Paul Mendoza is a retired paramedic, flight paramedic, educator, business owner, and longtime advocate for public-access defibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest preparedness.

Paul received his paramedic training from the University of Iowa and earned his bachelor’s degree from Bethel University. He spent 27 years practicing emergency medicine in the field, serving as both an ambulance paramedic and flight paramedic aboard medical helicopter with North Memorial Ambulance and Allina Health.

Throughout his career, Paul’s commitment to saving lives extended well beyond the ambulance and helicopter. He became a strong advocate for bystander Hands-Only CPR, AED use, and first aid training for lay rescuers as well as healthcare professionals. He began teaching as a paramedic and ultimately earned American Heart Association Faculty status, combining decades of real-world emergency experience with a passion for education and community preparedness.

Paul has also served as a committee advisor for Heart Safe Minnesota and as coordinator of North Memorial’s Heart Safe Communities Program. His mission has remained consistent throughout his career: to change the culture surrounding sudden cardiac arrest from simple awareness to true preparedness.

In 2001, Paul began working with Medtronic/Physio-Control and the American Heart Association to promote Public Access Defibrillation (PAD), helping bring lifesaving AED technology beyond traditional healthcare settings and into the places where people live, work, play, learn, worship, and gather.

In 2002, Paul founded Advanced First Aid, selling just six AEDs during the company’s first year. From those beginnings, Advanced First Aid has grown into a leading provider of AEDs, training, and comprehensive AED program management.

Since its inception, Advanced First Aid has placed more than 8,000 AEDs, developed and supported hundreds of Heart Safe locations, trained more than 30,000 people, and today helps manage nearly $4 million in AED equipment annually.

But the accomplishment Paul values most cannot be measured in AEDs sold or people trained.

AED programs supported by Advanced First Aid have contributed to more than 100 successful sudden cardiac arrest resuscitations in which individuals survived, were discharged from the hospital, and returned to their lives and families.

That means more than 50 people were given another chance at life.

More than 50 families were given more time with someone they love.

For Paul, that is what the work has always been about. Every AED placed, every person trained, and every organization prepared represents another opportunity to turn a sudden cardiac arrest into a life saved.

His philosophy is straightforward:

“You don’t have to save a life every day. You just need to be prepared to save one when the moment comes.”