PPN Scholars

Dr. Jefferson Barrett works in the division of pediatric emergency medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, where he is an attending physician, co-director of simulation education, and fellowship program associate director. He is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at the hospital’s affiliated medical school, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Barrett grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of Providence College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He completed his pediatrics residency at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center (also known as Tufts Children’s Hospital), where he served an extra year as chief resident, and completed his pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. He also completed a disaster-focused fellowship with the national Emergency Medical Services for Children program.

Dr. Erin Hanlin works as an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, where she also serves as the hospital’s medical director for emergency preparedness, the associate medical director for Durham County Emergency Medical Services, and the medical director for the NC 400 State Medical Assistance Team.

Prior to moving to Durham, Dr. Hanlin spent eight years in Texas. She completed her EMS fellowship training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Houston Fire Department. While living in San Antonio, she served in the U.S. Air Force as an emergency medicine physician and critical care air transport physician.

Dr. Hanlin and her husband recently welcomed their first child, but are still finding time for their favorite hobbies, including ballroom dancing, triathlon training, and urban homesteading. She recently started a home composting program and hopes to welcome a flock of laying hens next year.

Ashley Kourgialis works as a physician assistant in the emergency department at Hackensack Meridian Children's Health at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey. Prior to her move to New Jersey, Kourgialis spent six years living in Washington, D.C., where she worked on clinical research in pediatric endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Following the NIH, she attended the George Washington University Physician Assistant Program, and then pursued her love for pediatric medicine to the emergency and trauma department at Children's National Hospital.

In addition to her clinical work, Kourgialis is involved in disaster medicine and disaster preparedness. Outside the hospital, she is a proud new mother to a baby boy, Niko. She and her husband are big sports fans, and they can't wait to share their love of soccer, golf, and tennis with their son.

Chris Ottolini has 30 years of emergency medical services experience. He has spent the last 10 years working in an extremely isolated and rural region of the Northern California Coast, where he currently serves as a paramedic and the training captain with Coast Life Support District (CLSD), and as the project director for the Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Collaborative.

Ottolini focuses on educating and motivating the public, as well as current and prospective prehospital providers, and on bringing an expanded prehospital scope and tools to an area lacking vital medical resources. This is invaluable within the CLSD region, where Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance response times exceed 30 minutes and transports can take well over two hours. In the remote areas Ottolini serves, life-and-death outcomes depend on the availability, skills, and collaboration of the public and first responders to provide stabilizing care and transport. When not working, Ottolini’s life is centered around a 6-year-old son, his wife, family, and friends. He enjoys all sports, outdoor activities and working out.

Dr. Renita Pushparajah Mak works as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. She loves working with her team in the pediatric emergency department, and she is an avid educator. A native of New Jersey, Dr. Mak earned her undergraduate degree from Boston University and her medical degree from Atlantic University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and her fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Prior to attending college and medical school, Dr. Mak was an emergency medical technician, and she continues to pursue her passion for injury prevention and prehospital medicine by partaking in EMS outreach, pediatric hospital readiness activities, and the Emergency Medical Services for Children program in Arkansas. She lives in Little Rock and loves exploring the state with her husband, Daniel, and her daughter, Layla. In her free time, you can catch her planning social and community events, from bridal showers and cook-offs to health fairs.

Tanya Trevilian works as the pediatric trauma program manager at Carilion Children's Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia. She has lived in Virginia for 26 years and began her career in nursing in 2000 at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Prior to her current role, Trevilian worked in the adult medical surgical progressive care and intensive care units for three years before joining the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) team. After 16 years as a PICU nurse, she transitioned into her current role in pediatric trauma.

Medicine is Trevilian’s second career. Before going back to school to become a registered nurse, Trevilian worked as a job coach for individuals with developmental disabilities for three years. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother on a farm in Blue Ridge, Virginia, where she raises Nigerian Dwarf goats. She enjoys spending her free time on the farm with her family and animals.