Meet JOHN
John Porro was born in a Salvation Army Hospital in Flushing, NY, and adopted by two wonderful parents. His parents instilled the values of hard work, loyalty, and community in him at a very young age. His father was a little league coach and John’s Webelos leader. His mother was on every level of the PTA and also served three years as John’s Cub Scout Leader. She helped found the West Babylon Public Library because she saw the need in the community. His family was neither rich nor poor, and his parents instilled in him gratefulness for what you have and an obligation to give back.
He became an Eagle Scout his senior year in High School. John attended SUNY Binghamton for his undergraduate studies, graduating with a BS in Biology and a Minor in History. Upon graduation, he moved back home and took a job teaching math, biology, chemistry, and physics at a Catholic High School in Jackson Heights, Queens. He followed his father’s footsteps by joining the West Babylon Fire Department’s Rescue Squad, where he became an EMT and then an AEMT. He rose through the ranks of the Rescue Squad, achieving the rank of Captain by age 27. His volunteer work sparked an interest in furthering his medical knowledge. After teaching high school for seven years, he left the profession to return to school to become a Physician Assistant.
He attended Cornell University’s Physician Assistant Program and graduated top of his class. He took a job as a PA in the hospital in which he was born in NYC. When September 11th occurred, John responded and spent Sep. 12th and 14th digging through the rubble of Tower #2. He started his MBA at Baruch College in 2012. In March 2013, he was headhunted by an extensive safety net hospital system in Dallas to be the Manager of Advanced Practice. In 2016, He finished his MBA and MS in Healthcare Administration at the University of Texas at Dallas. In Jan 2017, John was promoted to a newly created position – Director of Advanced Practice.
John lives, with his wife, Kamie, in Farmersville. He was active for four years in his state’s professional organization, the Texas Association of Physician Assistants (TAPA), where he served as Treasurer on their Board of Directors. John is currently on the Board of Directors of a national Christian organization, the Fellowship of Christian Physician Assistants (FCPA), which is a subsidiary of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), holding the position of President-Elect set to take office in May of 2023. He also brought a new leadership structure and vision for Advanced Practice into his hospital system. A leadership based on integrity, holding the hospital and employees accountable for providing top-level care to our most vulnerable population. He leads a team of 15 other leaders and is responsible for an annual budget of over $40 million.
