George Contreras is a healthcare professional with over twenty-seven years of experience in the fields of emergency medical services, disaster management, public health, higher education, international disaster response, hospital administration and consulting. He served as Assistant Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine at New York Medical College (NYMC), Assistant Director of the Emergency Preparedness Certificate Program at NYMC and adjunct Associate Professor in the NYMC School of Health Sciences and Practice. Prior to coming to NYMC, he was a tenured Associate Professor and Director of Allied Health at Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York where he created, implemented and attained national initial accreditation for two new allied health programs in Brooklyn: Paramedic and Polysomnographic Technology. He is also an adjunct Professor at Metropolitan College of New York’s (MCNY) Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Emergency and Disaster Management. Professor Contreras has actively participated in various disasters in New York City and abroad. Some disasters include the 1993 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the TWA 800 plane crash, Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, the historic snowstorm in January 2016, and the September 11th terrorist attacks. On September 11th, he worked as a paramedic at Ground Zero and was fortunate enough to survive as the second tower collapsed. His areas of interest include simulation and inter-professional education as tools in the fields of EMS, public health, disaster management, higher education and health policy and management. Above all, he continues to pursue his life-long passion and still works as a paramedic in New York City.

Graduate School(s)

New York Medical College

Focus Area/Interests

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Disaster Management
• Higher Education
• Health Policy and Management
• Simulation
• Inter-professional education

Current Position

• Assistant Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine at New York Medical College (NYMC)
• Assistant Director of the Emergency Preparedness Certificate Program at NYMC 
• Adjunct Associate Professor in the NYMC School of Health Sciences and Practice
• Adjunct Professor at Metropolitan College of New York’s (MCNY) Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Emergency and Disaster Management

Career Experience

• Over 27 years in emergency services and disaster management
• Tenured Associate Professor and Director of Allied Health at Kingsborough Community College
• Developed and accredited Paramedic and Polysomnographic Technology programs
• Frontline experience in major disasters and terrorist attacks
• Active Paramedic in New York City