Jason Friesen, MPH '12

Jason Friesen, MPH ’12, founder and director of Trek Medics International, and his team secured a $250,000 seed grant from Google.org to continue developing a text message-based emergency telecommunications system that will serve as a “9-1-1” call system for two pilot projects for communities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Trek Medics is a nonprofit startup based in New York City that seeks to improve emergency medical systems in developing countries without reliable access to formal ambulance services.

A paramedic by trade, Friesen has over ten years of experience working in international development in Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Before starting Trek Medics, he served as Haiti country director for Project HOPE.