Joseph Zalkin, BSHS - EMC, Paramedic, is the Executive Director of the Wake EMS Foundation, Inc. He manages the nonprofit foundation functions and coordinates with the Board of Directors. Formerly, Chief Zalkin was Deputy Director and Chief at Wake County EMS. He retired after 35 years of service. Currently, he is active with the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine EMS Fellowship training program. Chief Zalkin is the founder of the North Carolina Ambulance Strike Team project, a statewide assistance group. He has led several NDMS receptions during Katrina, Rita and Haiti earthquake. Chief Zalkin is the Project Lead for the NC Consortium Against Responder Violence (www.carvnc.com). The State of NC along with a grant from the Duke Endowment, have established awareness reporting of violence events, best practice and identified resources to reduce these events. Chief Zalkin has been co-author of several peer-reviewed articles on resuscitation, violence against providers and emergency medical dispatch. He has presented in local, state, national and international conferences.