Jason Friesen, BA, NREMT-P

Founder/Director

Jason Friesen is as a paramedic by trade, splitting his time between Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and the New York City area where he grew up (NJ, NY & CT). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA), and completed his Paramedic training at Southwestern College (Chula Vista, CA). After graduating from Westmont he spent several years living and working in Europe and Central America. He has also worked as a Paramedic instructor, Medical Spanish instructor, and is a contributing author to EMS publications. Presently, he is enrolled at Columbia University in New York City, where he is studying for a Master’s degree in Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Certifications: National Registry EMT-Paramedic; BLS Instructor; ACLS Instructor; PALS Instructor; PEPP; PHTLS; ITLS; ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800.

Paul Maxwell, Paramedic

Director of Injury Prevention Programs & Curriculum Development

Paul Maxwell is a veteran Paramedic in San Diego County and the president and co-founder of EPIC Medics, a community-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing EMS personnel in community-based childhood injury prevention programs.

Paul has been an integral part of Trek Medics from the beginning, bringing twenty-six years of experience to the organization, having worked and taught on both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border. Paul has published work in several formats – author of Mosby’s RAPID Rescue Spanish, including 12 years as a medical Spanish instructor, and co-author of Illness and Injury Prevention in Mosby’s Paramedic Practice Today: Above and Beyond. His most recent work in injury prevention has been with the CDC’s Appleseed Project where he serves as a consultant and instructor. A leader in disaster response, he has also developed Ambulance Strike Team training for responders involved in FEMA Ambulance Strike Team deployments, and has responded to mulitple large-scale disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Among his many honors, Paul was awarded the Medal of Valor from the California State Firefighters Association and a Lifesaving Citation from the San Diego Fire Department. For his work in injury prevention, he was selected to receive the Emergency Medical Services for Children’s National Heroes Award, the “Star of Life Award” from the American Ambulance Association, and Paramedic of the Year for the State of California.

Certifications: Paramedic (CalEMSA); BLS Instructor; ACLS Instructor; PALS; PEPP; PHTLS; ITLS; ICS 100, 200, 300 (Instructor), 400 (Instructor), 700, 800.

Kevin Munjal, MD

Interim Medical Director

Kevin Munjal is an Emergency Medicine Physician at Montefiore Medical Center, NY. After graduating from New Jersey Medical School, he went on to complete his internship at Weill Cornell Medical Center and a residency in Emergency Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, NY. After his residency, Kevin completed an EMS/Disaster Preparedness Fellowship with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), as well as taking a visiting professorship at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Kevin continues his work as an active researcher in the Emergency Medicine and EMS communities, and is also enrolled in the Executive MPH course at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Among his many interests in Emergency Medicine, Kevin is committed to strengthening the important role of prehospital care in public health, both at home and abroad.