Faculty & Speakers

Dr. Julie Augenstein is a board certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician and the EMS Base Hospital Medical Director at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She completed her pediatric residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital and The University of Washington. Her clinical focus includes expertise in pre-hospital care and simulation. Appointed by the Governor of Arizona, Dr. Augenstein holds the role of Physician Specializing in Pediatric Medicine on the Medical Direction Commission at the Arizona Department of Health Services and serves on the Trauma and EMS Performance Improvement (TEPI) Committee. Dr. Augenstein is an Assistant Professor of Child Health and Emergency Medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and the University of Arizona.

Suzanne has worked at the Arizona Burn Center for the last 35 plus years. Her current position held since 2002 is Arizona Burn Center Outreach Educator which includes teaching healthcare providers, military personnel, nursing, and paramedic student’s emergency burn care. To maintain her skills, she continues to help in the Burn Center ICU, Burn Emergency Department and Burn Outpatient Clinic. Her past nursing experience includes working two years in a level one trauma emergency department and ten years as an adult pediatric maternal flight nursing. 

Suzanne has a passion for educating others and shares that knowledge as the Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) Coordinator for Arizona and coordinates and instructs in ABLS courses nationally. She also provides burn and trauma education to military healthcare providers. 

Suzanne also enjoys community service and has volunteered for several medical missions providing medical and disaster relief after hurricanes in Porta Au Prince Haiti, Gulfport, Mississippi and Brooklyn, New York. 

Dr. Matthew Carter is a pediatric Intensivist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he has been since 2017. He came to Arizona from Michigan State University and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and four children. He has a love of education and serves as the Pediatric Residency ICU Clerkship Director, medical student coordinator, longitudinal resident experience director, and he is a clinical assistant professor at multiple Arizona medical schools. Simulation and transport medicine are also passions of Dr. Carter. He has been the pediatric medical director for Guardian Air Transport since 2022, and is currently leading and mentoring multiple simulation education projects at Phoenix Children’s.  

Dr. Frischknecht is a board-certified Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician.  Originally from Utah, however considers himself a Phoenician as he has lived her now for 12 years.   He has done all of his training here with Phoenix Children's Hospital, including pediatrics residency and emergency fellowship.      He enjoys spending time with his wife and 4 children, one of which has autism.  Both working as a pediatric provider and having a special needs child of his own has led to an interest in supporting these patients and their families.   He has a passion for care of special needs population, especially in the emergency and pre-hospital settings.   In his free time he enjoys golf and is a degenerate college football fan!

Tara Krajnak is a board certified pediatric registered nurse (BSN, CPEN) with broad experience in pediatric critical care including ICU and emergency medicine. She currently serves as a trauma critical care nurse leader at Phoenix Children’s hospital emergency department. Her expertise is most recognized for massive transfusion resuscitation, pediatric intravenous line placement and trauma critical care demonstrating a commitment to ensuring optimal patient outcomes even in the most challenging situations. Tara has a strong focus on nursing education and dedication to creating continuity of care between emergency medical services (EMS) and hospital settings, which has been instrumental in enhancing patient outcomes and streamlining treatment processes. Tara’s unwavering dedication to excellence, coupled with her compassion and expertise, makes her a respected leader in the field of nursing and emergency medicine.

Dr. David Notrica is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated Cum Laude from Duke University in 1988 and Emory University School of Medicine in 1992 where he was Class President, winner of the Whitehead Award, and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society. He completed his General Surgery residency training at Emory University in 1997 where he won the JD Martin award for most outstanding surgical resident. He completed his Pediatric Surgery Fellowship training at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston in 1999.

He is currently the Program Director for the Mayo Clinic/Phoenix Children's Hospital Pediatric Surgery fellowship training program. He is a Professor of Surgery and Child Health at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Mayo Clinic Medical School. He has given more than 150 regional, national, and international presentations and has more than 90 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Notrica was Chairman of Surgery at Phoenix Children's Hospital before becoming Chief of Staff in 2006. He has been identified multiple times as a Top Doctor by Phoenix Magazine, Best Doctors, and was named a Healthcare Hero by the Phoenix Business Journal in 2014. He co-founded and co-chairs the Western Pediatric Trauma Conference, the Southwest Trauma and Acute Care Symposium, and Trauma Conference International. He was one of the founding members of the ATOMAC pediatric trauma research network.

Dr. Notrica developed and continues to direct the Level 1 Trauma Center for Phoenix Children's Hospital. This program is the only ACS-Verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in the state of Arizona. He is currently the Site Principle Investigator on a NIH-funded trauma study using bone marrow derived stem cells to mitigate traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Anthony Pickett, born in Baltimore, MD attended the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami and completed residency at Holtz Children's Hospital/Jackson Memorial Hospital, also in Miami.  In 2005 Anthony, moved to Phoenix where he completed his fellowship training in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  Following fellowship, Dr. Pickett joined the staff at Phoenix Children's where he currently works as an attending physician in the Emergency Dept.  Apart from his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Pickett currently operates as the ED liaison to the Trauma Department, is an ATLS and PALS instructor, and gives many lectures to both nurses as well as residents/fellows. Dr. Pickett speaks Spanish as a second language, is an avid golfer, and enjoys cooking and attending live shows.

Dr. Dan Quan is board certified in emergency medicine, addiction medicine and medical toxicology. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the field, and he currently works at multiple facilities in the Phoenix area and serves in several academic roles. 

Dr. Quan is an EMS medical director for PHI Air Medical and AirEvac International. He is a clinical associate professor in the departments of Emergency Medicine at both the Creighton University School of Medicine and the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He is also a clinical associate professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. 

Dr. Quan completed his Emergency Medicine residency at Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and a Medical Toxicology fellowship at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix. He is active in research, an invited speaker at dozens of national conferences, and his work has been published in a wealth of abstracts, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Quan is a fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Medical Toxicology.

Lydia M. Rabon, MD, MBA, is an emergency medicine physician and Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Phoenix Children's Hospital - Arrowhead Campus. She also serves on the faculty for pediatric emergency medicine.

After graduating with a bachelor of science degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, Dr. Rabon earned her medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She completed her pediatric residency at Phoenix Children's in Phoenix. She also completed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Phoenix Children's, where she was named Fellow of the Month three years in a row. In addition, she holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

Dr. Rabon is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics section on Emergency Medicine. During her residency training in pediatrics at Phoenix Children's, Dr. Rabon served as chief resident and a junior faculty member.

During her career, Dr. Rabon has served on numerous committees to improve patient care, quality and safety, as well as response time. Her work has also appeared in several journal publications, and she has also presented at conferences including the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition and the Pediatric Academic Society.

A Phoenix native, Dr. Rabon enjoys spending her free time with her family, as well as hiking and traveling.

Dr. Ryan Southworth’s journey in healthcare began back in 1993 when he became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). That early experience fueled his passion for helping others and the science medicine, setting the stage for a career that would take him across many paths in medicine. Along the way, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from the University of California, Davis, where he also had the chance to dive into virology research.

Fast forward to today, Dr. Southworth holds Dual Board Certifications in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. After completing medical school at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, where he was recognized for his academic achievements as the recipient of Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Award, he went on to complete his residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania. His time there was filled with teaching, leadership roles as Chief Resident, and EMS education and medical direction, recognized  with various awards along the way.

In 2012, he made Arizona his home, taking on roles as medical director for various organizations, including Gila River Health Care, where he built Hu Hu Kam Memorial Medical Center into an ALS Base Station. He’s also the medical director for Gila River EMS, Fire Department, Police Tactical EMS, the NHRA Firebird Racetrack, and several others. Locally, he serves as Vice Chair of Arizona Emergency Medical Systems and was appointed by the Governor of AZ to the Arizona State Trauma Advisory Board.

One of his passions is Mobile Integrated Health (MIH). He’s developed an award-winning MIH-Community Paramedicine program with Gila River EMS and continues pushing for advancements in EMS to improve the way communities receive care.

On top of his civilian work, Dr. Southworth is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, serving as Director for Critical Care Air Transport Teams with the 349th ASTS. He currently trains military personnel, including special forces operators in field medical care and has directly provided care for both military and civilian patients during deployment across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe earning various Air Force and Army awards including combat, marksmanship and meritorious service medals.

But if you ask him, Dr. Southworth’s proudest achievement is his family. He’s been married to his high-school sweetheart, and together they have four amazing kids. In his free time, you can find him enjoying snowboarding, water sports, marksmanship, or just relaxing with his family, doing nothing at all.