Dre Cantwell-Frank, NRP, is the National Program Director, EMS Program Director, and a Principal Investigator at the Bridge Center at the Public Health Institute. In this role, she leads the national expansion of programs equipping emergency departments and EMS agencies to provide immediate access to addiction treatment and life-saving medications. As an expert clinical educator, Dre oversees curriculum development and technical assistance for healthcare systems nationwide. She is a published researcher in the journal of Prehospital Emergency Care and serves as a mentor for the Prehospital Care Research Forum at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

A paramedic and EMS educator with 19 years of experience, Dre has extensive experience serving rural and frontier communities. She previously managed EMS and mobile integrated health for the Copper River Native Association in interior Alaska, served as a consultant and infection control officer for the Montana Department of Public Health, and completed a SUD Policy Advocacy Fellowship at the USC Keck School of Medicine. For her groundbreaking work in the field, Dre received the 2025 Pittman Prize Award for her Saving Lives Through EMS Buprenorphine project and the 2026 NNPHI Outstanding Collaboration Award for co-developing Oregon’s EMS buprenorphine roadmap.