Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC, PT, FACSM, FNATA, earned his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University in 1988 and his master’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1989. He continued his education to earn a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Delaware in 1994 and his Doctor of Philosophy from Nova Southeastern University in 2004. Konin started his career as an athletic trainer with HealthSouth Sports Medicine in 1989 and is now the director of the Doctor of Athletic Training Program at Florida International University. Some of Konin’s volunteer service includes Clinical/Corporate/Industrial Athletic Training Committee (1992-97), Position Statement PPPE writing member (2008-14), Outcomes Advisory Panel SSISOS chair (2009-10), Best Practice for AT Documentation Task Force (2015-17), Sexual Abuse Education Task Force (2018), Transitional Employment Work Group (2019-21) and Cannabinoid Task Force chair (2021-present). He is also a representative of the NATA International Committee.
NATA Hall of Fame
In 1989, Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC, FNATA, earned his bachelor’s degree from West Chester University. In 1992, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh before enrolling at the University of Virginia where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy in 1995. Guskiewicz then began his academic career as an assistant professor and athletic trainer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. Over a 26-year career at UNC, he has served in a variety of roles, including director of the accredited undergraduate athletic training education program, founding director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, department chair, senior associate dean, dean and interim chancellor. Guskiewicz was named UNC-Chapel Hill’s 12th Chancellor December 13, 2019 after serving as Interim Chancellor for 10 months. His volunteer service includes NATA Pronouncement Committee on Mild Head Injury (1997-2004), NATA Convention Committee (1998-2001), NATA Education Council’s Graduate Program Review Committee (1999-2005), NATA Convention Committee program chair (2000), Journal of Athletic Training associate editor (2001-13), NATA Position Statement on Management of Sport Concussion lead author (2004) and NATA Position Statement on Management of Sport Concussion co-author (2014).
Greg Gardner, EdD, LAT, ATC, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming in 1984 and his master’s degree from the University of Arizona just a year later. In 1995, Gardner went to the University of Southern Mississippi to earn his Doctor of Education. His first job was as an athletic trainer and teacher at Rockport-Fulton High School. He was there from 1985 to 1988, when he shifted into the collegiate setting as an athletic trainer and assistant professor at Howard Payne University. Gardner is now a clinical professor of athletic training at the University of Tulsa. Some of his volunteer service includes Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association Student Session chair (1996-99), CAATE president (2008-01) and World Federation of Athletic Training and Therapy U.S. vice president (2011-18). He presently serves as a member on the Athletic Rehabilitators and Therapists of Ireland accreditation panel and received a Fulbright award in the fall of 2021. He is currently the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association vice president and serves as a member of the NATA Research & Education Foundation Board of Directors.
In 1982, Denise Fandel, MBA, CAE, AT Ret., earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University. She then went on to earn her master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 2011, Fandel earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. In 1983, Fandel was hired as an assistant athletic trainer at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and became the head athletic trainer in 1985. Fandel stayed until 1997. Following her collegiate career, Fandel went on to become the first CEO of the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer. She retired from the BOC in 2019. Now, Fandel is the president of Breakthrough Growth LLC. Some of Fandel’s volunteer service includes District Five representative for the NATA Placement Committee (1986-88), Nebraska State Department of Health’s Bureau of Examining Boards (1988-99) and Nebraska State Athletic Trainers’ Association president (1988-90).
Larry Cooper, MS, LAT, ATC, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1983 before earning his master’s equivalency from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1995. For the majority of his career, Cooper worked as a teacher and athletic trainer in various schools, both collegiate and secondary, spending from 1991 to 2018 at Penn-Trafford High School in Harrison City, Pennsylvania. Cooper also has a long list of volunteer service to the athletic training profession, including the NATA Appropriate Medical Care for Secondary School Aged Athletes Task Force (2017-19); ATLAS (Athletic Training Location and Services) project co-founder (2016-present); NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee chair (2012-16); NATA Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport Founding Member/Planning Committee (2015-18); and Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (2002-present). He currently sits on the Rocky Mountain University Athletic Training Advisory Board, Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association Executive Council, Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and various other groups.
From chance athletic injury to physical therapy business owner, Charles “Skip” Vosler has come a long way. His career in athletic training began in 1958 when Erie Biggs, former head trainer at Ohio State University hired him as a student athletic trainer. This sparked his passion for the profession, and he has been completely engrossed in athletic training ever since. While at Ohio State, he spent one pre-season as assistant athletic trainer for the New York Titans. In addition to working as assistant athletic trainer at Ohio State from 1961 to 1964, he served as Head Athletic Trainer at several universities from 1964 through 1997 – Defiance College, Ashland University and Ohio University where he developed an undergraduate and master’s degree programs in athletic training. In 1998, he opened Southeast Ohio Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy. Today he is the Vice President of Grimm Scientific Industries. Vosler has volunteered in various capacities – from founding the Athletic Equipment Manager’s Association (AEMA) to serving on the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association (OATA) Hall of Fame committee for 30 years. His goal – to personify his parents’ lesson: get involved where your voice can make a difference.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College, and a master’s degree from Indiana University, Gretchen Schlabach’s initial position was a one-year appointment at Western Michigan University. That was followed by an eight-year stint at the University of Mississippi, where she served as head women’s athletic trainer. After completing her doctoral work, Gretchen entered the professoriate and accepted the program directorship at Northern Illinois University, where she retired in 2014. Schlabach’s professional scholarship and service has been in the areas of professional ethics, values and responsibility in athletic training. She co-authored the first text dedicated solely to professional ethics, Professional Ethics in Athletic Training. Schlabach served on the inaugural NATA Women in Athletic Training Committee, which advanced women’s concerns and life-balance issues in athletic training. Currently, she is the founding chair of the inaugural NATA Professional Responsibility in Athletic Training Committee, which is dedicated to promoting legal, ethical and regulatory awareness, analysis, action and adherence. Schlabach has been recognized with the professor emerita distinction from Northern Illinois University, NATA Athletic Training Service and Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Awards, as well as a Gail Weldon Award of Excellence.
Scott Sailor, NATA’s thirteenth President, has spent the duration of his career aiming to push the profession forward through service. His more than 30-year career started in the NFL when he became the summer athletic training intern for the San Francisco 49ers. After a brief stint working with the 49ers and performing as an orthopedic technician at Tucson Medical, he spent the majority of his career working as college professor, leading athletic training programs and working with collegiate athletes as an AT. One of his earliest major volunteer roles was in the NATA PR Committee, which was followed by his role as Far West Athletic Trainers’ Association district secretary. Because of the relationships he built, he was elected District Eight director, and served on the NATA Board of Directors. After accepting the nomination for vice president of NATA and taking on major projects such as the Nomenclature Work Group Vision Quest, he was elected President of the Association. His presidency term was filled with opportunities to meet young leaders and veterans, all aiming to make a difference in the future of athletic training in various ways.
Timothy Neal has dedicated his 40-year career to making a difference in the profession of athletic training by enhancing patient and athlete safety and wellness. In 2010, Neal served on the NCAA Concussion in Sport Medical Management panel. He also chaired two NATA Inter-Association Consensus Statements on developing plans to recognize and refer psychological concerns in athletes. In 2013, he chaired the statement affecting collegiate athletes and, in 2015, he chaired the statement regarding secondary school athletes. In 2014, Neal was part of the writing group for the NATA Position Statement on pre-participation physical examinations and medically disqualifying conditions. From 2015 to 2019, he served as chair of the NATA Committee on Professional Ethics. During that time, he authored the revised NATA Code of Ethics in 2016. Aiming to give back to the people who give the most, he became the founding member of the ATs Care Committee. With the goal of generating order around the expectations of athletic trainers, he helped develop the Professional Responsibility in Athletic Training Committee. Some of the most impactful moments of his career include his activity as the NATA liaison to the NCAA, the liaison to the NCAA Football Rules Committee, and the NCAA Student-Athlete Mental Health Task Force. He also authored and revised chapters in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook on catastrophic incident planning and student-athlete mental health, and contributed to the NCAA football rules book.
Christopher Ingersoll has a demonstrated dedication to advancing the profession. After earning his PhD in 1989 from The University of Toledo, he became an assistant professor at University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Around the same time, he became involved the Journal of Athletic Training where he would eventually go on to serve as the Editor-in-Chief while on the faculty at the University of Virginia. Ingersoll also served as the president for the NATA Research & Education Foundation. While working at Indiana State University, he served as the chair of the Post-Professional Graduate Education committee. Because of his dedication to scholarship, he went on to receive the Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Educator award and the William G. Clancy, MD, Medal for Distinguished Athletic Training Research. He has also served as a dean at Central Michigan University and The University of Toledo. He is the current commissioner on the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.