ABOUT US

Paramedics for Children International (PFCI) provides medical care, education programs, and disaster relief to children, families, and communities in Central America and beyond. We serve without regard to religious beliefs, gender, race, or ethnic background.

It all started in 1997 by delivering school supplies to a few hundred Mayan Chortí Indian children in Copán, Honduras, mountain villages. From there, we expanded to disaster response and training (by 2004 we had the most extensive all-volunteer ambulance services in all of Central America!), and established Clinica la Esperanza, which treats up to 12,000 patients per year.

In 2021, we constructed and finished our community center which offers 5,000 SF of meetings and housing for specialized projects such as our Mayan Heritage program for the mountain schools and various local communities.

What started as a small group of paramedics, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals has evolved into so much more. We now host volunteers from all walks of life and have a lot of fun while making a difference in our communities. We are always looking for new talent to joinn our team; Please join us!

OUR HISTORY

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OUR BOARD

Rodger Harrison - Paramedics for Children

RODGER HARRISON
Founder and Director of Honduran Operations

Business Leader, Paramedic, Musician, Pilot, Awarded the “Monja Blanca” medal by the Government of Guatemala for service to the Guatemalan people. Honorary Consul for Guatemala to the USA. Rodger led the Hurricane Mitch and Indonesian Tsunami relief teams and has served as our President for the last 20 years. Rodger remains the Director of Field Operations and oversees both Clinica la Esperanza and the school supply missions.

Roz Morton - Paramedics for Children

ROZ MORTON
Director of Finance

Media Consultant, successful business owner, former rock band manager, Roz keeps us going day to day and manages our business and financial affairs. If we’ve lost it, Roz usually knows where it is. When not being deluged with Paramedics for Children requests, Roz owns and operates MediaMark US, a successful media planning and buying firm.

Daniela-Oliva-VicePresident-Honduran-Operations

Daniela Oliva
Co-Director of Honduran Operations

Born and raised in Honduras, Dani is a college student in Communications and Advertising. She is very considerate, helpful, and versatile. Dani manages a little bit of everything, from our social media, websites, as well as the Honduran operations alongside the Director. She manages the bed&breakfast, Hacienda La Esperanza, and she helps our guests and volunteers set up their trip to Honduras. She will make sure your stay in Honduras goes smoothly.

Gary McCord

Gary McCord

Director at Large

Dr. Gary McCord of South Point Family Dentistry is a proud Gaston County native. Dr. McCord treats his patients with care, focusing on comfort and high quality. He graduated with Honors in Pre-Med from North Carolina State University. Dr. McCord then graduated from Emory University School of Dentistry where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree (D.D.S.). The following year, Dr. McCord was chosen to serve an additional year of advanced training in the Dental Residency Program at Charlotte Memorial Hospital, now known as Carolinas Medical Center. Dr. McCord is an active member of the Belmont Rotary Club and enjoys history and aviation.

Brian Huey

Brian Huey
Director at Large

Born in Westlake, Ohio. Brian received a BS in economics and a BA in public policy from the University of North Carolina. He competed as a swimmer and springboard diver at Connecticut and UNC. His experience ranges from an assistant to the NC Attorney General to CEO of corporations in various industries. Brian’s writing voice developed over the years while climbing the corporate ladder and then diving off into a wilderness of many entrepreneurial ventures. Since those early years, he has owned businesses in advertising, manufacturing, and finance, taken a company public and a sat on the board of national and international associations. All the while Brian continued to write short stories, screenplays, TV pilots and manuscripts, including the Perpetual series. He says he has experienced firsthand that reality truly is stranger than fiction. Brian competes in triathlons and master swimming. When asked about Cracker Jack, he replied, “Stay tuned. Tomorrow is another day.” He lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, USA where he has turned the page to start another Perpetual chapter.

EMILY HARKLESS
Director at Large

Paramedic and owner of a NonProfit Consulting and Grant Writing Firm, Emily comes from Brighton Colorado where she resides with her firefighter husband Noah, her two children Eli and Sawyer, her dogs Ranger and Ari and her horse Nash. Emily has always been passionate about travel and working with NGOs. She received her Master’s Degree of Public Health in 2015 with the intention of traveling abroad and conducting activities focused on prevention, health and wellness, and research with underserved indigenous populations. Emily is passionate about helping small non-profits grow, and in line with her passion she takes on one pro-bono client each year. In 2022 she was fortunate to bring her family to PFCI, after over 10 years of financial support, and made the leap onto joining the board. She is excited to be a part of this truly incredible and life changing organization.

OUR LEADERSHIP

Grecia-Cantillano-Chief-Physician-Paramedics-For-Children

Grecia Cantillano
Chief Physician

Dr. Grecia Cantillano is a licensed Honduran doctor who brings with her an extensive and impressive body of medical experience and often acts as the Honduran advisor to many international medical brigades. Her sub-specialties include labor and delivery, pediatrics and emergency room experience. She is also bilingual, speaking conversational English, which is a boon for our visiting interns.

Christina-Jeffrey-Board-Member-PFCI

CHRISTINA JEFFREY
Advisory Board Member

Christina comes from a diverse background of healthcare communications, health systems management consulting and mobile technology for public health. She is the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships for Dimagi, a social impact technology company that creates simple mobile applications to improve access to health services globally. She first learned about Paramedics for Children while on a short vacation from her field work in Guatemala, and has since begun working on a mobile technology project for maternal and child health in Honduras. She speaks Spanish and has extensive experience working with Central American governments, healthcare NGOs and international volunteer programs. She holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Northeastern University. She is a Spanish speaker.

SHAWN TALBOT
Advisory Board Member

Shawn Talbot began his photography career studying cinematography at several schools across Canada. He has spent the last 17 years working as an advertising photographer specializing primarily in marine, architectural and corporate photography. As one of the busiest advertising photographers in Canada, Shawn’s work has been recognized by Maclean’s Magazine, The Globe and Mail, National Geographic and The Smithsonian Institute. Shawn frequently travels to remote locations on a mission to capture some of the planet’s most stunning natural wonders. This endeavor resulted in Shawn being chosen as the featured photographer in the documentary series 1 Stop Closer.

DAVID JENSEN
Advisory Board Member

With over 24 years of medical device industry experience, Mr. Jensen served 21 years of his career at Acumed, contributing to the design, marketing, business development, and the launch of several successful product lines in the orthopedic trauma segment. Using the ingenuity of their minds, the labor of their hands, and the compassion of their hearts, David drove stakeholders to accomplish the commercialization of multiple patented product solutions that solved a specific problem for end users, and supported the successful treatment of patients around the globe. In 2008, Mr. Jensen began to serve as president at Acumed, and strategically led the organization through 5 years of double-digit growth in revenue and income. He believes in a culture of stakeholder engagement and a workplace environment fostering trust, respect, and stewardship. David also served as President at SAM Medical Products, giving him experience in Emergency Medical Devices. He now uses his skills to support the objectives of various organizations, and to teach practical organizational strategies to clients and students.

CONTACT US

General Information, Donations, and Business

Paramedics For Children

P. O. Box 37898

Rock Hill, SC 29732

Phone: +1 (704) 763-2585

Email: Dani@ParamedicsForChildren.org

Volunteer Opportunities and Honduran Operations

Phone: +504 8895-0404

Email: Dani@ParamedicsForChildren.org

For 27 years, supporters like you have helped Paramedics for Children advocate for and provide direct assistance in Central America and beyond. Let’s make 2024 our best year yet! 

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