Meet Our New Employees

The Office of EMS has recently hired new staff members to our team. Please join us in welcoming them!

Division of Emergency Operations

On Jan. 25, 2019, the Division of Emergency Operations welcomed their newest employee, Richard Troshak, who serves as the Emergency Operations Specialist. He comes to OEMS with more than 26 years of experience in emergency communications. Most recently, he served as the Director of Emergency Communications for Chesterfield County for more than 10 years. His other communications experience includes working at the Department of Homeland Security Communications MegaCenter in Philadelphia, as well as 911 centers in Kansas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He is also actively involved in Virginia’s 911 organizations, including the Association of Public-safety Communications Officers (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association. He was also the Past President for the Virginia Chapter of APCO and is an avid supporter of Emergency Medical Dispatch use by 911 centers. His background and experience in emergency communications, as well as his recognition in Virginia’s 911 community, make him an excellent addition to the Virginia Department of Health.

Division of Administration and Fiscal

On Sept. 25, 2018, Luke Parker started working at OEMS as the Grants Manager. Luke received a bachelor’s degree in English from Christopher Newport University. He began his career as a Marketing Consultant for an advertising agency and later turned to public sector work in 2015. Since then, he has worked for state and nonprofit entities throughout the Commonwealth in fundraising and administrative roles. Luke is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, and teaches classes and workshops about grant writing. He has more than five years of experience in fundraising and grant development and looks forward to helping EMS programs throughout Virginia access the resources they need through the Rescue Squad Assistance Fund grant program and other funding sources.

Division of Community Health and Technical Resources

On Sept. 25, 2018, Chris Vernovai joined OEMS as the EMS Systems Planner. Chris is an NR-Paramedic that has been in EMS and fire services for more than 27 years. His experience includes EMS leadership and management, including commercial, volunteer and combination volunteer and career EMS, as well as working for the Department of Defense as a Federal Fire Fighter and Paramedic. Most recently, Chris was the County EMS Coordinator for Highland County, overseeing the county’s EMS program. For the past five years, he has continued to serve on the State EMS Advisory Board’s Workforce Development committee and on the EMS Officer and Standards of Excellence subcommittee. Chris has been an EMS Field Preceptor in multiple agencies, a Virginia Education Coordinator and CISM team member, in addition to serving on the Executive Board of Directors for the Central Shenandoah EMS Council.