09/04/2026
Blessed and honored to be highlighted, but to be able to serve such a great community in so many ways. 🚑💙
Breanna (Brea) Ullman, a native of Driftwood, returned to western Pennsylvania in 2021 and today serves as an Assistant Manager and Paramedic for St. Marys Area Ambulance Service Inc. Ullman has been working in public safety for over 15 years and completed her certification to become an emergency medical technician while in high school. She later completed her paramedic certificate program at the Center for Rural EMS Education Consortium in Indiana, Pennsylvania in 2016 and has been working as a paramedic for over 10 years.
Ullman has also been an educator for nearly four years in public safety, beginning as a course instructor for the American Heart Association in 2023 and now working part-time as an EMS Instructor for NPRC since the spring of 2025. Ullman has played a critical role in the introduction of the new hybrid format for the program and has served as an instructor and mentor to several students in her short amount of time with the College. “In a rural area like ours, education and training continue to become increasingly important. We have an aging workforce in general and in EMS is no exception. We need some new blood from a sustainability perspective, and It’s starting to become a new generation of people’s turn to step up and help our communities. Being able to be a mentor and teacher to someone else like some were to me is special.”
Her own emergency medical services instructor Bill Pennington was one of her first mentors in the field and today, she’s proud to call him a colleague at the St. Marys Ambulance. She also received some fundamental mentorship with the late Dan Kurtz when she was in her earlier years as a paramedic. He was a tremendous patient advocate and supervisor of Ullman’s and even checked in weekly via phone call when she relocated back to her western Pennsylvania roots from York County. The impact these two men have had on her has made her want to be that kind of colleague and mentor to those wanting to explore a career or service in public safety.
Working in the evenings and on weekends for NPRC works well in Ullman’s schedule as a first-shift employee for the St. Marys Ambulance. Like many of the current EMT students, they work another job and use evenings and weekends to watch lectures, study, and complete their hands-on requirements for the program. “This is a very flexible and affordable course, and I think NPRC realizes that. People have busy lives, but this program can be set around much of your own time and the hands-on portion can be completed close to where people live. Anyone who approaches me about EMT training, I tell them about this model and how it is still possible to complete it.”
Ullman is thankful to be home and serving a community filled with people she knows and cares about. It’s a pivotal time for rural Pennsylvania and especially in healthcare and public safety. She hopes that through her full-time means and part-time dedication to the College, she can be a part of the solution of sustainability for years to come. “This is home, and I’m very passionate about helping people. It brings great joy to share about what I do and get to help others. I’m hopeful that others seeing a little bit about my story can bring forth more people who are interested in and able to serve in emergency medical services.”
We are of all you do for in EMS, Brea! Keep up the great work in the field as well as in the classroom.
