Who We Are

Dr. Anthony Minge coordinates the firm’s educational offerings and is responsible for the firm’s reimbursement, compliance and membership consulting services. In his educational role, Dr. Minge serves as the program co-chair for the Pinnacle Leadership Forum and as the partner responsible for the Ambulance Service Manager and Communications Center Managers certification programs offered in collaboration with multiple professional associations.

Anthony has an extensive background in healthcare finance specializing in managing billing and collections functions in multiple areas including pharmacy, home health, hospital, lab and ground and air medical transport. Prior to joining the firm, he was the business manager for Northwest Medstar in Spokane, Wash., one of the largest air medical programs in the Pacific Northwest. He also served as business manager of Children’s Medical Center of Dallas Transport, one of the nation’s busiest pediatric specialty transport services.

He has been directly involved in the development and management of ground and air services for hospital based and stand-alone ambulance services for a number of years. Dr. Minge’s involvement in EMS industry education is extensive having served on the board and as guest lecturer for a billing and coding certification program, on state and regional advisory councils in Washington and Texas for ambulance services and safety/injury prevention committees, has authored multiple articles for EMS periodicals, and is a nationally recognized speaker.

Anthony earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, an MBA in Strategic Leadership from Amberton University in Garland, Texas, and a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University, Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Knight leads the firm’s fire service practice. In that role, he has led numerous assessments of major cities and in smaller communities. These often include standards of cover reviews and providing strategic planning services. Dr. Knight brings to the firm over 25 years fire/EMS experience. He retired as the Assistant Fire Chief for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida. He has been a subject matter expert for both the National Fire Academy and the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He also served as team leader and assessor for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International and has held multiple faculty appointments in Fire Science and EMS. Dr. Knight joined the firm after serving as the Senior Manager for Fire and EMS at the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Steve earned a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in Fire & Safety Engineering Technology, from the University of Cincinnati and an MPA in Public Administration from Troy State University. He earned a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction for Adult Education from the University of South Florida. Dr. Knight is a nationally recognized speaker and author. He completed the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program at the National Fire Academy, earning the A. Don Manno Award for Excellence in Research from the National Society of Executive Fire Officers and the 2007 Outstanding Research Award from the National Fire Academy and United States Fire Administration.

Mrs. Peek is the Managing Partner with Fitch & Associates, an international medical transportation and public safety consulting firm. Her client portfolio includes serving as the President & CEO for LifeFlight Eagle, a nonprofit Air Medical Program in Kansas City, Missouri and as the Executive Director of the Association of Critical Care Transport. Mrs. Peeks’ healthcare career includes more than 20 years of experience in senior clinical and operational leadership roles within an integrated delivery system, prior to joining Fitch  & Associates. Her key areas of expertise in the Firm’s healthcare practice include operational and financial analysis of medical transportation services, development of strategic alliances, and management of nonprofit medical transportation organizations.

Mrs. Peek is active in several professional organizations that serve and support medical transportation and emergency medical care. She received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from St. Louis University, holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Andrew Jackson University, and is a Fellow of the Advisory Board.

Thomas Moore is a Partner at Fitch & Associates who supports leading health systems, EMS organizations, public safety agencies, and municipalities in improving the performance and sustainability of emergency care. His work centers on operating model transformation, cost and productivity improvement, growth strategy, M&A support, and large-scale performance programs, with deep specialization in EMS system design, economics, and procurement. He helps leaders redesign operating models and cost structures, improve reliability, and build durable capabilities across complex environments.

Thomas’ primary focus areas include enterprise and service-line strategy, growth, M&A support, business building, and large-scale performance transformations. He also brings specialized expertise in helping organizations clarify and improve how risk is structured, allocated, and managed across the healthcare ecosystem. In practice, that often means supporting leaders as they make decisions about service delivery models, vendor and partner relationships, governance, performance accountability, and the operational mechanisms that drive cost and quality.

He is particularly experienced in translating change into the practical realities required to deliver it: operating model design, stakeholder alignment, performance management, and measurable strategies. His experience spans publicly traded and not-for-profit organizations, academic medical centers, integrated health systems, and EMS providers serving both metropolitan and rural communities.

Before joining Fitch & Associates, Thomas held senior EMS and healthcare leadership roles across both the private and public sectors. He served as the Director of Emergency Medical Services for University Medical Center Health System in Lubbock, Texas, and brings hands-on experience in the operational levers that most directly shape EMS and health system performance. He holds an A.S. in Emergency Medical Services and a B.S. in Management and Health Services Administration, is a graduate of the Ambulance Service Manager program, and is a recipient of the Jerry Love Leadership Award.

Mr. Fuentes leads the communications and technology practice for the firm. His experience in public safety operations, communications, technology and senior administration is wide ranging. He is a leading expert on the analysis, design, and deployment/risk management for public safety agencies. He supervises statistical and operational analysis, computer modeling and the development of deployment plans as well as major technology purchases and communications center installations for clients. He frequently conducts studies on the feasibility of amalgamating communications call center functions regionally and across service lines. He served as the lead consultant on the Hong Kong (China) Fire Service Department communications project and has played essential roles in a number of the firm’s
international consults.

Mr. Fuentes previously served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Niagara Regional Police Agency, in Ontario, Canada, and prior was Associate Director of EMS for the Niagara Region. In that role, he worked with the firm to design, build and implement a communications center that received NAED accreditation in its first year’s operation. Prior to Niagara, he served as Deputy Director of Operations EMS in Montreal, Canada, supervising 1,100 staff members. He was responsible for operations, communications, support services and scheduling functions.

He earned a Masters in Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude, from Aspen University, Aspen Colo., and is active in the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

Chad began his career as a Paramedic and has since held several leadership roles. Most recently, he served as Director of Field Operations with Mercy Health Life Flight Network in Toledo, Ohio. Prior to that Chad was the Executive Director for Lima Allen County Paramedics and the Operations Manager for ProMedica. He has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and has extensive experience in ground EMS systems as well as air medical.

Bruce J. Moeller, Ph.D., has a diverse public sector background spanning over 30 years, most recently serving as Chief of Staff and Assistant County Administrator in Pinellas County, Florida. Previously Moeller served as fire chief and then city manager for Sunrise, Florida. He also served as Director and Chief of Department for Broward County, Florida.

Moeller initially began his public safety career in law enforcement after graduating from the Chicago Police Academy. He subsequently joined the fire service and was promoted through various line and chief officer roles. Chief Moeller has been a certified paramedic for over 20 years and has commanded various incidents of significance including Hurricane Andrew (1991), Value Jet #592 crash in the Florida Everglades (1996), South Florida Anthrax Panic (2001) and Hurricane Wilma (2006). Chief Moeller is a sought-after speaker at national conferences on topics including leading organizational change and effective public policy making. Moeller is active in a variety of national associations and serves on numerous boards and committees.

Dr. Moeller has a Bachelor’s from Western Illinois University, Master’s in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University and received his Doctor of Philosophy from Florida Atlantic University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in public administration, management, labor relations, and organizational theory for several institutions and is currently affiliated with the University of Florida. Dr. Moeller is an author in public administration and fire rescue fields, and has contributed to Disaster Management Handbook published in 2008 by Taylor & Francis and the 4th Edition (2012) of ICMA’s Managing Fire Rescue Services.

Melissa Coons is responsible for direction, oversight, and support for Membership/Subscription Services and professional Associations managed by the firm. She is also the organization’s lead claims review specialist. Her background and knowledge of ambulance billing rules and regulations allow her to provide expert analysis of coding and billing compliance for both ground and air medical claims.

Prior to her current position, she served in as assistant director with operational oversight of an ambulance billing company. She has coordinated multiple teams on a national level to accomplish multifaceted, high level, time sensitive projects. Her project management skills are extensive including multiple aspects of accounts receivable and payables. The expanse of her organizational management and expertise includes benefit coordination, payroll processing, and human resources related functions for a health group of more than 25 offices. Ms. Coons received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri.

Joe Coons manages LifeFlight Eagle’s safety systems in conjunction with the program’s air operator. He also leads the Safety Advisory Group, a multi-disciplined committee that works together to improve the safety of the program. Mr. Coons started his EMS career as an EMT in 1992 and gained his Paramedic license in 1996. He supports Fitch & Associates/MedServ clients on matters of Safety and Risk Management and is a faculty member for the Communication Center Manager course.

Teresa Johnson, Ph.D, is the Director of the Office of Assessment and Evaluation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) Dr. Johnson is also an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Informatics. Prior to joining JHUSOM, Dr. Johnson served as an Assistant Professor of Medical Education at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, where she taught statistics and research methods to first-and second-year undergraduate medical students.

Dr. Johnson completed her Ph.D. degree at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. During her graduate studies, she worked as a Sport Psychology Consultant for the FSU NCAA Division I women’s softball and men’s golf teams and taught undergraduate sections of Sport Psychology and Classroom Applications of Educational Psychology.

Chuck Walker brings his expertise in air medical program operations, flight operations, and information technology to the Firm’s clients. His consulting projects have included evaluation and redesign of communications centers, process redesign for electronic and manual work flow, and design of automated systems to track and store statistical data, IT infrastructure design, development of key performance monitoring tools and reports, and procurement of aircraft and aviation management services.

Sheryl Swearengin, MBA, CPA, has over 25 years’ experience with increasing levels of responsibilities with accounting, construction and retail firms. She has served as an staff accountant, tax manager and as chief financial officer. Ms. Swearengin has a BA in accounting and an MBA in addition to current licensure as a CPA in Missouri.

Sharon Conroy serves as Program Coordinator for Fitch & Associates and has nearly 30 years administrative experience. In her role, she coordinates the firm’s educational events including the annual Pinnacle EMS Leadership conference, the Ambulance Service Manager Program, the Communications Center Manager course, and Beyond the Street workshops.

Michael Poynter is a senior consultant with Fitch & Associates. He has managed operations and led Emergency Personnel in environments of all types throughout his 40 years of public service. His experience spans all branches of Emergency Services including Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services, and the Fire Service. During his tenure he has responded to hundreds of major incidents in all sectors and trained emergency responders from around the world in their related fields. Mr. Poynter served as a Tactical Paramedic with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Weapons and Tactics Team and a Flight Paramedic at a Level 1 Trauma Center and was involved in many duties including those in special operations, training, and aviation overseeing Emergency Services Responders. He served 10 years as the State Director for Emergency Medical Services for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Advisory Board Member for Emergency Medical Services World Magazine, Advisory Board Member for the Bluegrass State Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence, Board of Directors for the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials, and Commissioner for the American College of Paramedic Executives. He also served a 4-year term on the Board of Directors for the FBI’s InfraGard National Members Alliance.

He has been published in numerous peer and trade journals and has spoken at numerous regional, national, and international conferences. Mike was recently inducted into the Cave City, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. He resides in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and 2 children.

Amy Hooley coordinates the marketing efforts for Fitch & Associates and its educational programs, including the annual Pinnacle EMS Leadership conference. Prior to joining the Firm in 2020, she supported a group of community newspapers and served as program manager for an international non-profit organization. She has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication.

Hannah Fitch, M. Div., is the education coordinator and a core faculty member for the Ambulance Service Manager (ASM) program at Fitch & Associates. She is a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), serving a vibrant congregation in Chicago, Illinois. Her background in theater, broadcast and vocal performance deeply informs her approach to leadership development and effective communication training. She has helped politicians, executives, educators and activists to develop both the skillset and the mindset for a powerful public presence. Hannah is an enthusiastic listener, sounding board, and problem navigator and is honored to serve the EMS community.

Melanie Bevan, Ed.D., became the Chief of the Bradenton Police Department in February of 2016. She served the St. Petersburg Police Department for 29 years, retiring at the rank of Assistant Chief. She holds a Doctor of Education degree in Leadership Education and has completed numerous professional specialty certifications including the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy and the Naval Postgraduate Center for Homeland Security and Defense, Homeland Security Executive Leaders Program. She also does contract investigative work for the office of the Commissioner for Major League Baseball.