Our Team
Leadership
William Whitney, M.S., CFE
Chief and founding partner
William found emergency services early: first aid and CPR at 12, lifeguarding at 15, and a wilderness first responder course in high school in Lexington, Massachusetts. He has since spent more than 12 years as a full-time firefighter and paramedic, serving as a field training officer, assistant EMS director, training coordinator and fire chief of Toyota Fire Rescue. Today he is also a flight paramedic and clinical educator in air medical transport.
Education. Master of Science in Public Leadership and Administration, concentration in Emergency Services Administration, University of North Texas at Dallas (2026). B.S. in Emergency Medical Care and A.S. in Paramedicine, Eastern Kentucky University. Certificate in Community Paramedicine, Hennepin Technical College.
Fire. Certified Fire Executive (Texas Fire Chiefs Association). TCFP Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor III, Incident Commander, Intermediate Fire Marshal, Intermediate Fire Inspector and Fire Investigator, Plans Examiner, Hazmat Technician and Hazmat Incident Commander, Rope Rescue Technician, Driver/Operator Pumper and Aerial, and TCFP field examiner, with 22 IFSAC seals.
EMS. Texas Licensed Paramedic and EMS Advanced Coordinator, Nationally Registered Paramedic, and board certified as a Flight Paramedic (FP-C), Critical Care Paramedic (CCP-C) and Community Paramedic (CP-C). FEMA ICS 100 through 400 and Type 3 Incident Management Team trained.
Teaching. AHA Training Center Faculty, NAEMT Instructor and Faculty, American Red Cross and HSI Instructor Trainer, Red Cross Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor Trainer, and Certified Pool Operator. Member of NAEMT, NAEMSP and the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance.
The question that drives his work comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: what are you doing for others?
Peter Whitney, PhD
Chief financial officer and founding partner
An engineer, scientist and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience managing, financing and administering small companies. Peter keeps Cordial financially sound and shapes its strategic direction so the company can keep investing in its students. An avid outdoorsman and trained Wilderness First Responder, he knows firsthand what first responders are asked to carry.
Christopher Glass
Division Chief of Fire Training
Chris grew up in Corpus Christi, where watching the local fire department serve the community through hurricanes and floods pulled him into the fire service. He started as a high school volunteer with the Annaville Fire Department, then earned his paramedic and TCFP certifications at Del Mar College.
A firefighter paramedic and former fire captain, Chris has led crews on the fireground and teaches as a TCFP fire instructor and an American Heart Association and American Red Cross instructor. As Division Chief of Fire Training he oversees every fire course Cordial teaches, from online TPAs to skills testing, and co-manages our online classroom.
His approach to teaching: put the student first, adapt to how people learn, and never stop learning yourself.
Edggar Frausto, M.D.
Medical director
Board-trained in family medicine with fellowships in geriatric medicine and hospice and palliative medicine at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Frausto practices emergency medicine at a freestanding emergency department in San Antonio and provides medical oversight for our EMS programs.
Instructors and Staff
Emily Chase
Clinical coordinatorCompleted her EMT and AEMT with Cordial, then became a certified firefighter. Emily coordinates clinical rotations for our EMS students.
Michael "Jake" Kinnamon
Fire instructorFirefighter and EMT since 2011 from Pettus, Texas. Master Structure Firefighter, Fire Officer II, Driver/Operator Pumper and Aerial, wildland firefighter and TCFP field examiner.
Michael Navalta Jr.
Fire and EMS instructorMilitary veteran who cross-trained with combat medics, then completed the Del Mar College fire academy and paramedic program. Known to students for his motto: embrace the suck.