Meet the Managers: Welcome the newest State Partnership Program Managers!

The EMSC Program is thrilled to introduce three new State Partnership Program managers for Kansas, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

State Partnership Program managers are vital to the EMSC Program because they work to expand and improve emergency care for children, in real-time, at the state and local level. They do this in part by working on national performance measures.

Jessica Baker, AAS, Paramedic - Kansas

Jessica has been a certified paramedic in Kansas since 2012 and an EMT since 2009. Throughout her career, she has taken on a variety of roles, including serving as QA/QI chair, assisting in the billing office, and contributing as a member of the orientation team. Jessica has a passion for reading, particularly fantasy novels, with Sarah J. Maas being one of her favorite authors. She loves spending time with her four children, ages 15, 11, 7, and 6. During the summer, her family enjoys floating down the Spring River in Arkansas and spending relaxing days by the pool.

Carissa Brunner, MPH, CLC - Wisconsin

Carissa is the program leader for the Wisconsin EMSC initiative. In this role, she works with statewide partners to improve pediatric emergency care in both prehospital and hospital-based settings. Carissa earned a master’s degree in public health from Columbia Southern University with a concentration in community health education, as well as a bachelor’s of science majoring in Applied Health Sciences and minoring in biology from University of Wisconsin-Parkside. In her free time, Carissa enjoys spending time with her family, taking long walks with her dog, hiking, listening to podcasts and doing yoga.

Julie Ann Toves Laniyo - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)

Born and raised on the beautiful island of Rota, CNMI, Julie has spent the past 16 years living on the island of Saipan. She currently works for the CNMI Fire Department in the EMS Division, where she serves as the Program Manager for the EMSC State Partnership Grant Program. In her personal life, Julie is a wife and proud mother of two children. She expresses her love through food, particularly cooking from scratch, with pasta being a household staple and lasagna as her favorite comfort dish. She also has a passion for travel and dreams of exploring the world with her family, experiencing new cultures and cuisines. Julie enjoys connecting with people, exchanging ideas, and finding creative solutions to the challenges faced by her community in an ever-changing world.

Learn more about the State Partnership Program here.