Mission Hope NJ
The Board
Victoria Hicken, RN
Founder and President
Victoria is a New Jersey Registered Nurse with a background in Emergency Nursing, and Medical Command for Virtua’s MICU program. She is an AHA Certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support Instructor, Program Developer for Mission Hope NJ. Victoria embraces education as a vital tool in the fight to reduce stigma relating to mental health issues within the EMS community. She provides mental health & wellness educational programs to agencies throughout New Jersey, peer support, and has lectured at the New Jersey Statewide Conference on EMS.
Timothy Seplaki, BS, MICP
Director of Social Media & Public Relations
Tim has been involved in EMS for over 25 years. His career began as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician, before advancing to the level of Flight Paramedic. He remains very active in EMS, working on several initiatives as well as teaching various EMS related programs. He received his Bachelors of Science degree with a concentration in EMS Management from George Washington University.
Eric Hicken, CPM, MICP
Founder and Vice President
Eric is a Paramedic and has been working in the emergency services for over 30 years. He is passionate about improving mental health and wellness in the Emergency Responder community. Eric continues to work as a Paramedic in the South Jersey area.
Jude Debaun, NREMT/P (Retired)
Treasurer
Prior to Jude's retirement in 2011 she spent 30 years in EMS, 25 of those as a Nationally Registered Paramedic, a major change from her previous career as a school teacher.
She was very active as an instructor in the School of Paramedicine for more than 15 years. For 2 years she held the position of Assistant Clinical Coordinator managing students during their field internship, evaluating students clinical competency, assisting them during clinical field rotation and their final examinations. Missing the bustle and activity of the emergency response Jude returned to the field where she precepted and mentor many students during their training and filed internship while continuing to assist in preparation for their final examination. For several years she enjoyed the roll as Coordinator for Virtua’s ACLS program, teaching PALS, CPR, and guest lecturing for EMT classes. Jude is now enjoying her retirement but still maintains close ties with the EMS community.
Ian Eddy, EMT
Social Media, Advocate, Educator
Ian is a Firefighter/EMT and has been working in emergency services since 2008. His passion for mental health education in the first responder community stems from his own personal experiences.
Andy Lovel, MICP, NREMT/P
Advocate and Educator
Andy has made outstanding prehospital care his priority for over 25 years, almost all as an active New Jersey Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic. He readily embraces customer service driven delivery of 9-1-1 response. When not busy overseeing the operation of the largest public EMS agency in New Jersey, you will find Andy in the back of an ambulance, providing cutting edge care to his patients.