Lt. Colonel Edward Mello Jr is president and director of the Medical Reserve Corps of Greater Westfield and Western Hampden County, Massachusetts. He is also a basic emergency medical technician instructor and chief examiner for the public health office of emergency medical services in Massachusetts. Lt. Col. Mello serves as the director of the homeland preparedness program at Westfield State University. He was in the Air Force for 35 years, and retired as a nurse practitioner after 30 years. Lt. Col. Mello also works with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services.