Ralph Montes began his public health career in January 2020 as the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Strategic National Stockpile Coordinator at the Victoria County Public Health Department. In addition to this role, Ralph serves as a liaison between the Public Health Department and the Victoria Office of Emergency Management (VOEM). He is also the program manager and CERT instructor for the Victoria Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a program sponsored by VOEM and overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Ralph has been a Stop the Bleed Instructor since 2018 with the American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed Program. He graduated from Victoria College in 1988 with an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Law Enforcement, and he is a 1990 graduate of the Victoria College Police Academy. Ralph also graduated from the Victoria College Emergency Medical Technician-Basic Program in 1998 and holds an Emergency Medical Technician certification from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
With 27 years of experience in the hospital and healthcare industry, Ralph's background includes work in private emergency medical services. He also has 18 years of experience in hospital emergency preparedness, specifically in treating victims of hazardous substance releases. Throughout his career, Ralph has actively participated in real-life natural, man-made, and technological disasters and various disaster response exercises.
Ralph contributes to several committees and coalitions, including the Golden Crescent Regional Advisory Council TSA-S, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Healthy South Texas Coalition, the Health Department's BeWell of Victoria, Texas Healthy Communities, Victoria's Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and the Mid-Coast Hurricane and Disaster Conference Committee.