Josh began his time with the St. Florian Fire & Burn Foundation in 2012 by volunteering for Miracle Burn Camp and has been a consistent presence ever since. During the rest of the year, Josh is a full-time firefighter/paramedic with the City of West Des Moines and a part-time member of the Clive Fire Department, beginning in the volunteer ranks in 2004. During his time with St. Florian, he continues to be amazed and inspired by the survivors and their families and their journey. Josh was elected to the St. Florian Board of Directors in 2018.

During Josh’s spare time, he enjoys watching and playing sports and spending time with his wife and three boys.

Tyler is a Financial Adviser and Partner with Kruse Financial Group, starting with them after he graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biological Systems Engineering with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering.

Tyler believes that it is important to be involved and give back to the community and he has a passion for helping people which is shown through his work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland, the North Sioux City Fire Department, and most recently the St Florian Burn Foundation. Tyler has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2015 by participating in the program as a ‘Big’ as well as serving on the Board of Directors. Tyler has been a Certified Fire Fighter and EMT for the North Sioux City Fire Department since 2015. He was also promoted to Captain and serves as the President on the Board of Directors. Most recently, Tyler was elected to the St. Florian Burn Foundation Board of Directors in 2021 to serve as the treasurer. Other causes and organizations that Tyler supports and is involved in include: the Sioux City Growth Organization, and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Tyler enjoys spending time with friends and family, which may include a relaxing day on the water or an exciting day on the slopes. Tyler believes that building relationships is one of the most important things you can do, therefore he is committed to working with his clients to help them succeed in their financial planning goals. 

Derek is a lifelong Iowan and a full-time firefighter with 17 years in the fire service; currently with the Sioux City Fire Department. He has been involved with St. Florian since 2007, and was the Vice President of the foundation until 2023. His passion comes from the pride of watching his dad Steve (retired Sioux City Firefighter) volunteering at the beginning years of Miracle Burn Camp and helped to build it to what it is today. He also has a passion in promoting fire prevention and education, and has been a counselor for Miracle Burn Camp for over 15 years. He has set a goal to build a $2 million dollar endowment for the foundation to ensure St. Florian and its programs are around for many generations to come. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 kids and rooting for the Hawkeyes.

Andy has been in the fire service since 2004 and is currently a career Firefighter/EMT with Bettendorf Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Department.  Andy works the training shift where he is an instructor for our fire department as well as an Instructor for the Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau.  He has been involved with the public education and fire prevention for the fire department. Andy first became involved with St. Florian Fire & Burn Foundation when he volunteered as a Miracle Burn Camp counselor in 2014, and was elected to the St. Florian Board of Directors in 2015.

Bridget has been a nurse in the University of Iowa Burn Treatment Center since 1999 after graduating from nursing school at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Throughout her career she developed a strong passion for Burn Care and its psychosocial affects on the burn survivor. She has dedicated her professional life to enhancing the lives of survivors with her expertise in burn care as well as her connections with survivors in various after-care activities. She has been volunteering with Miracle Burn Camp as a counselor and now Co-director since 2002, and her heart truly lives here throughout the year!  She served as coordinator of the Safe Start: Burn Prevention with Puppet Outreach program for approximately 8 years.  She assisted in establishing a school re-entry program at the University of Iowa and has completed several school re-entry programs for pediatric burn survivors in the state of Iowa.  Lastly, Bridget helped establish the Young Adult Burn Survivor (YABS) Retreat in 2007.  Bridget has worked closely with St. Florian for the past several years and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2015.

Bridget grew up in Marengo, IA, values her small town roots and cheering for the Iowa Hawkeyes.  When Bridget is not working she likes to spend time with her two beautiful, smart and active children Chase and Emma Lea.

Megan joined the fire service in 2011. She began her journey with the North Liberty Volunteer Fire Department. She’s still actively serving as a FF/EMT and was recently promoted to the Community Risk Reduction Lieutenants position. Megan’s full time job is with the Cedar Rapids Fire Department. She works as a FF/EMT and is very involved with extra programs both inside and outside the department. Megan first attended St. Florian Burn Camp in 2015. This week of camp has since become Megan’s favorite week of the entire summer!

“Reconnecting with the campers and watching them enjoy themselves all week is one of the many highlights.”-Megan

In her free time, Megan enjoys spending time with her family & friends, traveling, cooking/ baking, and the great outdoors.

Megan was elected to the St. Florian Board of Directors in 2019. 

Sarah has been a nurse in the University of Iowa Burn Treatment Center since 2012. Since starting her career as a nurse on the Burn Unit, she has developed a strong passion for outreach programs and support programs for burn survivors. She currently runs the Safe Start: Burn Prevention with Puppets Outreach Program on the Burn Unit, where the nursing staff go to a variety of elementary schools across Iowa to teach fire safety and burn prevention with the use of puppets. Sarah has also taken on planning the Burn Unit Service of Remembrance, where burn patients who have passed away are remembered by their family and friends. Sarah has been involved in St Florian through Miracle Burn Camp and also organized a dinner fundraiser at Big Grove in 2017. She has also taken over the planning of Iowa City’s Burn Survivors Together with Steven Hoff. Most recently, Sarah has stepped into the role of Interim Assistant Nurse Manager of the Burn Unit.

Sarah grew up in Woodstock, IL. She moved to Iowa City in 2003 to attend college at the University of Iowa and has made Iowa City her home. She is married to Iowa City Firefighter Collin Wellsandt and has a beautiful baby girl, Emmelia.

Sarah Wellsandt was elected to the St. Florian Board of Directors in 2019.

Sam was born and raised in Central Iowa. She was a camper at Camp Foster starting at age 8 and returned as a staff member where she learned about St. Florian. She fell in love with the mission and values of St. Florian Burn Foundation. She loves building relationships among the burn survivors communities and loves returning to MBC to see how much each camper has grown as a person from year to year! In her off time, Sam loves being on the lake with her dog, Dolly, and her friends and family.

Check back soon…