Understanding Burn Care

Tom Flamm
IAFF Burn Fund Coordinator
Tom Flamm retired from the Chicago Fire Department after a 29-year career as a fire fighter. He is the founding member of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Burn Foundation, a 24-year member of the American Burn Association and is on the Federation of Burn Foundation’s Executive Board. He is a past member of the Chicago, IL Local 2 Executive Board and was the 8th District Burn Coordinator for the IAFF. He presently serves as the national IAFF Burn Coordinator.

Phil Tammaro
IAFF 3rd District Burn Coordinator
Phil is a Professional Fire Fighter in Billerica, Massachusetts, where he has served for more than 24 years as both a line fire fighter and public fire and life safety educator. He also serves as the 3rd District Burn Coordinator for the IAFF Charitable Foundation Burn Fund and is a member of the American Burn Association’s Membership Advisory Committee. In 2016, Phil was presented the American Burn Association’s Burn Prevention Award. His journey from victim to survivor to advocate began when Phil was just a toddler. In 1971, at the age of two, he suffered third-degree burns over 35% of his body from an explosion in his home.

B. Daniel Dillard
Executive Director/CEO
Burn Prevention Network
Dan has served in this role for 30 years. He has served as the chairman of the ABA Burn Prevention Committee and Chairman of the Federation of Burn Foundations. Dan served as the Project Coordinator for the National Scald Prevention Campaign, an initiative of five national organizations supported by a Fire Act Grant to the IAFF.

Ed Comeau
Principal
writer-tech.com
Ed Comeau is the owner of writer-tech.com, a digital communications firm that focuses on fire safety communications. He has extensive experience working on fire prevention and safety grants for a wide variety of clients that involves campus fire safety, community risk reduction, fire fighter safety, youth fire setting, fire safety for people with disabilities and more. Ed was the chief fire investigator with the National Fire Protections Association, a fire protection engineer for the Phoenix Fire Department’s Special Operations and Training Division, and a fire fighter with the Amherst Fire Department while earning his degree in civil engineering.

Jason Woods
President
DC Fire Fighters Burn Foundation
Jason began his career in the fire service in 1999 as a fire fighter with the Harrisonburg Virginia Fire Department. Jason is currently assigned to Rescue Squad 1 and has served as a member of DC Firefighters Association Local 36’s Health and Safety Committee since 2006. In 2004, Jason and a group of fellow DC fire fighters founded the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation and he has served as the foundation’s president since 2004. Jason also serves as the 4th District Burn Coordinator for the IAFF Burn Fund and as a member of the American Burn Association’s Board of Trustees.

Karla Klas, BSN, RN, CCRP
Managing Director, Injury Prevention and Community Outreach
University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center
Karla’s 24-year distinguished career in critical car burn/trauma nursing, research, public education, professional development training, and injury prevention has produced numerous medical journal articles, textbook chapters and grant awards. She has been appointed to multiple national leadership role, including Chair of the American Burn Associations’ Burn Prevention Committee.

Patricia Mieszala, RN
President
Burn Concerns National Consultant and Education Services
Pat Mieszala, RN is president of Burn Concerns National Consultant & Education Services in Burbank, CA. Pat has national/international recognition in the areas of psychiatry, burn care, rehab, prevention, fire/life safety, youth firesetting and injury prevention. Her current work follows 10 years of service as the Psychiatric Burn Nurse Clinician at Cook County Hospital Sumner L. Koch Burn Center in Chicago. Pat is a member of the American Burn Association and served on their Board of Directors, and has been a contract consultant to the National Fire Protection Association Public Education Division for over 30 years.

Brent Smith
Battalion Chief
Cedar Rapids Fire Dept. Local 11
Battaltion Chief Brent Smith joined the Cedar Rapids Fire Department in 2003. Past and present involvement with IAFF projects includes YFIRES, Scald Campaign and fire fighter burn awareness. Captain Smith has also earned the Fire Officer designation from the CPSE.

Jennifer Radics-Johnson, MBA, CFRE
Executive Director
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
Jennifer was welcomed to the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation as the Executive Director in August 2012. She is a Certified Fundraising Professional and has an extensive background in community outreach, marketing and volunteer management in the nonprofit sector. Jennifer has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Maureen Kiley
Senior Director
American Burn Association
Maureen Kiley has over 30 years of experience in the business/marketing fields with both corporate and nonprofit organizations (financial, relocation, entrepreneurial, service). She has worked at the American Burn Association (ABA) for over 8 years, focusing on partnership and business relationship development, project management, interactive marketing, meeting planning, committee and organizational initiatives, and strategic planning.

Angela Mickalide, PhD, MCHES
Principal Investigator and Program Director
Emergency Medical Services for Children National Resource Center
Angela Mickalide, PhD, MCHES, is a researcher and practitioner with more than 30 years of experience in public health education, injury prevention and health communication. Dr. Mickalide earned her PhD degree at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, specializing in public health, psychology and health education. Dr. Mickalide is also a master certified health education specialist (MCHES) and a graduated scholar in the Public Health Education Leadership Institute.

Annette Matherly
Community Outreach/Disaster Coordinator
University of Utah Health Care Burn Center
Annette coordinates burn education in a five-state region, and works closely with EMS, healthcare facilities, schools and community groups. In addition to prevention and outreach education, Annette is involved with state and national burn disaster planning and is a member of the State Pediatric Strike Team and UT-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team. She has over 26 years of burn ICU experience.

Bonnie Y. Sawusch
Attorney and Registered Nurse
Varnum, LLP
Bonnie Y. Sawusch is an attorney who has represented burn survivors for more than 25 years. Bonnie’s legal practice is strongly influenced by her previous career as a critical care nurse in a large acute care hospital. In addition to her law degree, she holds a B.S. in nursing and continues to maintain her license to practice as a registered nurse.

Christopher Bowles
Captain, Bakersfield City Firefighters
Chris began his career I the fire service in Fresno CA. in 1998. Chris is currently a Captain in Bakersfield CA. where he has served since 2000. He is a specialized instructor for the State of California in several areas. He has been a member of the American Burn Association Prevention Committee since 2009, worked on the IAFF National Scald Campaign, and is an executive board member for the Bakersfield Fire Fighters Burn Fund.

Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN
Nursing Education Clinician – Burn Outreach
North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center – UNC Hospitals
Ernest Grant is an internationally recognized burn care and fire-safety expert and serves as the director of the Burn Outreach program for the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, NC. In this role, Grant oversees burn education for physician, nurses and other allied health care personnel and runs the Center’s nationally acclaimed Burn Prevention Program, which promotes safety and works to reduce burn-related injuries through public education and the legislative process.

Jody Rood
RN, BSN Burn Nurse Clinician
Regions Hospital Burn Center
Jody Rood began her career as a burn nurse in 1979 and has had the honor of seeing great advances in clinical care and focus on aftercare for the burn survivor. She assists with the care management from admission and into the outpatient setting. Jody is involved in burn care education and prevention efforts.

Marty Ahrens
Senior Manager, Data and Analytics Group
National Fire Protection Association
Marty Ahrens came to the NFPA in 1997 after 11 years as the Research Analyst/Fire Incident Reporting System Coordinator in the Massachusetts State Marshal’s office. In addition to her managerial responsibilities, she is also actively involved in fire data analysis. Marty has an MSW from Boston University and a BA in psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Rebecca Coffey
Nurse Practitioner
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Coffey is a nurse practitioner with the burn center. Part of her role is burn prevention in the community. She recently received her PhD in nursing from The Ohio State University.

Katie Hollowed
Outreach Education Coordinator
MedStar Washington Hospital
Katie Hollowed received her RN degree from Triton College and her B.S. in nursing and Master’s of Science Degree from Grand Canyon University. Her nursing career began in the Burn Center at Loyola University Medical Center and then in the Burn Center at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. She then became the Outreach Education Coordinator. Katie has been an active member of the American Burn Association since 1983, serving on numerous committees.

Kathe M. Conlon
Director Burn Community Programs
The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas
Kathe Conlon’s responsibilities include development and implementation of prevention and clinical education programs for the state of New Jersey, with a special emphasis for fire fighters. She also serves as director and northeast regional coordinator for burn mass casualty response protocols.

Karen Badger, PhD, MSW
Karen brings the perspective of a researcher, mental health provider and administrator. Her social work experience includes direct practice in community mental health and private practice settings and medical social work at Shriners Burns Hospital. She was also manager of the Medical Division of Social Work at University Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio. Karen currently serves on the board of the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. Her research interests have focused on psychosocial adjustment and support of survivors and their families following a burn injury, along with education/programming initiatives and evaluation. She has collaborated with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Charitable Foundation and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Karen is a member of the Aftercare Reintegration Committee.

Mike Feyh
10th District Burn Coordinator
IAFF Burn Foundation
Mike Feyh is a Captain with the Sacramento City Fire department. He also represents the IAFF 10th District as a Burn Coordinator.

Kelli Yukon
Patient Care Manager
University of Chicago Medicine
Kelli has been an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse for 8 years, primarily providing care for patients with burn injuries and has been the Nurse Manager in the University of Chicago Medicine’s Burn Center for the past two years. Kelli is active in the burn community through her affiliation with the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA), an organization who sponsors a camp and other activities each year for children who have sustained a burn injury, as a member of the American Burn Association and as a certified Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) instructor.

Steven A. Kahn
Doctor
University of South Alabama Medical Center
Dr. Steven Kahn is an assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and Director of the Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center and Burn Intensive Care Unit. He serves as a burn, trauma and critical care surgeon with USA Physicians Group. Dr. Kahn has received numerous awards and honors which include Threshold Honors Biology Scholar, University of Tennessee, Quillen College of Medicine Scholars Award, East Tennessee State University, American Burn Association Traveling Fellowship Award, Best Resident as Teacher, URMC Surgery Resident Program and Harlan J. Poel Memorial Scholarship for Best Resident in Trauma.

Pam Peterson
Program Director
The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors
Pam Peterson, RN, BSN, is the Program Director for The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. She began her career as a staff nurse and nurse manager at Spectrum Health Regional Burn Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pam joined the Phoenix Society In 2001 where she has helped develop programs that have an impact on burn survivors, their families and caregivers. As the Program Director, Pam oversees all of the Phoenix Society’s programs. Pam is a member of the American Burn Association. She also serves as a member of the National Advisory Committee to the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKT).

Tom Breyer
IAFF Director of Fire and EMS Operations
Thomas Breyer is the Director of Fire and EMS Operations with the International Association of Fire Fighters. Before working at the IAFF, Thomas was a fire fighter/ paramedic with the City of Forest Park, Ohio where he served as the Department’s EMS coordinator.