Disaster Medical Sciences Award

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP, FIFEM, FAEMS

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP, FIFEM, FAEMS

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP, FIFEM, FAEMS is Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine and Public Health and Founding Director Emeritus of the Center for Disaster Medical Sciences and the International EMS & Disaster Medical Sciences Fellowship at the University of California at Irvine, School of Medicine. She currently serves as the County of San Diego EMS Medical Director, responsible for prehospital services for a population of about 3.3 million spread over more than 4,000 square miles.

Her prior experience includes a 5-year term as National Director of the Emergency Management Office at the Department of Veterans Affairs where she led disaster preparedness for the Nation’s largest integrated healthcare system. In addition, she has practiced internationally as Co-Director of the Accident and Emergency Department at St. George’s Hospital National Health Service Trust in London, where she concurrently was Director of Undergraduate Medical Student Education and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of London.

Dr. Koenig has published three books, including the second edition of a definitive reference: Koenig and Schultz’s Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practice. She has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and has delivered nearly 500 invited lectures in about 35 countries. She holds international faculty appointments in Italy, Belgium, Australia, and Japan.

Dr. Koenig is an ACEP Media Spokesperson and recipient of the 2015 Communications Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also ACEP Ambassador to Germany and Taiwan and a member of the Epidemic Expert Panel. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012 at the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. The International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) awarded her the prestigious “Order of IFEM” Fellowship.

A native Californian, Dr. Koenig is an honors graduate in applied mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.

Outstanding Contribution in EMS Award (posthumously)

Salvatore Silvestri, MD, FACEP

Salvatore Silvestri, MD, FACEP

Dr. Silvestri or Dr. Sal, as he was often called, attained his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He then went on to train in emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His most recent professional roles included his position as the Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency at Orlando Regional Medical Center and his role as the Associate Medical Director for Orange County.