Tai joined the Center for Disaster Medicine in December of 2022 as the new Assistant Director. His duties include the coordination of first responder training throughout the Lower Hudson Valley and beyond. He is a retired New York City Police Department police officer, having completed 20 years of service. Tai was assigned to the NYPD’s Disorder Control Unit (DCU) where he served as the unit’s senior instructor and subject matter expert in crowd control tactics and operations, weapons of mass destruction (WMD)/hazardous materials (HazMat), incident management and command post operations, and basic tactical medicine.
Tai’s duties also included coordinating and collaborating with the myriad of city agencies as it relates to exercise design, conduct, and evaluation. Having obtained certification as a Master Exercise Practitioner by the Emergency Management Institute, Tai designed and conducted tabletop and full-scale exercises for the New York Yankees and the US Tennis Association. He also served in a variety of roles while assisting NYC Emergency Management and the Port Authority of NY and NJ in their exercises.
Tai studied at SUNY Empire State College where he earned a BS in Public Affairs (concentration in Emergency Management), CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College where he earned an AAS in Paramedicine, and St. Joseph’s University, NY in Brooklyn where he studied Chemistry. Tai is certified as a New York State Paramedic and currently practices in Westchester County, having previously worked within the NYC*911 system at various hospital-based ambulance services. He attained certification from New York State as a Certified Instructor Coordinator and has taught EMT and paramedic students and conducted Continuing Medical Education classes. Tai has also taught first responders from throughout the United States as an instructor/contractor for the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) and Texas State University’s ALERRT Center.