Scaling the Summit-- Radio Gold

Jill Varnes has led a life of service to the profession. She was the 1995 Southern District President and the 1999 AAHPERD President. She retired as Professor Emerita in Health Education and Behavior in the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida.  

We loved our conversation with Jill and we hope you will too.

Plus, we had a special guest drop in and surprise Jill!  

Kym went to undergrad at Clemson University, then received her master’s and PhD at the University of South Carolina, where she studied with the esteemed Judy Rink.

Kym has numerous publications, many of which have appeared in RQES, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.  She also has over 50 presentations listed on her website and I know there are even more than that.

Since joining South Carolina AHPERD in 1996, Kym has held many elected and appointed positions, including president, parliamentarian, and adviser for the South Carolina Association of Future Professionals.

In 2017, Kym was named Executive Director of SCAHPERD.

Kim joins us to talk about her career path and involvement with the profession.

Dayna Watson completed her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of Florida. She has extensive experience and training in clinical supervision and mental health counseling, specializing in counseling children, adolescents, and young adults.
Dayna's clinical areas of focus include play therapy techniques and creative interventions with children and adolescents, group therapy with young children, and cognitive therapy. Her research interests include issues of social class and poverty in mental health counseling, community-school collaboration, and counseling student development.

On our podcast, Dayna builds on the work of Nealy et al (2018) to share the 8 Rs for a trauma-informed gym.

Currently, Dayna is a UAB Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Studies.

Carol Chesnutt has served the Alabama State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance in several capacities including President, Secretary, Vice President of the General Division, Vice President of the Physical Education division, and as Co-Chair of the Developing Champions Leadership Conference.  

Carol received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Women’s Sports Foundation, and was the Southern District Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year.

Carol currently serves at the Homewood City Schools Champions Program Director and monitors academics for the athletic department.

Judy Sweet is a "modern sports pioneer".

In 1975, at the age of 27, Judy was named UCSD’s athletic director, and was among the first athletic administrators in the country to put into practice what was laid out in the Title IX civil rights law of 1972.

In 1991, Judy became the first female president of the NCAA and after her tenure, Judy has continued to work towards equity in sports. 

Judy has a storied career and we were honored to have had the opportunity to capture her historic work.

Joan Cronan is Athletic Director Emeritus at University of Tennessee, having served from 1983-2012. 

Her illustrious career includes:

• Opelousas, Louisiana native, Joan Cronan was was 12 years old when she received her first lesson in gender discrimination.
  
• Joan went on to graduate from LSU with degrees in physical education.
  
• She coached basketball, volleyball and tennis at Northwestern State University in Louisiana after graduating from LSU and before her administrative career at the College of Charleston and Tennessee.
  
• Prior to her service at Tennessee, Joan was Athletics Director at the College of Charleston for 10 years.
  
• She was elected President of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics and she received the WBCA Leadership Award in 1987.
  
• Joan was the first recipient of the NCAA President’s Pat Summitt Award in 2017
  
• She has written a very successful book, “Sports Is Life With the Volume Turned Up.”
  

Joan Cronan is in every Hall of Fame imaginable, including the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, LSU’s Alumni Hall of Distinction, the College of Charleston Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champion.

In honor of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, we are proud to bring you this special interview.

Lori’s career began at Eastern Washington University, in Cheney, Washington with a BA in Physical Education and a minor in Health Education. She was a student scholarship athlete and went on to receive her Masters Degree from Azusa Pacific University, in Administration, Guidance and Counseling. Lori is the PreK-12 Physical Education and Health Literacy Program Manager for Seattle Public Schools since 2007. She is responsible for:
- providing curriculum, supervision, mentoring, and assessment
- providing professional services related to teaching and teacher education in physical education, health literacy and grant writing in a district of over 54,000 students
- And she supports over 150 physical education specialists.

Her awards and accolades include:

- National Administrator of the Year (2016)
- Past President of SHAPE Washington
- NASPE National High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year (2006)
-Past President for SHAPE America Western District
-Past President of Northwest District AAHPERD
-Served on the SHAPE America Board of Directors

Lori is also an OPEN Leader and, as you probably know, OPEN is the Online Physical Education Network.

Carol has been a professor at Central Connecticut State University in the Department of Physical Education and Human Performance for the past 13 years. Prior to CCSU, she spent 22 years serving as a physical education teacher, an assistant principal and a principal in Connecticut.

Carol is the co-founder of PASS (Physically Actively School Systems) and co-author of the book titled, PASS: A Guide Book to Creating Physically Active School Systems.

Carol has served on the Connecticut AHPERD Executive Board as VP for Physical Education and Dance and as President in 2012-2013. She has served the Eastern District as a VP of Physical Activity, a member of the Applied Strategic Planning Committee, Conference program Editor, Advocacy Committee numerous committees, and as the current Eastern District Executive Director.

To purchase "PASS: A Guide Book to Creating Physically Active School Systems"

Carol has been a professor at Central Connecticut State University in the Department of Physical Education and Human Performance for the past 13 years. Prior to CCSU, she spent 22 years serving as a physical education teacher, an assistant principal and a principal in Connecticut.

Carol is the co-founder of PASS (Physically Actively School Systems) and co-author of the book titled, PASS: A Guide Book to Creating Physically Active School Systems.

Carol has served on the Connecticut AHPERD Executive Board as VP for Physical Education and Dance and as President in 2012-2013. She has served the Eastern District as a VP of Physical Activity, a member of the Applied Strategic Planning Committee, Conference program Editor, Advocacy Committee numerous committees, and as the current Eastern District Executive Director.

To purchase "PASS: A Guide Book to Creating Physically Active School Systems"

Kim is Professor and Interim Head in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health and the former Director of the Campus Honors Program at the University of Illinois.

Her research interests include children's wellness, legislative policy mandates, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has published numerous articles in peer-refereed journals and books and has presented her work at dozens of national and international conferences.

She co-authored a book titled Physical Education Activity for Elementary Classroom Teachers.

She served as president and secretary of the Research Consortium, president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, and chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Academy. She also serves on numerous committees at the University of Illinois and is a Fellow in the National Academy of Kinesiology and a Fellow in SHAPE America.

Kim is a treasure....and we LOVED having her chat with us!