Three Pro EMS Leaders Named in the American Ambulance Association’s 40 under 40 List for 2020

From left, Gibson McCullough, James DiClemente and Rachel Taradash, winners of the American Ambulance Association’s 40 under 40 List for 2020. (Courtesy photo)

Cambridge Mass. — The American Ambulance Association has named its 40 EMS industry leaders under the age of 40. Three of the 40 honorees are leaders at Cambridge’s Pro EMS.  James DiClemente, Director for Pro EMS Center for MEDICS, Rachel Taradash, Director of Personnel and Professional Development, and Gibson McCullough, Director of Special Projects .

The 40 selected in the inaugural year of this program were all identified as contributing toward the future success and development of ambulance and mobile healthcare services across the country. All were singled out for not only supporting their professional associations, but also the EMS profession in an extraordinary way beyond faithful completion of their job duties.

“All three of these talented individuals are critical members of our leadership team at Pro,” Pro EMS CEO Bill Mergendahl said. “Additionally, all three have distinguished themselves serving the Cambridge EMS system and EMS as a whole on a state and national level. Their commitment and dedication to our profession is unmatched.”

As Director for the Center for MEDICS, James DiClemente’s primary responsibility is to design and implement all training and education for Pro EMS employees and more than a dozen outside agencies who contract their training through Pro EMS and Pro EMS Center for MEDICS. James began working at Pro EMS in 2008 and graduated from the Paramedic Program at Pro EMS Center for MEDICS in 2010.

In 2012, James was recognized with the Educator of the Year award by the Metropolitan Boston Emergency Medical Services Council. James has been the cornerstone of the Pro EMS Center for MEDICS in Cambridge MA for the last 8 years and has developed and implemented educational programs for over 800 EMS professionals with a pass rate in the high 90th percentile. He was instrumental in the creation of Pro EMS’s own Learning Management System — Prodigy which to date has trained over 5000 providers through its distributive education methods. 

Rachel Taradash is the Pro EMS Director of Personnel and Professional Development and has been a leadership team member for the last five years. Rachel, a former high school teacher with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education is responsible for personnel matters, the FTEP program, and all professional development.  Rachel’s citation in her award reads, “As a Paramedic, clinician and professionally trained educator, Rachel is developing and delivering the highest possible level of EMS clinicians of the future. Rachel is enthusiastic and dedicated to this essential task and well-deserving of this recognition.”

Director of Special Projects, Gibson McCullough has worked to develop Prodigy — Pro’s Online Learning Management System and has assisted with raising the bar of EMS delivery on multiple levels.  Nationally, Gibson serves as Vice Chair of the American Ambulance Association, Professional Standards Committee and locally as an Executive Board Member for the Metropolitan Boston EMS Council. 

He is also actively involved in collegiate EMS at the national level and back in Cambridge, serves as the clinical liaison and advisor to Harvard University’s program, Crimson EMS. Gibson is also the 2019 recipient of the American Ambulance Association President’s Award, honored for his service as a rising mobile healthcare leader who will help shape the future of the industry. 

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