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.
NATA Hall of Fame
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.
Mark Coberley, MS, LAT, ATC, a graduate of Iowa State University, currently serves as the associate athletic director of sports medicine at his alma mater, a position he earned in 1999 after serving for six years as the university's assistant athletic trainer. His volunteer service began as a member of the Iowa Athletic Trainers' Society Governmental Affairs Committee. He later served as IATS president. Among his roles with NATA, he served as a member of the NATA College/University Athletic Trainers' Committee, now the Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine, and the NATA Public Relations Committee. He served on the NATA Board of Directors from 2015-20 as the District Five director and chaired the NATA Political Action Committee. He serves on the Big 12 Conference Medical Aspects of Sport Committee and was chair 2008-11. Coberley was awarded the NCAA's Division I Head Athletic Trainer of the Vear in 2011 and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer recognition in 2013. He was inducted into the MAATA Hall of Fame in 2019, and the IATS Hall of Honor in 2014.
Lorin A. Cartwright, MS, ATC, CA A, has been an advocate for AT education at the secondary school and college/university level. She has written numerous textbooks about the certification process, foundations of athletic training and cultural competency. All were the first of their kind in athletic training, with a few translated into simple Chinese. She was the first woman to be president of GLATA. Cartwright has advanced the profession by serving in various roles on national, regional and state committees. She has served on the NATA Secretary Committee, Ethics Committee, Membership Committee, LGBTO+ Advisory Committee and the Honors and Award Committee. While on the LGBTO+ Advisory Committee, she co-authored, "Considerations for Stressors of Sexual Minority Identity and How it Affects Mental Health for Those Who Identify as LGBTO+." At the district level, she was a consultant to the Diversity Committee, an active member of the Women in Athletic Training Committee and served as secretary-treasurer. The Michigan governor appointed her to the Women in Sports Leadership Committee and Michigan Board of Athletic Training. At the state level, she co-chaired the DEi Committee, Secondary Schools Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee; and chaired the Education Committee and Public Relations Committee. Her honors include the Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame, Michigan Athletic Trainers' Society Hall of Fame, GLATA Golden Pinnacle Award, NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer recognition, NATA Athletic Training Service Award and Gail Weldon Award of Excellence.
Rick Burkholder, MS, ATC, a second-generation AT, is currently the vice president of sports medicine and performance for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is starting his 11th season in Kansas City after spending 14 years as the head athletic trainer with the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to joining the Eagles in 1999, Burkholder served as an assistant AT at the Pittsburgh Steelers, University of Pittsburgh and University of Arizona. In 2014, he was elected president of Professional Football Athletic Trainers' Society, where he focused on gender equity within PFATS as well as emphasizing the importance of ATs in the secondary school setting. The Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers' Society Hall of Fame inductee joins his father, Richard Burkholder, as the only father-son duo to have achieved this honor. Burkholder also received the NATA President's Award, the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer recognition and Athletic Training Service Award. With PATS, he served on various committees as well as the executive board. He has also served on various committees in NATA, the NFL and PFATS, and speaks locally and nationally on a regular basis. The two-time Super Bowl champion was awarded the Cain/Fain NFL Athletic Trainer of the Vear Award in 2022, which is voted on by the NFL team physicians.
Timothy “Westy” Weston, MEd, ATC, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine in 1988 and master’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono in 2004. He is currently in his 13th year as the head athletic trainer and director of sports medicine at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he has been employed since 1992. Weston held leadership positions on the executive board for the Maine Athletic Trainers’ Association (MATA) (1993-2000). He has served as the NATA District One Secretary (2004-12), chair of the NATA District Secretaries’/Treasurers’ Committee (2010-12), EATA Executive Board member (2004-12 and 2014-18), NATAPAC Board of Directors (2010-13), NATA District One Director (2014-18) and NATA Secretary/Treasurer (2016-18). NATA Inter-Association Consensus Statement: The Management of Medications by the Sports Medicine Team co-chair (2018). He has previously served on the New England Small College Athletic Conference Medical Aspects Committee and the Maine Concussion Management Initiative Board of Directors. Weston is currently co-chair for the EATA 75th Anniversary Committee and serves on the editorial boards for the NATA News and the Sports Medicine Legal Digest.