at Oregon Health and Sciences University / Oregon Tech. Chris was awarded Magna Cum Laude along with his Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from Portland State University and Oregon Health and Sciences University.
Dr. Jamie Kennel, Ph.D., Paramedic
Jamie is a Professor of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Department Chair for the EMS Department at Oregon Tech, with a joint faculty appointment at Oregon Health and Science University. His interests include paramedicine, human aeronautical factors, and medical sociology. Jamie’s primary research and consulting experience focus on helping EMS agencies evaluate, understand, and develop interventions to improve the equity of EMS medical care.
Marc Houston, DO
Marc Houston, DO is an Oregon emergency physician currently working at Legacy Facilities throughout the area. He has been involved in EMS since 2004.
John Turner, MD FACEP
John Turner, MD FACEP, is an Associate EMS Medical Director for Clackamas County. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he has a particular passion for airway and sedation management as well as QI. Before pivoting to a career in medicine, he worked on healthcare policy in the Oregon Legislature. He attended OHSU for medical school and trained in Emergency Medicine in Las Vegas at University Medical Center and OHSU in Portland. He clinically practices at Legacy Silverton and Meridian Park Medical Centers. He also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the Oregon Medical Association. He lives in the metro area with his husband.
Ritu Sahni, MD
Dr. Ritu Sahni is EMS Medical Director for two large counties in the Portland suburbs – Clackamas County and Washington County, OR. He is a co-host with Mike Verkest of the immensely popular podcast The EMS Show. In 30 years of practice, Ritu has a wide range of experience in EMS and emergency medicine. He has served as Medical Director for air, critical care ground, and 9-1-1 ground EMS systems. These systems include hospital-based, municipal, private, and fire-based agencies. Ritu values national service and spent significant energy working to improve EMS as a profession and as a medical service. He was President of the National Association of EMS Physicians and served many years as Chair of the NAEMSP Advocacy Committee. He was a member of the first National EMS Advisory Council and has been on the Board of the National Registry of EMTs and Committee on Accreditation of Education Programs for the EMS Professions. Ritu has appeared in the Major League movie series as well as the TNT television show Leverage. He was also the backup point guard for the 1989 National Championship Michigan Basketball team. One of the above statements is false.
Lisa Yanase, MD
Lisa Yanase has been a stroke neurologist since tPA was approved and has actively participated in developing ED and EMS protocols in 4 states as stroke care has evolved since then. She is passionate about educating providers and the public about stroke and health and fitness in general.
Robert Victorino
Robert Victorino has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management and is a certified healthcare simulation educator. He has worked in EMS for almost 25 years; he has worked for Skamania County EMS for the past 11 years and has been an EMS instructor at Portland Community College for 13 years. Robert uses virtual and live simulation extensively for initial licensure and continuing education EMS training at PCC and regional conferences in the Pacific Northwest.
Michael Kinkade
Michael Kinkade retired as the Fire Chief of the City of Forest Grove, Gaston RFPD, and Cornelius RFPD in 2020. For the last two years, he served as the Chemeketa Community College Associate Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, and CIO. He has also served with Corvallis Fire Department (EMS and Training Chief) and Lebanon Fire (Training Chief) and worked for the Carlsbad and Salinas Fire Departments in California as a firefighter-paramedic. He served as a US Navy helicopter aircrew and rescue swimmer on board the USS Ranger, Kitty Hawk, and Enterprise. He has been a paramedic for over 35 years.
Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson began his EMS career in 1984 as a wheelchair driver for Care/American ambulance. Kevin has worked nearly every position within the Ambulance industry as a field medic in both Washington and Oregon, Training Officer, supervisor, General Manager for AMR Spokane, National Comms Director at AMR, and is currently Director of Comms for AMR Oregon and SW Washington. Kevin was the recipient of the Medal of Valor by the State of Oregon in 2018 for his actions during the Route 91 Las Vegas massacre. As both a concertgoer and then a responder, Kevin and his family were 40 ft from the stage when the shooting started.
Dr. Kofoed
Dr. Kofoed is a 3rd generation Oregonian born in East Multnomah County. He completed medical school at OHSU, an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Michigan (go Blue!), and an EMS fellowship in Dallas, Texas, at UT Southwestern. He moved back to Oregon in 2017 to work with Northwest Permanente as their EMS Regional Lead and has been a part of the Clackamas County EMS Medical Direction team since 2020. He serves in the Army Reserves with his unit, the 396th Field Hospital, in Vancouver, WA, and enjoys working a small Christmas Tree farm in his spare time.
Life Flight Network
Life Flight Network is the nation’s premiere aeromedical transport service, with 27 bases of operation throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Headquartered in Aurora, Oregon, we provide exceptional ICU-level care and lifesaving transport from the scene of an emergency or from one hospital to another. Through speed and with compassion, our expertly trained clinicians save lives and improve patient outcomes by delivering the foremost levels of care to the communities we serve. We deliver on our mission of saving lives through industry-leading care and transport by maintaining state-of-the-art transport medical equipment and an unwavering focus on safety, clinical excellence, social justice, and expanding community access to quality healthcare services. Our not-for-profit status is the foundation of our organization, giving us the freedom to focus on the patients and communities we serve.