Cari L. Wood, LAT, ATC, spent more than 30 years caring for the students at Redmond High School in Oregon. During this time, she became a champion for student athlete mental health, spearheading the “Your Life Matters” suicide prevention video, which went viral, and educating fellow ATs, athletic directors, coaches, community groups and more through presentations, webinars, articles and live events. Wood has held several notable leadership positions over the years, serving as president of both the Oregon Athletic Trainers’ Society and Northwest Athletic Trainers’ Association, NATA District Ten director, board member at-large with the NATA Research & Education Foundation and chair of the NATA Title IX Task Force, NATA AT Compensation Task Force Gender Equity Subgroup and NATA Specialty Awards Committee. For her contributions, Wood has been recognized at the state, district and national level, being inducted into the Oregon Athletic Trainers' Society Hall of Fame in 2017 and NWATA Hall of Fame in 2017, the first woman to receive this honor.
NATA Hall of Fame
Craig Alan Voll Jr., PhD, ATC, PT, is a professor and coordinator with Purdue University. He has served in many leadership roles within the profession, including as Indiana Athletic Trainers’ Association president, Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association president, NATA District Four director and, currently, NATA AT Compensation Task Force co-chair. While serving as the District Four director, Voll secured the division of GLATA into two districts: Districts Four and Eleven. The division created 27 new leadership opportunities for members within NATA. At the state level, Voll also helped secure the passage of HEA 1467, “Athletic Training Reimbursement,” which created opportunities for ATs in Indiana to be reimbursed by third-party insurers, becoming a model for other states and the NATA Third Party Reimbursement Initiative. Voll was also part of the Facilitating Work-Life Balance in Athletic Training Practice Settings NATA Position Statement writing group. The statement provides recommendations to facilitate work-life balance in athletic training. Since it was published in 2018, the statement has been cited more than 50 times.
Jiro Shikakura, MS, ATC, is a visiting professor at Juntendo University in Tokyo, Japan. Shikakura became the first president of the Japan Athletic Trainers’ Organization (JATO) in 1996 and served through 2007. He was an athletic trainer for the Waseda University American football team from 1977 to 2017 and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Football team from 1990 to 2019. Shikakura was vice president of the World Federation of Athletic Training and Therapy from 2005 to 2013 and vice-chair of the athletic trainer board of the Japan Sport Association from 2009 to 2016. Shikakura was the board director of the Japanese Society of Athletic Training from 2012 to 2017. He was inducted into the JATO Hall of Fame in 2017. Shikakura earned his Bachelor of Arts from Waseda University, Bachelor of Science from University of Michigan and Master of Science from Juntendo University.
Kimberly S. Peer, EdD, ATC, FNATA, is a full professor at Kent State University in the Master of Athletic Training and Doctor of Education Interprofessional Leadership programs. She has served as editor-in-chief of the Athletic Training Education Journal and in leadership roles with NATA, the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer, Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, NATA Research & Education Foundation and Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association. Peer has been lauded with national, regional and state level awards for her contributions to the profession and athletic training education, including, but not limited to, NATA Fellow, Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer, Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Educator Award, OATA Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association Outstanding Educator and, most recently, the Gail Weldon Award of Excellence and National Academies of Practice Distinguished Fellow Distinction. Peer has presented on the international and national levels on ethics education and pedagogy. She has published extensively and has co-authored textbooks on professional ethics in athletic training and athletic training pedagogy.
Darryl Conway, MA, AT, ATC, serves as the executive senior associate athletic director and chief health and welfare officer for the University of Michigan Athletics, owner of Conway Ventures LLC and co-founder/co-owner of Sports Medicine Emergency Management LLC. Conway currently serves as chair of the NATA Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee and member of the NATA DEIA Council, State of Michigan Board of Athletic Trainers, State of Michigan Board of Athletic Trainers Disciplinary Sub-Committee & Rules Sub-Committee and Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer Reinstatement Committee. Having previously served with the Spine Injury in Sports Group, Conway is currently a member of the writing group for the NATA Emergency Action Planning in Athletics Position Statement and U.S. Lacrosse Spine Injury in Sport Position Statement. Conway has been recognized throughout his career, receiving the NATA Lifesaver Recognition in 2004, Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer recognition in 2019 and Athletic Trainer Service Award in 2023. He was also recognized by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Association as the Northeast Regional Administrator of the Year in 2021 and received the University of Delaware Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement in 2012, CATS Quality of Life Award in 2018 and Michigan Athletic Trainers' Society Distinguished AT Award in 2022.
Ray Castle, PhD, LAT, NREMT, is a St. Joseph, Louisiana native and earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 1990, master’s degree in 1993 and doctoral degree in 2000 from the University of Southern Mississippi. From 2002-22, he served as athletic training program director and professor at Louisiana State University, which included the development of Louisiana’s first Master of Science in Athletic Training program. Highlights of Castle’s extensive clinical experience include volunteering at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials and the Boston Marathon from 2013 to present and as part the USOC sports medicine staff for the 2003 Pan American Games. He is the owner/CEO of Action Medicine Consultants LLC, providing large-scale sports medicine event coordination and emergency care training solutions. He is a subject matter expert in sports-related emergency medicine and is widely known for his contributions to advancing sports emergency care. Castle’s professional service is extensive, including leadership roles as Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association vice-president, 2013-16; Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association Athletic Training Student Symposium co-chair, 2001-14; NATA Executive Council for Education member, 2004-08; NATA Research & Education Foundation director, 2010-12; and Commission on Accreditation for Athletic Training Education board commissioner, 2011-17.
Douglas J. Casa, PhD, ATC, FNAK, has served as the CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute since its founding in 2010, and has been a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut since 1999 (Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor since 2023). As an AT, Casa has successfully treated 401 cases of exertional heat stroke with zero fatalities. He has published about 400 peer-reviewed publications/book chapters in edited books and presented more than 600 times on maximizing performance in the heat, exertional heat stroke, preventing sudden death in sport and hydration. From 2018-21, he served on the IOC Adverse Weather Impact Expert Group for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which focused on issues related to extreme heat. He was chair of the NATA Pronouncements Committee for eight years and, in that timeframe, oversaw the publishing of 12 NATA Position Statements. He was also an associate editor for the Journal of Athletic Training for 15 years.
Paul A. Ullucci Jr., PhD, DPT, ATC, is the founding program director and associate professor in Johnson & Wales University's physical therapy program. Ullucci has taught at Bryant University; Sacred Heart University, where he was the director of the Human Anatomy Lab; and Fresno State, where he was the director of the musculoskeletal clinic. Prior to earning his PhD, Ullucci owned Ullucci Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy and was the operations supervisor for Rebound Sports Medicine. He has served as District One director for two terms and was appointed NATA secretary/treasurer in 2012. He served previously as District One treasurer and EATA president. His honors include induction into the "49's Club," EATA Cramer Award, NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer and NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award. He has been inducted into the Rhode Island Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of Northeastern University's physical therapy program. He earned his athletic training certification in 1993 and his certified strength and conditioning specialists designation in 2000. He became Rhode Island's first sports clinical specialist in 1997.
Tory Lindley, MA, ATC, serves as the deputy athletics director at Youngstown State University. Lindley became NATA's 14th president in 2018 and served through 2021. In 2020, Lindley completed an 18-year stint as Northwestern University's director of athletic training services. Prior to NU, Lindley served as the director of sports medicine at Eastern Michigan University and head AT at Hamline University. Lindley has degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota. He served in state leadership roles for the Minnesota Athletic Trainers' Association and the Michigan Athletic Trainers' Society before providing six years of service to the Illinois Athletic Trainers' Association, including serving as president from 2006-08. From 2012-18, Lindley was the NATA District Four director, serving as NATA vice president for two years. A 2011 inductee into the IATA Hall of Fame, Lindley was a 2016 recipient of the GLATA Golden Pinnacle Award and named the 2012 NCAA's Division I Athletic Trainer of the Year.
Tony Fitzpatrick, MA, LAT, ATC, has been employed by the Boise School District for 35 years as an athletic trainer as well as a biology and sports medicine teacher. Fitzpatrick taught biology and sports medicine as well as serving as the head athletic trainer for Boise High School from 1988-98. In the fall of 1998, he helped to open Timberline High School, where he has been ever since, serving as the head athletic trainer and sports medicine instructor. Fitzpatrick has served in many leadership roles in the Idaho Athletic Trainers' Association, including president from 1995-2001. Within the NWATA, Fitzpatrick served from 2009-13 as treasurer and from 2017-22 as president, as well as NATA DistrictTen director, including as NATA vice-president from 2021-22. Fitzpatrick was inducted into the NWATA Hall of Fame in 2014 and the IATA Hall of Fame in 2021. He was recognized by Boise State University as a Distinguished Alumni from the College of Health Sciences in 2022. At the end of the 2023 school year, Fitzpatrick will retire from the Boise School District.