Utah Trauma Network 2025 Speakers

Graham Brant-Zawadzki, MD - University of Utah Health

Dr. Brant-Zawadzki is a dual board-certified emergency physician in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). He serves as an associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine where he completed his fellowship in wilderness medicine & EMS. He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer & Medical Director for Unified Fire Authority and Utah’s USAR Task Force 1. His expertise bridges academic leadership and operational field medicine, with a focus on prehospital care, disaster response, and austere environment medicine.

Mari Freedberg, MD - Intermountain Medical Center

Jarod Goglio - Castle Rock Hospital District

Ramesh Grandhi, MD - University of Utah Health

Dr. Grandhi is a ABNS certified, dual-trained cerebrovascular neurosurgeon who treats vascular pathologies through both endovascular techniques and traditional, open microsurgical approaches. He has extensive experience with patients with cerebrovascular conditions such as arteriovenous malformations, brain aneurysms, and intracranial hemorrhages. In addition, he has a significant interest in treating patients with stroke and uses minimally-invasive approaches ranging from carotid and intracranial stenting to mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusions.

He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and a master’s degree in physiology at Georgetown University. Dr. Grandhi attended medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University and did his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he completed an enfolded fellowship in Interventional Neuroradiology. He then completed a fellowship in Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at the Baptist Neurological Institute in Jacksonville, Florida.

Seantae Jackson

Seantae Jackson is a survivor, speaker, and co-founder of the Sandal Blue Foundation. After a catastrophic car accident involving her family, she began sharing her story to offer healthcare professionals a rare window into the patient experience. Her deeply personal perspective brings powerful insights into purpose, resilience, and the lasting impact of compassionate care—reminding audiences not just what they do, but why they do it.

Courtney Lawrence, BSN, RN - Burn ICU Charge Nurse, Community Outreach Coordinator, University of Utah Health

Laurie Merrick, RN, BSN, CNPT - Life Flight Pediatric Team

Laurie Merrick has been a nurse for 39 years. Twenty-two of those years were spent in the PICU at Primary Children's Hospital where she took care of some of the most medically complex children from the age of 1 day to 18 years. Laurie has been a part of the Pediatric Team with Intermountain Life Flight for the past 16 years and loves what she does. Laurie feels that she is able to make a difference in the outcomes of critically injured and sick children.

Laurie has four amazing daughters and three of them are nurses at Primary Children's Hospital so the saying the apple doesn't fall far from the tree applies to their family.

Nels Nichols, RN, BSN - Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Emergency Department, University of Utah Hospital

Nels Nichols, RN, is a dedicated Emergency Nurse with over five years of Emergency and Critical Care experience in a Trauma 1 hospital. Currently serving in a leadership and educational role within his department, Nels has spent the past several years developing and teaching engaging learner-centered education for his fellow healthcare professionals, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and clinical excellence. He is working on his DNP to further enhance his expertise and support his commitment to advancing nursing practice.

Beyond his nursing achievements, Nels is an outdoor enthusiast, both for personal enjoyment and professionally as an outdoor educator. He embraces the wild landscapes of Utah in a variety of ways, some favorites including canyoneering, river running, and ski mountaineering.

Megan Puckett, MD - University of Utah Health

Fernando Rivero, MPAS, PA-C, MPH - Emergency Medicine PA, University of Utah Hospital

Fernando Rivero is a graduate of the University of Utah Physician Assistant Program and currently works for Intermountain Health, McDay Dee Hospital Trauma Team.

He trained in emergency medicine with Utah Emergency Physicians group and previously worked in the IHC Emergency Departments and University of Utah Emergency Department. He also worked in rural emergency medicine in Moab and Monticello Utah.

Fernando is an adjunct faculty member with Rocky Mountain University and University of Utah PA programs. He earned a Master of Public Health degree from Westminster College in Utah where he later taught a graduate level public health course. He has taught many emergency-medicine lectures, and has presented nationally on the subjects of sexual assault and human trafficking recognition.

Fernando has extensive experience in Human Trafficking awareness education having given over 40 lectures to date to medical professionals, mental health professionals, medical and law students and many other groups. Publishing includes authoring a Core Pendium chapter for EM-RAP on Human Trafficking recognition.

As a passionate advocate, he has served under 2 Salt Lake City Mayors as a Human Rights Commissioner, served on the Salt Lake Sexual Assault Response Team and served on the Utah Attorney General’s Trafficking in Persons Task Force.

Speakers