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Helen Pierson
CEO, Medic Ambulance Service
When Helen Pierson took a new job in the billing department at her family’s ambulance business in 1988, she couldn’t have predicted that she’d one day lead the team — alongside her three adult children.
A true trailblazer, the 69-year-old Sacramento native and first-generation Italian American forged a successful career without ever completing a formal education — though she did take courses at Sacramento State and attend business seminars and courses. Migrating from a career in banking management over three decades ago, Pierson learned the emergency medical service business from the ground up.
Taking on the role of CEO at Medic Ambulance Service in 2019, Pierson was at the helm during one of the most difficult times for emergency responders. Surprisingly, Medic’s ambulance calls plummeted by as much as 40 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, while there were major shifts in everything from procedures to staffing. Pierson says she is proud that the company did not have to lay anyone off.
“Our employees came to work. And yes, we did have employees that were exposed; and yes, we did get them hotel rooms where they had to stay for a week, where they could not see their families. … Our employees were seeing things that they had never had to experience before, and it was quite upsetting. It really was,” says Pierson, who also suffered the loss of her husband of 44 years, Bill, in 2021. “But we got through it.”
In 2023, Pierson was selected for the American Ambulance Association’s inaugural Vanguard Award, which recognizes trailblazing women with over 35 years of experience working in the EMS industry. And in 2024, the business expanded its services to Sonoma County and scored a contract with the Sacramento City Fire Department for life support calls, expanding on its long-standing arrangement as the ambulance and emergency service provider in Solano County, where Pierson lives.
Pierson talks about her career using words like “passion” and “care,” saying, “There are no words to express how wonderful it is to be involved with people that truly love helping other people.” To her, business is family, and the quality of her equipment, the happiness of her 600 or so employees and the client’s experience are equally important to the bottom line.
Pierson has found mentors along the way, such as Brenda Staffan, whom Pierson says was “extremely involved” in shaping the principles and policies of the industry through her work in EMS leadership and government policy. Staffan is the chief government affairs and public policy officer at Priority OnDemand and serves on the board of directors for the American Ambulance Association.
A former president of the California Ambulance Association, Pierson is passionate about advocating for and educating the public on the challenges of medical billing. “I’m not known to be quiet. I usually have something to say,” Pierson says, adding that she loves the challenges of her job, from handling legal issues to figuring out how to get to the bottom line without cutting corners in an increasingly difficult economic climate.
In the end, it’s all about the people. “We believe in first responding because we want to help the people,” she says. “This is why we’re in the 911 business, to help the people, to get them to the hospital, to get them the care that they need.”
At 69, Pierson is looking forward to transitioning to a less active role as her children grow within the company. Her son, Jimmy, is COO, and her twin daughters, Sandy and Cindy, serve as co-vice presidents. Pierson credits her children for pushing the company into new territories, saying, “They have definitely taken it to another level.”
Pierson looks forward to spending more time at the family’s El Dorado County winery, Sentivo Vineyards, playing bocce ball, attending book club and playing with her black Lab, Zodiac. But she isn’t handing over the reins just yet. “l’ll be around, you know what I mean? I don’t foresee leaving Medic altogether, no,” she says.
View the list of honorees from 2015 through 2025.
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