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PFARS Past Member Biographies
 

The Squad has grown and evolved over the years as a direct result of the people that have been members of the organization. Although we are always sad to see members leave, many stay in touch with the organization. Biographies of former members and what they are up to now is found below. If you were a member of the Squad that we have not spoken with recently, please get in touch by emailing the president.

Jacob Bregman
Jacob Bregman, former 854, was a PFARS member from 2004-2008. Jacob joined the squad as an undergraduate at Princeton University and continued to volunteer after graduation while living and working in Princeton. During his time on the squad Jacob served as crew chief, uniform trustee, and recruitment chair for Princeton University students. In 2005 he was the top volunteer responder with 428 calls. Jacob now lives in Washington, D.C., where he works with international hospitals at the Advisory Board Company.

Adam Castaño
Adam Castaño is a fourth year medical student pursuing an MD at the University of Michigan Medical School. His primary interests lie in the area of infectious disease and cardiology. He recently returned from Geneva, Switzerland where he published a report with the World Health Organization to revive global efforts to contain antibiotic resistance. He has also published reports in Journal of Virology from his work at the NIH where he helped develop a vaccine candidate for parainfluenza virus, a virus responsible for up to 15% of pediatric respiratory related hospitalizations. In his free time, Adam enjoys canoeing and cycling. He has fond memories of his EMT days at PFARS and is grateful for the mentorship he received there during his undergraduate years. His Princeton experience certainly would not have been the same were it not for lessons learned in ambulances during emergencies past the university's gate.

Siddhartha A. Dante
Siddhartha A. Dante, former 857, was a member of the squad from 2003-2007. He served PFARS as a Crew Chief/Rescue and Membership Trustee/Head Trustee from 2004-2005. He was a recipient of the Extra Mile Award in 2004. He graduated from Princeton University in 2005, where he was a molecular biology major, member of Quadrangle Club and an Outdoor Action Leader/Instructor. After PFARS he received his NREMT-P from Center for Emergency Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, and was a paramedic for Capital Health Systems in Trenton, NJ. He is currently a paramedic for Richmond Ambulance Authority in Richmond, VA and a medical student at Medical College of Virginia, class of 2012.

Hilary Dobel
After being a member of PFARS for three and a half years, Hilary graduated from Princeton University in 2008 with a degree in comparative literature. She expects to complete a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Chicago in June of '09. After that, she'll be returning to Seattle to finish her premed coursework, then off to Boston for medical school and graduate program applications.

Ben Easter
Ben Easter is in his second year at Harvard Med School. In the summer of 2008 he performed emergency medicine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Elissa Furutani
Originally from Massachusetts, Elissa was a squad member and corresponding secretary during her years at Princeton. She graduated in 2007 with a BA in the History of Science. Her experience with EMS convinced her to pursue a career in medicine, and she is currently attending Dartmouth Medical School where she also teaches art to kids with chronic illnesses and case-manages patients with diabetes at a local clinic. She hopes to become a pediatrician.

Benjamin Hodgson
Benjamin was a member of PFARS for four years until graduating from Princeton University in 2002. Since then, Ben completed medical school (Dartmouth/Brown) and is currently in the midst of his residency in emergency medicine at UMass Memorial in Worcester Massachussettes where he also gets to fly as a flight physician aboard the LifeFlight helicopter. Ben continues to have an active involvement in EMS, serving as Deputy Chief of the Exeter Rescue Corps in Rhode Island where he lives.

Erik Limpaecher
Erik served on the Squad from 1998-1999. After graduating from Princeton in 2001, Erik became a resident and served on the Squad again from 2004-2006. While taking the EMT-B course and doing his 10 hours of Emergency Room observer time, Erik met Sally-Ann Quiterio, a nurse in the UMCP ED. They married two years later and currently live in Pennington. Sally-Ann still works at UMCP and Erik runs Princeton Power Systems, a renewable energy and military products engineering company located in Princeton on Route 1. Erik is grateful to the Squad for the excellent training, memorable calls, and camaraderie it provided.

Leif Skodnick
A native of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, Leif Skodnick is in his second season as the Sea Wolves director of broadcasting and communications, after spending the 2006-07 season as the Director of Broadcasting and Public Relations with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs. He previously worked in public and community relations as a graduate assistant with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League in 2005-06 and spent two years as an intern in the communications department of the ECHL. A 2002 graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, with a degree in Canadian Studies and History, Skodnick will broadcast all 72 of the Sea Wolves regular season games and all Kelly Cup Playoff games and handles the organization’s public and media relations needs. A resident of Davidson, North Carolina and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Leif enjoys fishing, golf, reading, playing guitar, and traveling.

Brandon Stone
Brandon Stone, a native of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, joined PFARS as a cadet in October of 1998 while attending The Hun School of Princeton. As a cadet, Brandon was trained by former PFARS member Colin McCreight and was honored to be given Colin's badge number, 811, at his retirement. Throughout these years, Brandon was a "Top 10 Call Taker" and exceeded the Hun School's 10 hours of community service requirement by several hundred hours. Brandon rose from cadet through the rank of "Senior Leader", and served as a rescue team member and member of the executive board. Brandon enjoyed his time training new members, having unique training opportunities and taking interesting EMS calls. Brandon retired from PFARS in April of 2005 after accepting employment in Boston as a police officer. Brandon still makes trips back to Princeton to visit old squad friends.

Jeffrey J. Toussaint
Jeff joined PFARS in 1998 when he moved to Princeton for a job in the financial industry. Upon moving to Honk Kong in 2001 he left the Squad, only to join again when he moved back to Princeton in 2003. Then in 2004 he left once again as he moved to Miami, FL. After 12 years in the financial industry Jeff has not stopped moving, but changed to a different type of work as he is now volunteering for MSF (Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières) as the financial and HR coordinator for the French section based in Uganda. Without doubt if he returns to Princeton he would rejoin the Squad in a heartbeat.

Marc Verdiel
After leaving PFARS, due to graduation, Marc went to North Carolina to get a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University. He is currently working for a proprietary trading firm as a commodities trader in Chicago. His favorite pastimes include using the airhorn in 168-1 and wiping water spots off the gigantic black rescue truck.

Nir Yungster
Originally from Israel, and having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, Nir was a member of PFARS during his undergraduate years at Princeton University until his graduation in 2006. During his tenure with the Squad, he served as an EMT/Senior Driver and as the Squad's Vice President (in 2005). Nir thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of working for the Squad in these capacities, and he is very thankful to all the other squad members who made his time there so memorable. Nir currently is an engineer at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he specializes in the area of liquid rocket engine fluid dynamics. In his spare time, Nir plays soccer, ultimate frisbee, and the guitar to fill the time that used to be dedicated to the Squad.

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