Leadership Team

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Chairman and Founder of the ACR Consortium

Emergency Medical Services Chief (ret.), Rialto Fire Dept.

Before his recent retirement, Chief Powell ran the transport and non-transport Emergency Medical Services division of the Rialto Fire Department. A member of Rialto Fire’s command staff for over 16 years, and a practicing paramedic in San Bernardino County for over 32 years, Joe has been awarded two United States patents and has been published in the "Western Journal of Emergency Medicine" five times. Joe is the Founder and Chairman of the Advanced Cardiac Resuscitation Consortium.  Joe has lectured throughout the U.S. and internationally, including China, Korea, London, Birmingham, Germany, Taiwan, and Indonesia, on cardiac arrest resuscitation. Joe served over five years on the Institutional Review Board for Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.  Joe is also the President of a California based pet food and supplement company. Joe enjoys spending time with his three adult children and eight grandchildren. Joe lives in Oak Hills, California with his wife and three dogs.

Paramedic and Battalion Chief, Richland Fire & EMS

Co-Chair, ACR

 With 38 years of experience in both fire and EMS industries, Chief Hempstead’s passion to serve is stronger today than any other time in his career. He enjoys developing leaders throughout all levels of his organization from fire fighter to chief officer. His role as a chief officer focuses on the importance of being a servant leader and developing a culture of excellence in our workforce. Chief Hempstead's current body of work includes growing political equity, integrating his organization into the community, building partnerships, enhancing professional business practices, oversight of his community risk reduction programs and evolving the EMS delivery model to produce great community outcomes.  

  Division Chief of EMS for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical 

Kevin Joles serves as the EMS Division Chief of Lawrence-Douglas Fire and Medical in Lawrence, KS and is an ACR Consortium Board Member. Before his position as Chief, Kevin was the Captain of EMS Operations and EMS Training in the City of Olathe, where he led clinical education for the city and collaboratively within the Johnson County EMS system. Kevin also sits on the EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) as the Secretary/Treasurer. In his 26 years in emergency services, Kevin has found a passion for superior prehospital clinical care within the departments he has worked with. Kevin’s progressive mentality has him spearheading new initiatives for cardiac arrest and working diligently to achieve the department's International Accreditation status (CPSE) and an ISO 1 rating.  

 Firefighter/Paramedic, Naperville Fire Department

Billy Croft is an active 27-year veteran of the Naperville fire Department in Illinois and serves on the ACR Advisory Board. In his role on the advisory board, he serves the ACR consortium with education, support, and guidance. Billy has a passion for education and inspiring others through lectures, presentations, and other events across the country using his own experiences and knowledge of running a high performing ACR agency. 

Firefighter/Paramedic Billy Croft is extremely active with his department serving as a primary instructor in the Training Bureau with Fire and EMS. He has also been involved with several specialty teams including TRT, TEMS, and Public Education. Billy is also active as a Significant Incident Advocate team leader and serves on the executive board for NFD Local 4302. 

He also was the driving force with the implementation of ACR for the Naperville Fire Department in 2019. In 2021, the Naperville Fire Department saw ROSC rates at 40% and survivability at a staggering 21% with 15 patients walking out of the hospital neurologically intact! When Billy is not trying to change the world, he enjoys creating music and traveling with his beautiful wife Lucy! 

 Paramedic and Captain, Richland Fire & EMS

Josh Smith is a Captain/Paramedic with Richland Fire & Emergency Services (RF&ES) located in southeast Washington State. In addition to his role as an advisory board member for ACR, he also serves on the Program Advisory Committee for Heart Safe Communities through the Citizen CPR Foundation. He is the program coordinator for Heart Safe Richland, a public education initiative aimed at increasing sudden cardiac arrest survival through a holistic lens. He is a Citizen CPR Foundation 40 under 40 award winner, an award that recognizes individuals considered to be future leaders in cardiac arrest survival. 

  Emergency Medicine Physician

EMS/SWAT Medical Director 

Dr. Holland is a full-time Emergency Medicine Physician. He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and EMS. Dr. Holland currently serves as the EMS Medical Director for Carson City Fire Department and Central Lyon Fire Protection District and is the Tactical Physician for Carson City Sheriff's Office SWAT. He earned his Medical Doctorate and Master of Public Health degrees from University of Nevada School of Medicine. He completed Emergency Medicine Residency and EMS Fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine. He currently serves as Chair of the ACEP EMS Section and Chief Medical Officer for the Advanced Cardiac Resuscitation Consortium. Dr. Holland has been involved in EMS in different capacities for 14 years. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends while camping, boating, skiing, hiking, and traveling. He lives in Reno with his wife and their 3 young children.