Brett Willmott, M.S., CSCS 

Brett Willmott begins his second season as Associate Head Coach and fifth year coaching at University of Vermont, Division I institution.   Willmott is responsible for coaching athletes in sprints, hurdles, long jump, triple jump and multi-event athletes.  In four seasons (2007-11), he’s coached over 100 all-conference performers, nine conference champions and his student-athletes broke over twenty-five school records. Willmott also coached the first-ever men's contingent Vermont has sent to the NCAA East Regional Meet, including 7 men and women in two outdoor seasons.  

Willmott came to University of Vermont after four years as the Head Track and Field Coach at his alma mater;  the State University of New York-Plattsburgh. During his four-year tenure, the Cardinals established many school records, crowned 18 State University of New York Athletic Conference individual champions, and produced 13 All-Americans and scholar All-Americans.

Cody Sipe, PhD, ES, RCEP

Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Research within the Physical Therapy Program at Harding University. He is also a trainer, speaker, writer, entrepreneur and recognized leader in exercise for mid-life and older adults with over 12 years of experience in the industry. He is a past recipient of the IDEA Program Director of the Year award and regularly shares his expertise at conferences and in publications.

Cody completed his Master's degree in exercise science from Virginia Tech in 1996 where he was first exposed to working with older adults in the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program. He attended the University of Virginia for the next four years during which he worked as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, exercise specialist and graded exercise test technologist at a local medically-based fitness center. In 2000 he became the Director of the A.H. Ismail Center for Health, Exercise and Nutrition at Purdue University where he obtained his Ph.D. in Exercise Science.

Dan Ritchie, PhD, CSCS, HFS-ACSM

Dan has a broad background in the fitness industry including training and management in commercial and university/hospital-based fitness, for-profit, not-for-profit and educational facilities. His primary areas of expertise are in personal training for special populations (elite athletes, pregnant women, those with chronic disease and/or disorders such as Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia and Alzheimers, etc.).

He has participated in state funded research on exercise for Alzheimer type severe dementia and regularly presents at national and regional conferences. He is a past Board member of the Midwest American College of Sports Medicine and was nominated for the ACSM National College Board of Trustees in 2008. He has been the Enhance Fitness Master Trainer for the State of Indiana since 2007. While at Purdue, he received a Lynn Fellowship and a National Strength and Conditioning Association research grant, and in May of 2008 he defended his Ph.D. in Health and Kinesiology, with a minor in Gerontology.

David Flench, MBA, ACSM HFS

David has over 13 years work experience in health and fitness, and is currently the Director for the Hancock Wellness Center at Hancock Regional Hospital Greenfield, IN.  David is responsible for the strategic planning and operational oversight, a medically-integrated health and wellness center.  David attained his Master of Business Administration from Franklin University in Columbus, OH and his Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. 

David recently finished a three-year term as the Chairman for Florida Regional Chapter of the Medical Fitness Association (MFA), continues to serve on national committees for MFA, and was the 2009 recipient of the MFA Don Schneider Distinguished Service Award.  He is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Leadership Sarasota County, and the American College of Sports Medicine. 

Guillermo Escalante, DSc, MBA, ATC, CSCS

Dr. Guillermo received his undergraduate degree in Athletic Training from the University of La Verne. Shortly thereafter, he became a certified athletic trainer/strength & conditioning specialist.

In 1999, Dr. Guillermo completed an MBA with concentrations in Healthcare Management and Marketing. He returned to school in 2004 and completed a doctorate in Athletic Training with an emphasis in rehabilitation in 2012.

In February 2000, Dr. Guillermo established SportsPros and has led the company’s growth since its inception. Dr. Guillermo has been an adjunct professor or guest lecturer in the sports rehabilitation sciences at local universities and has treated and/or trained athletes from all levels since 1997. Dr.Guillermo is the presidnt of SportsPros, an adjunct professor of Kinesiology at Cal State San Bernardino, a fitness author for Musclemag International and Muscle & Fitness Magazines, as well as a national level bodybuilding competitor.

Jimin Yang, PhD, RD

An assistant professor at the College of Medicine , University of South Florida. She is a registered dietitian and received her doctoral degree at Purdue University. Her research interests include nutritional epidemiology and dietary intervention in chronic disease prevention and control. She is now a co-investigator in an international diabetes study and leads the physical activity assessment in addition to her duties as nutrition coordinator. Dr. Yang is also an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is an executive committee member of the Chinese Americans in Dietetics and Nutrition organization.

Joe M. Macri

Joe is a technology and marketing specialist with over 17 years of experience in new media and online communications. He is currently the Online Communication and Marketing Manager at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where he directs web development, SEO, SEM, mobile distribution platforms, and all social media channels. He serves on the institutes' branding committee, Ferst Center for Arts in Education committee, and judge for campus communication awards. He's seen as a campus leader in new web initiatives and marketing trends, keeping Georgia Tech on the forefront of the ever-changing landscape of the world wide web and beyond. He has prior experience as an IT manager, graphic & media designer, e-learning Instructional Designer, and e-commerce director.

Joe Verna, D.C.

Joe is vice president of operations of Spine & Sport. He is a licensed chiropractor, qualified medical evaluator, certified industrial injury evaluator, and independent medical examiner. For the past five years, he has served as Defensive Tactics Consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department, Arrest and Control Unit. The program utilizes the skills of a civilian panel of physicians and martial artists in analyzing statistics and developing the injury prevention curriculum for its uniformed officers. Dr. Verna served as principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health project that focused on exercises for low back pain.

John Mayer, DC, PhD

John is the Lincoln College Endowed Chair in Biomechanical Research in the College of Medicine, and Associate Professor in the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of South Florida, as well as Adjunct Associate Professor at New York Chiropractic College. He obtained a DC degree from the National College of Chiropractic and a PhD in Exercise Science from Syracuse University, where he was awarded the 2001 "Doctoral Prize" for his exemplary research in MRI assessment of the lumbar muscles during exercise and occupational lifts.

Dr. Mayer has extensive clinical and research experience in physical rehabilitation, applied exercise physiology, and therapeutic exercise, and has published and presented widely on these topics. He is currently principal investigator or co-principal investigator on federally-funded research studies assessing targeted physical exercise interventions for reduction of risk for back injury in firefighters and military personnel.

Mike Flynn, PhD

An exercise physiologist, Flynn has conducted research on exercise and aging, sport nutrition, performance enhancement and overtraining syndrome, and exercise immunology.  His current research is focused in the broad area of exercise immunology, with a specific emphasis on the anti-inflammatory actions of exercise training and the potential ameliorative influences on chronic disease. Flynn's work has been published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, Brain Behavior and Immunity and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.  His work has been funded by National Institutes on Aging (R03), American Heart Association, and Astra Zeneca. 

Natalie Johnson, MS

Natalie is a Health & Wellness Professional with over 27 years experience. She is currently the Manager of Health & Lifestyle Programs with the progressive medical health plan, ManateeChoice in Bradenton, FL and she is also the Regional Director of the Medical Fitness Association. As a life long fitness professional Natalie is a Certified Fitness Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, Sports Nutritionist and Wellness Coach. She is also a Performance Coach for the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, FL. Her prior work experiences include employment with San Diego State University as the Fitness & Operations Director of the Aztec Recreation Center and adjunct faculty for the Exercise & Nutritional Sciences Department.

Susan Flynn, MS

Susan Flynn works in the School of Health and Human Performance and Teacher Education at the College of Charleston and is a former faculty member at Purdue University. She is training students’ in sport pedagogy and PreK-5 teacher education. Flynn taught in the public schools outside of Toledo, Ohio as an Adapted Physical Education Specialist. In addition, she directed the Perceptual Motor Development Clinic at the University of Toledo for 10 years and Pete’s PAL’s at Purdue. Both programs offer aquatic and motor therapy for children with disabilities. Flynn is a certified Physical Best Instructor and presents Fitnessgram and the Physical Best program at many state meetings. In addition, Flynn serves as the co-director of the Charleston Physically Active Community and Schools Fitness program (C-PARCS). C-PARCS provides wellness assessment, exercise prescription and personal training for a high poverty public housing complex in Charleston.