ESA Board Members

Jim Reid - El Paso County Fire Marshal Fire Marshal Jim Reid  - El Paso County Sheriff's Office - Chair

Appointed August 2006 - Jim has 30 years of experience in emergency service from maintaining fire safe facilities to emergency response.  As the Director of the Office of Emergency Management for El Paso County, Jim oversees the El Paso County Hazardous Material Team supervises 5 full time employees and approximately 200 volunteers for Emergency Response, trains County Personnel in the Incident Command System/Emergency Management.  Jim is a retired First Sergeant after serving in the United States Air Force for 20 years.

Carl Tatum - Chief - Pikes Peak Fire Chiefs' Forum

Chief Carl Tatum - Pikes Peak Fire Chiefs' Forum - Vice-Chair

Appointed August 2009 - Chief Carl Tatum represents the El Paso County Fire Chiefs' Forum and is currently Chief for the Hanover Fire Protection District, where he has served for over five years.  Chief Tatum, who hails from Waverly, Iowa, joined the Kansas National Guard in 1990 and a year later enlisted into the U.S. Army.  He has enjoyed assignments in Germany; Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; and Korea, and his current assignment is Fort Carson, Colorado.  Chief Tatum has completed specialized training in military leadership, heavy equipment mechanics, and financial management, and has has attended college at Central Texas College and Pikes Peak Community College.

John Scorsine

John Scorsine – El Paso County Resident/Current or Previous EMT or Paramedic Representative - Secretary

Appointed April 2010 – Mr. Scorsine is a resident of Peyton and serves as a volunteer firefighter and EMT with both Falcon and Ellicott fire protection districts.  His experience spans 25 years a law enforcement officer, judge, and attorney in both public and private sectors, and he has dedicated volunteer time with organizations as diverse as the Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, and various ski patrol and search and rescue organizations.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Rochester Institute of Technology and a law degree from the University of Wyoming.

T. Wyne Florek - Senior Citizen Representative T. Wayne Florek - Senior Citizen Representative - Treasurer

Appointed April 2008 - Mr. Florek represents the interests of senior citizens in El Paso County.  He has over 25 years of experience in the computer software industry, and holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from Cornell University and a Masters of Business Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.  He has resided in Colorado since 1986 and has called Colorado Springs home since 2002.
Sallie Clark - El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark - El Paso County County Commissioner

Appointed July 2006 - Commissioner Clark was elected to serve as an El Paso County Commissioner in November of 2004 to represent District 3.  She has owned her own business since 1986. She operates Holden House Bed & Breakfast Inn, located on the historic Westside.  Since her election to the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, Commissioner Clark serves as liaison to the offices of the County Treasurer, Coroner, Assessor and Surveyor.  In addition, she is a member of the following committees:
  • National Association of Counties (NACo) Justice and Public
  • Safety El Paso County's Citizen’s Outreach Group
  • Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority
  • Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments
  • Department of Human Services, 911-Authority
Merv Bennett - Councilmember, City of Colorado Springs Merv Bennett - Colorado Springs City Councilmember

Appointed May 2011- Councilmember Merv Bennett was elected to an at-large council seat in April of 2011.  He holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Anderson University in Indiana, and has spent the past thirty-eight years in Colorado Springs at the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region, most recently as the president and CEO for over eighteen years.
Jeri Howells - City of Fountain Mayor Mayor Jeri Howells - City of Fountain

Reappointed August 2010 - In addition to serving as Mayor, she has worked as a community liaison for the El Paso County Health and Environment Department since Feb., 2005. She is especially proud of Fountain being designated as a LiveWell Community, through the new LiveWell Fountain program; just as she recognizes the importance of becoming a healthier community, and the benefits to everyone involved.
Marilyn Gifford M.D. - Memorial Health System Marilyn Gifford, M.D. - Memorial Health System

Appointed August 2006 -  Dr. Gifford was born and raised in Colorado. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York.  Subsequent training at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital was followed by Emergency Medical Practice at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, Longmont United Hospital, and Boulder Community Hospital.

Dr. Gifford, is currently Director of Emergency Services and Paramedic Advisor to the City of Colorado Springs, positions held since 1980.  She is board certified in Emergency Medicine and is responsible for providing direct patient care, as well as organizing and managing an emergency department with approximately 96,000 patient visits in 2007.  Additional responsibilities include oversight of training and continuing education for EMTs and Paramedics of the Colorado Springs Fire Department.  She has coauthored three editions of Protocols for Prehospital Emergency Care; A Guide for Paramedics, 3rd Edition.

Dr. Gifford has been involved in Emergency Medical Services at local, state and national levels.  She is Chairman of the Prehospital Care Committee of Region IV EMS, Past Chairman of the Emergency Care Committee of the El Paso County Medical Society, Past Board Member of the Colorado Trauma Institute, Board Member and Past Chairman of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and Past Chairman of the Emergency Medical Services Committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Jack Sharon M.D. - Penrose St. Francis Health Services Jack Sharon, M.D. - Penrose St. Francis Health Services

Reappointed August 2010 - Dr. Sharon represents Penrose St. Francis Health Services and serves as their Emergency Department Director.  Dr. Sharon graduated from Oral Roberts University School of Medicine in 1990 and has been an Emergency Department physician for both Memorial and Penrose hospitals since 1994.  He has been appointed to the following boards and committees:
  • ESA Medical Control Committee
  • Front Range Emergency Specialists, P.C., Board of Directors
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Emergency Medicine Section Committee
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Emergency Medicine Peer Review Committee
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Trauma Section Committee
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Trauma Peer Review Committee
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Clinical Effectiveness Committee
  • Member, Penrose-St. Francis Capacity Task Force Committee
  • Physician Advisor, Larkspur Fire Protection District
  • Physician Advisor, Fountain Fire Department
Chief Tommy Smith - Colorado Springs Fire Department Deputy Chief Tommy Smith - Colorado Springs Fire Department

Appointed March 2010- Deputy Chief Tommy Smith represents the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

ESA Staff Members

Eileen Gonzalez  - Contract Business Administrator

Bob Demetry - ESA Administrative Coordinator

Jane Fredman - Retained Legal Council Jane Fredman  - Retained Legal Council 

Jane Fredman is a member of Flynn Wright & Fredman, LLC, a Colorado Springs law firm.  She has been an attorney in Colorado Springs for over twenty years.  Prior to entering private practice, she was an assistant county attorney and the Human Resources Manager for El Paso County and a senior attorney with Colorado Springs Utilities.