Lauren Dulin
Chief Executive Officer
Lauren Dulin serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Air Ambulance Worldwide. In her nearly two-decade career with AAW she’s raised the bar, setting new industry standards in proficient operational excellence and revenue generation.
As a two-time International Travel Insurance Organization award-winner for Marketing Campaign of the Year (2018, 2019), her prominence and network span the globe.
In addition to leading a team of full-time and part-time employees, Lauren is instrumental to providing guidance to directors of various departments both operationally and throughout business development channels. She has provided oversight on a 24 hours basis for the duration of her tenure.
As one of two main conduits between the board of directors and the company’s internal operations, Lauren has displayed poise, passion and promise by exceeding the company’s lofty revenue goals, expanding AAW’s aircraft fleet and travel assistance reach.
Lauren’s number one priority is and has always been customer-focused, delivering above and beyond what is expected with the patient’s needs foremost in mind. Setting and exceeding sales quotas and expectations, developing operational efficiencies, maintaining best-in-class safety protocols in addition to growth development are just a few of her strong suits. As a self-starter, she has the innate ability to build rapport quickly both professionally and personally.
Lauren received a Magnum Cum Laude undergraduate degree in Business Marketing from the Florida State University with a minor in Communications.
Following her graduation, she was highly recruited by Enterprise Rent-A-Car to train within their management program. Lauren progressed rapidly through the program, where she was the manager at one of Tampa’s largest and most productive offices. That experience laid the foundation for her to step in March of 2006 with AAW.
Initially hired as a Flight Coordinator, she quickly transitioned to Flight Coordinator Manager in 2008 to streamline processes and communication, before landing the integral role of Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2014.
Carlos Gonzalez
Chief Financial Officer
Carlos joined AAW as Controller in December 2019. He has over 25 years of financial management experience in a variety of industries and brings extensive experience in all aspects of the finance function. He spent a good deal of his career in the shipping industry which gives him a unique advantage in the aviation industry. One may float and the other flies, but the financial management is very similar in both industries. Carlos is a graduate of the University of South Florida and a Tampa native.
Richard L. Maenza, MD, FACEP
Medical Director
Dr Maenza attended Yale University as an undergraduate, majoring in Biology and African American Studies. He graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Residency in Emergency Medicine. He currently resides just north of Pittsburgh, PA.
Dr Maenza is Board Certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is active in clinical Emergency Medicine, currently serving as Quality Director and EMS Director for Sharon Regional Health System. He maintains a commitment to academics and teaching, having served as Clinical Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from 1995-2008.
Dr Maenza has been involved in entrepreneurial medicine for the past fifteen years. He has owned and actively managed his own companies, as well as serving as Medical Director or Board Member on numerous others. It has been his honor to serve as Medical Director for the same air ambulance company since 1996. As Medical Director of Air Ambulance Worldwide, Dr. Maenza is responsible for the on-boarding, training, and continuous evaluation of all members of the medical crew. He also participates in the leadership structure of the medical operations of Air Ambulance Worldwide, providing input into the delivery of patient care, the quality review process, and regulatory compliance.
Mike Vallee
Vice President of Business Development
Mike brings over 20 years of aviation and travel assistance experience to AAW.
Upon leaving the military in the early 1990’s, Mike began working in the commercial aviation field in Canada and eventually rose to the position of Director of Air Ambulance. Mike has been involved in the planning of over 6000 air ambulance repatriations globally and has experience managing on-site mass evacuations from disaster areas, including on-site flight management for secure flights in various countries from Tonga in the South Pacific to Sierra Leone in West Africa. In addition to his aviation experience, Mike also managed the operations of a Global Travel Assistance provider before joining the AAW team. He is known in the industry as a forthright professional with a highly developed understanding of the needs of both insurers and patients.
Monique Leverette
Director of Human Resources
Monique Leverette joined Air Ambulance Worldwide as the Human Resources Generalist in 2019. She has over 12 years of experience working in county government human resources where she gained experience in payroll, recruiting, background investigations, on-boarding, benefit management and employee development. Monique oversees various aspects of human resources while continuing to build employee-employer relations. Monique has a Bachelor’s Degree from Alcorn State University.
Ryan Jones
Senior Vice President, Operations
After attending Florida Atlantic University, Ryan Jones joined Air Ambulance Worldwide, Inc. for an 18 month business development internship. During that time Ryan worked in the finance and accounting department learning all aspects of the financial requirements of the company. Ryan also worked with Air GATO Enterprises, which is a subsidiary of Air Ambulance Worldwide, and helped with maintaining and dispatching our owned and managed aircraft.
After this extensive internship, Ryan has moved into a Flight Coordinators position and now works directly with the clients and private individuals that require their patients and family members to be safely transferred. Ryan is a caring and customer focused individual that will always go the extra distance to meet your needs.
Brian Fanning
Director of Maintenance
After serving in the United States Marine Corp, Brian Fanning went on to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he received his degree in aviation maintenance technology. After graduation, Brian went to work in the commercial airline industry where he would spend the next decade. During his tenure with the airlines, Brian received an abundance of training in Avionics and systems, hydraulics, sheet metal, advanced composites, safety, leadership and numerous other classes and awards while with the airlines.
After leaving the airlines, Brian took a supervisors position within the Air Ambulance realm where he has spent the last 12 years. Brian holds an Airframe and Powerplant License with an Inspection Authorization and has a vast knowledge of Lear Jet aircraft. Brian's mission is to always put safety first, above all else. With over 25 years in the industry, Brian has been a great addition to our AAW team.
D. Randy Conley
Director of Operations
David R. (Randy) Conley began flying at the age of 16 and earned his Private Pilot Certificate at 18.
He studied Aircraft Avionics and Instrument Systems at Spartan School of Aeronautics and graduated in 1985. After a few years of owning and operating an FAA Approved Repair Station he set out to become a Professional Pilot eventually flying passengers for a Regional Airline, freight for a FEDEX contractor, passengers again for a Fractional Ownership Program and eventually landed at Air GATO Enterprises, Inc.
Randy began his association with Air GATO in March of 2013 as a Piaggio Captain. He was rapidly appointed the position of Chief Pilot, and within a few short months, accepted the position of Director of Operations. His forward vision changed the culture at Air GATO and he began assembling the team of professionals we have today.
Instrumental in obtaining the necessary approvals to operate Jet Aircraft on the Air GATO certificate, Randy is now an FAA approved Check Airman on both the Piaggio and Lear Jet Aircraft. He maintains a full flight schedule and depends heavily on his hand-picked team of Aviators and Operations Personnel to maintain the highest safety standards in the industry.
Heather Petrie, RN
Director of Quality and Compliance
Heather Petrie is Registered Nurse with two decades experience in the air ambulance industry. Her reputation and experience are a vital component of Air Ambulance Worldwide’s patient safety philosophy.
Along with years spent teaching and working in hospitals, Heather spent 17 years as the former Chief Flight Nurse at a Canadian air ambulance company. She brings her extensive experience and lessons learned in global air ambulance transport to our organization. Heather has flown to 75 countries and has over 7000 hours caring for patients aboard international air ambulance missions.
Heather is an invaluable resource to Air Ambulance Worldwide, providing an additional level of guidance based on first-hand knowledge and experience to all areas in the company.
Heather’s focus on overall patient safety, risk mitigation, QA, education and EURAMI reaccreditation.
Michael Johnson
Chief Pilot
As a Chief Pilot, Mike relies on years of aviation and Marine Corps leadership skills. He believes in “managing tasks” and “leading people” and believes that genuine care and concern for people makes for a fantastic environment. His Marine Corps leadership skills were honed on the belief that one must not value “being in charge”, rather one must value the people “with whom are in their charge”.
Mike has been flying since 1974 and has flown a multitude of airplanes and helicopters over the years. His previous experiences as Chief Pilot, Director of Training and Director of Operations for a variety of air carriers, environments and missions brings great knowledge and experience to AAW. Starting his aviation life competing in aerobatics, he performed at airshows across the Southern United States. His first airline job was as a line pilot for Texas International Airlines (which became Continental Airlines).
Mike left aviation to serve more than eleven years on active duty in Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance (infantry), most of which were in the Middle East, serving five years of combat duty. He is a decorated combat wounded veteran, having been awarded 23 of the nation’s top 27 personal military decorations. Upon leaving the Marine Corps, he returned to aviation and, as a professional pilot, working in all facets of aviation including airlines, charters, flight instruction, EMS, ENG and much more. He has many years of experience in the Air Ambulance arena, not only in organ transplant transportation, but also patient and critical care operations.
Mike holds three college degrees, two from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (B.S. and M.S.) and one from National University (B.S.). As a published aviation author, Mike has authored ten flight training books and multimedia software packages published commercially that were sold through national chains, such as Barnes and Noble. In his spare time Mike plays and referees ice hockey. He has been refereeing hockey at the competitive college and adult levels for 25 years.
Julia Wise
Chief Flight Nurse
Julia is a Registered Nurse with critical care and management experience in cardiovascular surgical ICU and cardiothoracic ICU. This experience has given her the ability to proficiently manage post-surgical patients, acutely critical patients, various invasive modalities (ECMO, Impella, IABP, IcyCath, CRRT, VADS, and more). Additionally, she participated in precepting nurses, and has sat on as chair to policy, safety and patient care councils. Serving those in need has been a lifelong goal for Julia, and she strives to educate and provide the upmost care to our clients.
Prior to nursing, Julia served twenty years as a Chemist and Environmental Consultant. Serving areas throughout the United States on Superfund sites, pollution control and clean-up, project management, safety, permitting and ecological monitoring.
Medical Staff
The medical staff provided on air ambulance transfers are highly trained and licensed as Physicians, Nurses, Paramedics, Respiratory Therapists or other specialized medical professionals. They all have a minimum of 5 years experience in Emergency Medicine, ICU, CCU, or Pre-Hospital training. In addition to these certifications, the medical team may also be trained in Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Critical Care Nursing or Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). All flight personnel are trained in Aviation Physiology.
Flight Coordinators
The Flight Coordinators for Air Ambulance Worldwide have extensive experience in assisting families during a time of crisis. Their understanding and experience in dealing with every aspect of an emergency or non-emergency transfer allows our clients to take comfort in knowing everything will be handled professionally and efficiently. All of the Flight Coordinators understand the intricacies and dynamics of working with hospitals, insurance companies and families during a time of need. AAW has a Flight Coordinator available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Quality Assurance
Air Ambulance Worldwide has a quality assurance program in place that allows us to make sure that we are continually improving our service to the patient, family, or organization that we are working with on a transfer. As a normal operating practice, the nurses’ notes, from each transfer, are sent to the corporate office for review by our medical director.
The staff has a weekly review of each transfer to make sure that we are communicating with all of the proper people, internally and external to our company, during the transfer process. The client is sent a QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW sheet that we request them to complete and return to the President of Air Ambulance Worldwide. Each of these sheets from our clients are reviewed, and improvements implemented, from their valuable insight.
Each year several of our operator partners are invited to spend a day with our management and advisory board to work on ways to improve our service and control cost for air ambulance transfers.