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Meet the Experts

Meet the AAA’s Speakers and Authors

Kathleen J. Lester
AAA Legal Healthcare Consultant

Kathleen Lester provides legal and strategic advice on legislative and regulatory matters involving Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement, quality measurement (including value- based purchasing programs), federal health care funding, health information technology, and medical and Internet privacy — including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, other federal and state privacy laws.
Ms. Lester has experience in all three branches of the federal government. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Lester served as a privacy consultant in the Office of General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she finalized the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Ms. Lester also served as law clerk to the Honorable Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and worked for Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN).
During her time at Johns Hopkins, Ms. Lester served on a number of research and review boards, including the Human Genome Project’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Working Group. She has an undergraduate degree in biology with an emphasis on microbiology and genetic research.
Ms. Lester received her J.D. from Georgetown University (cum laude), her M.P.H. from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, and her B.A. from DePauw University (magna cum laude). She is a member of the District of Columbia, Indiana, and Maryland bars and is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

Scott A. Moore, Esq.
AAA Human Resources and Operations Consultant

Scott A. Moore, Esq. has been in the emergency medical services field for over 26 years.  Scott has held various executive positions at several ambulance services in Massachusetts.  Scott is a licensed attorney, specializing in Human Resource, employment and labor law, employee benefits, and corporate compliance matters.  Scott has a certification as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and was the Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the American Ambulance Association (AAA) for several years.  In addition, Scott is a Site Reviewer for the Commission on the Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS).   Scott earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Salem State College and his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.  Scott maintains his EMT and still works actively in the field as a call-firefighter/EMT in his hometown.  Scott is a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the Northeast Human Resource Association.

Tristan North
AAA SVP of Government Affairs

Tristan North serves as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Ambulance Association. He is a registered lobbyist with 20 years of experience in federal government relations and public policy.
As the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the AAA, Mr. North oversees all aspects of the legislative and regulatory priorities of the Association before the Congress and Federal agencies. He is the lead lobbyist for the AAA and is responsible for shaping and implementing the public policy of the organization. Prior to joining AMG, Mr. North was Director of Government Affairs for the AAA at Hauck & Associates.
Tristan spent five years in the Government Affairs Division of Fleishman-Hillard representing the interests of financial service and health care clients before the Congress. He began his career in politics with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, where he worked as a professional staff member and investigator. While on the Committee, he was responsible for issues involving anti-counterfeiting efforts, the redesign of the currency and the review of the U.S. banking system.
Tristan holds a B.S. in Finance from Babson College in Wellesley, MA.

Mark Postma, AAA President
COO Sunstar Paramedics, VP Paramedics Plus

In addition to being the president of the AAA, Mark Postma is the Chief Operating Officer of Sunstar Paramedics and the Vice President of Paramedics Plus, an ambulance service provider based in Tyler, Texas. In addition to operating Sunstar Paramedics since October 2004, Mark oversees the administrative staff for Paramedics Plus’ operations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Alameda County, California. Mark is a Nationally Registered Paramedic who has been involved in EMS for more than 25 years. As president of the AAA, Mark is focusing on current legislative initiatives related to government regulation and reimbursement for EMS providers, importing ambulance standards and designs, and reducing fraud. Mark is also Chairman for the Commission of Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) and the Chair for the 2015 CAAS Ambulance Ground Vehicle Services Administration, which is working to address current issues in the ambulance industry including safety, design, technology and financial constraints. Previously, Mark was the AAA Region II Director, co-chair of the Professional Standards Committee, and represented AAA on the CAAS Board of Directors. Mark is a graduate of the Leadership Pinellas class of 2008 and was named as the YMCA of North Pinellas’ “Volunteer of the Year” in 2011. He was named one of the “Top 25 Business Leaders” by the Quad-City (Iowa) Times, received the Iowa Governors’ Safety Award for Outstanding Service and served on the Board of Directors of the Iowa EMS Association. He began his career in South Dakota as an EMT and earned his master’s degree in health care administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.

Brian S. Werfel, Esq.
AAA Medicare Consultant


Brian S. Werfel, Esq. is a partner in Werfel & Werfel, PLLC, a New York based law firm specializing in Medicare issues related to the ambulance industry. Brian is a Medicare Consultant to the American Ambulance Association, and has authored numerous articles on Medicare reimbursement, most recently on issues such as the beneficiary signature requirement, repeat admissions and interrupted stays. He is a frequent lecturer on issues of ambulance coverage and reimbursement. Brian is co-author of the AAA’s Medicare Reference Manual for Ambulance, as well as the author of the AAA’s HIPAA Reference Manual. Brian is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia School of Law. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, he specialized in mergers & acquisitions and commercial rel estate at a prominent New York law firm. Werfel & Werfel, PLLC was founded by David M. Werfel, who has been the Medicare Consultant to the American Ambulance Association for over 20 years.

David M. Werfel, Esq.
AAA Medicare Consultant

David M. Werfel, Esq. is the Medicare Consultant to the American Ambulance Association. David is co-author of the AAA’s Medicare Reference Manual for Ambulance and has also authored hundreds of articles concerning Medicare reimbursement and related issues. David is also a frequent lecturer concerning ambulance coverage and reimbursement and has been acknowledged in many forums as the leading expert on Medicare reimbursement for ambulance services. David started out in private practice, representing physicians, durable medical equipment suppliers and clinical laboratories with their Medicare, Medicaid and licensing issues. Prior to representing the ambulance industry, David was a prosecutor in New York City; Director of Program Security for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Greater New York; a Vice President for RSI, a security consulting firm; and a computer programmer/systems representative for Burroughs Corporation. David has an Undergraduate Degree in Mathematics and a Juris Doctor Degree.

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