Our Team

Dr. Jack Perkins is board-certified in both Emergency and Internal Medicine and has spent the better part of two decades working as an educator.  He most recently served as part of the faculty for the  Virginia Tech Carilion Emergency Medicine Residency.  Currently, he is working as an Emergency Medicine physician in New Plymouth, New Zealand, with plans to return to Virginia in the summer of 2024.  Dr. Perkins is deeply passionate about healthcare inequities and spearheaded the introduction of a curriculum on 'Social Disparities in Healthcare' during his time in Virginia.  He also established a unique educational platform, "Patients as Educators" that is a yearly offering at the Scientific Assembly of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.  He is proud to lead the Foundation in its pursuit of providing every victim of cardiac arrest an equal chance to return to their family.

Seager Wilson has spent his professional career as a CPA in public accounting and is currently an Accounting Manager with Brown Edwards with a focus in the healthcare industry.  Seager holds a Master’s in Accountancy from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and previously attained his bachelor’s from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri where he was a Pole Vaulter and All-American athlete.  He and his wife moved to Roanoke three years ago and regularly enjoy trail running, cycling and hiking in the area.  As an advocate for health and wellness, Seager is happy for the opportunity to volunteer with the Compress and Shock Foundatio

Bob Zemple is currently practicing as both an Emergency Medicine (EM) and local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) physician with Aurora BayCare in Green Bay, WI. He is an avid sports enthusiast, enjoys running, and is both a member of and works with the area's YMCAs. He completed medical school in Madison, WI at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He then went on to Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA for EM residency followed by an EMS Fellowship while concurrently earning his Professional MBA from Virginia Tech. Bob then returned back home with his family to the greater Green Bay area in the summer of 2017.

Faith Quenzer, DO MPH obtained her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology and then graduated from the Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in 2015. Dr. Quenzer did her Emergency Medicine residency at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. After residency, Dr. Quenzer became a clinical research fellow for UC San Diego, Department of Emergency Medicine while she earned her MPH in Epidemiology through San Diego State University. Dr. Quenzer is involved in the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and has recently been appointed to be the Vice-Chair of the Committee of Social Emergency Medicine and Population Health. As co-chair of this committee, she will be leading a team of dedicated emergency physicians, who will be working in conjunction with other organizations and academic institutions in producing research focused on the health and well-being of the U.S.-Mexico border population. Dr. Faith Quenzer was also recently appointed to be an adjunct professor at the SDSU School of Public Health where she lectures on Infectious Disease Epidemiology and sits on multiple thesis defense committees. She also lectures for UC San Diego undergraduates.

Heather is a current 2nd year Masters in Public Health student, with a concentration in Epidemiology, at Virginia Commonwealth University. At VCU, her primary research focuses are on EMS and opioid overdoses. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology at Christopher Newport University with minors in Spanish and Sociology. Heather became an EMT in 2022 and has worked helping train new EMTs.  She is also taking part in a research-focused mentorship/internship program with the National Registry of EMTs this summer.

Dr. Karen Perkins is board-certified in Family Medicine and currently is a physician with Moturoa Medical Centre in New Plymouth, New Zealand. In August of 2024, she plans to rejoin the Virginia Tech Carilion Emergency Medicine Department. She is a clinician and educator, and has spent most of her professional life teaching and seeing patients of all ages, including delivering babies. In addition to her clinical duties, she and Jack enjoy advancing the mission of the Compress and Shock Foundation and raising their three kids, ages 10, 12, and 14.

My name is Jennifer Herriot-Trejo. I was born and raised in Spotsylvania, Virginia and moved to

Roanoke, Virginia in 2002 after receiving my B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from VA Tech. I later

studied Spanish and became a certified English as a Second Language teacher in 2007 in Costa Rica. This is when and where I began to develop my passion for teaching and working with the Hispanic community. I went on to receive an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Liberty University in 2008. I became an EMT in the spring of 2022 and am currently a career EMT in Covington, Virginia and a BLS Instructor for Code One Training Solutions. I am a volunteer fire fighter/EMT with Read Mountain Fire and Rescue in Botetourt, Virginia. I am active in my church Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana serving as the financial director. I have been married to my 

 wonderful husband, Alejandro Trejo-Soto for over 10 years. We have two cats, Porkchop and Oscar. In my free time, I enjoy playing guitar and fishing.

Dr. Abraham completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2008. He is a Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and serves as the Chairman of Emergency Medicine at University of MD - Upper Chesapeake Health System. In his spare time he enjoys outdoor pursuits including running and hiking. Dr. Abraham and Dr. Perkins spent two years together as residents in Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland.

Jon Blank has been in Fire and EMS for the last 30 Years. Jon is currently a Fire Captain with the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department, and owner of The CPR Guy, a small local business that teaches CPR and AED instruction. Jon has witnessed firsthand the poor outcomes associated with no CPR and AED intervention prior to EMS arrival. He has a strong desire to see them improved. Jon holds an A.S. in Emergency Health Sciences – Paramedic and a B.S. in Health Services Management from Radford University Carilion. Jon has been heavily involved in EMS Education since the mid 1990’s teaching at Radford University Carilion and The Roanoke Valley Regional Recruit School. In Jon’s spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife, 6 kids and 2 grandchildren.

Dr. O’Brien received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University. He attended the University of Virginia for Medical school, Internship, and Residency training. Dr. O’Brien performed his Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology fellowships at Wake Forest University. Board Certified in Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology, Vascular and Endovascular Medicine, his interests include peripheral artery disease, coronary and peripheral arterial intervention, and the treatment of acute myocardial infarction.

Dr. Andrew Bouland is the medical director for Wilson County EMS and associate medical director for Pitt County EMS in North Carolina. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. He completed an EMS fellowship at Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center and Mecklenburg EMS agency in Charlotte, NC. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion. Dr. Bouland has extensive background in EMS including 13+ years as an EMS provider. He has a particular interest in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and bystander CPR.

Alex Fisher is an undergraduate student in the Honors College at East Carolina University. Currently, he is studying Biochemistry with the hopes of attending medical school in the near future. Alex has grown up in the first responder field, with both of his parents having over 25 years of experience in EMS and Law Enforcement. Continuing the efforts of his parents, Alex has spent his undergraduate career working as an EMT for Wilson County EMS, Eastern Pines EMS, and Ayden EMS. He has also spent significant time working for the Pitt County Community Paramedicine Program to reduce non-emergency 911 calls. Alex has a particular interest in using his platform as an undergraduate student to create university partnerships with the Compress and Shock Foundation.

Richard Lovegrove is a former newspaper and wire service reporter who retired as a university editor and writer at Virginia Tech. His wife, Lisa is a retired RN and son Spencer is an Emergency Medicine Physician, but his desire to expand free and equitable access to CPR and AEDs started with the death of his 18 years old daughter in 2005. Grace Lovegrove was running on the Newport News, VA streets with her college track team when she went into cardiac arrest. Nobody nearby knew CPR and no AED was available. Rick has helped with a few efforts to make AEDs more available over the years, but never felt at home until becoming involved with the Compress and Shock Foundation. 

Dr. Sammy Zakaria specializes in critical care cardiology, and has cared for many patients that have had cardiac arrest. He is the Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (JHBMC), and also works in the Cardiac Care Unit at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Zakaria earned his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University, his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, and his master of public health degree from the University of Maryland. He trained at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Internal Medicine and also practiced there as a faculty attending for one year. He then spent three years with Dr. Perkins at the University of Maryland while he was a fellow in Cardiovascular Disease and Dr. Perkins was a resident in Emergency Medicine. He then moved on to a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine fellowship at the University of California San Francisco before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2008. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Critical Care Medicine. He is also the incoming Governor for the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and is also heavily involved in the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Karen is an Associate Professor and simulation coordinator for Averett University. She also practices part-time as an FNP in various settings, specializing in Advanced Wound Care and home-health visits. She has been an RN for 29 years; she has 17 years of experience as a nurse educator, eight years of experience in simulation in BSN nursing education, and three years educating FNP students.

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Karen earned her nursing degree from Danville Regional School of Nursing, her BSN degree from Old Dominion University, her MSN-Nurse Educator Degree from ODU, her FNP from East Tennesse University, and her Doctorate in Health Profession Education from Logan University. She is passionate about preparing and training her students to respond to cardiac arrest using a variety of scenarios with other clinical instructors in the simulation lab. Four days after intense training with students and their clinical instructors on how to respond to a code blue using the manikins, her life was saved by the same actions previously practiced by one of her colleagues. Karen had gone into cardiac arrest on 2-14-2023 at work, and her colleagues sprung into action, started CPR, and used an AED on her to bring her back to life. This life-changing experience brought a new passion to Karen to educate as many people interested in learning hands-only CPR and how to use an AED. She will present at the Virginia State Simulation Alliance on July 30th, 2024, on how she has brought her simulators out of the lab onto the campus to train and educate faculty, staff, and students on Hands-on CPR and how to use an AED. She hopes this will help other nurse professors bring their simulators out of the lab onto the campus to share this life-saving experience with students, faculty, and staff who otherwise would not be exposed to this. She is bringing awareness to others about the importance of knowing where AEDs are located and how to use the simple technique of Hands-only CPR.

She enjoys adding service learning opportunities in her courses to introduce students to social disparities working with the food bank and homeless shelter in Danville, Va.

She has engaged her nursing student club members to assist in educating the community about hands-only CPR throughout the University and surrounding community. She has been married for 35 years to her husband Scott, and they have two adult children. She is an active church member and enjoys spending time with her husband and family doing various activities, such as attending concerts, hiking, kayaking, and volunteering in her community.