The COMmunicator Spring 2023 | Page 21

Interview with Jonathan Finnoff, DO ’95

Chief Medical Officer for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Jonathan Finnoff, DO’95 may have imagined himself at the Olympics, but not as a medical professional. Living in Boulder, Colorado, he trained alongside aspiring Olympians who inspired him to become a professional mountain bike racer. He competed in the World Cup Circuit but recognized that he wouldn’t be able to race forever. Jonathan began studying business with the hope of finding a career in the bike industry. However, an experience during a late-night bike ride changed everything for him.

While riding home one night after class, Dr. Finnoff came across an unconscious man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He called 911, but without the medical training to provide care while waiting for help, the man passed away before the ambulance arrived. “I felt so helpless in that situation. I thought to myself, ‘I am never going to be in a situation again where I come upon somebody who needs help, yet I can’t do anything for them.’” After that night, Dr. Finnoff signed up for an Emergency Medical Technician class.  He enjoyed the class so much that he changed his major to prepare for a career in sports medicine, and then attended UNE COM.