Keynote Speakers in Physical Education
This page features presenters who deliver keynote speeches on physical education topics.
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Brent Heidorn
Location: Carrollton, GA (Univ. of West Georgia)
Grade Levels: K-12 and College PE
Teaching Experience: 15+ years, K-12 physical education and university level.
Presentation Experience: 10+ Years
Willing to present locally and throughout the USA. Can present throughout the year including the summer.
Bio:
Dr. Brent Heidorn is an associate tenured professor in the College of Education at the University of West Georgia, and was recently appointed as Assistant Dean for Research and Assessment in the College of Education (2015). Prior to this appointment, Brent was the program coordinator of the Health and Physical Education Teacher Education program in the Department of Leadership and Instruction, where he has served since 2007. Prior to his appointment at the University of West Georgia, Brent received his doctoral degree in Physical Education from the University of South Carolina (2004-2007) and worked for eight years as a physical education teacher and coach at the middle and high school levels (1997-2004). His educational degrees include a B.S. in Health and Physical Education from Bob Jones University, M.A. in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University, and a Ph.D. in Physical Education Pedagogy from the University of South Carolina. Brent’s leadership and service activities include active membership in SHAPE America, and Past-President of the Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (GAHPERD). He has been actively involved with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) serving on a variety of committees at the national level, including three years on the Physical Education Steering Committee, the Awards Committee, and the Publications Committee. Brent continues to serve SHAPE America through the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP). He is an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, is on the Editorial Review Board for Quest and Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, and is the Publications Editor of The GAHPERD Journal. Brent also served as the Editor for the Theory to Practice column in Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators. Brent has received numerous awards including the SDAAHPERD Taylor Dodson Young Professional Award, the University of West Georgia College of Education Faculty Outstanding Service Award, and the Robert W. Moore Professional Recognition Award and the Young Scholar Award from the Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Brent’s research interests include comprehensive school physical activity programs, physical education teacher education and supervision, and sport pedagogy. He has more than 50 authored or coauthored articles, chapters, reports, or reviews; and he has given more than 120 professional and scholarly presentations, in addition to numerous professional development workshops.
Presentation Topics:
- Best practice in K-12 physical education – effective instruction, curriculum, current research, current trends and issues
- Skill development in physical education – a variety of content areas
- Physical activity in physical education – integrating physical activity in PE and classroom based instruction
- Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPs)
- Physical Fitness – fitness games, stations, strength and conditioning for physical education and athletics
- Exercise Physiology – multiple components; developing fitness from exercise science
- FitnessGram – all components
- Coaching and Athletics – philosophy, objectives, communication, motivation, management, planning, training
Cindy Kuhrasch
Location: Madison, WI (Univ. of Wisconsin)
Grade Levels: K-12 PE
Teaching Experience: 28 Years Public School teaching
Presentation Experience: 20+ Years
Willing to present locally, in the USA and Internationally. Can present throughout the year and is willing to do Keynote presentations.
Bio:
Cindy Kuhrasch has had the opportunity to teach Health and Physical education to students in grades K-12, and undergraduate students as well. She is currently employed as a faculty associate in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Wisconsin where she teaches courses in methodology, assessment community development and kinesiology. In addition, Cindy has served as a consultant in many school districts, working in the areas of curriculum development, instructional strategies, and technology. Cindy has over 25 years’ experience in course development, implementation and evaluation. She has presented on a wide variety of education topics at state, district, and national conventions, and has written numerous articles published in national educational journals.
Presentation Highlights:
- Kuhrasch, C. (Presenter & Author), Partnership Network, "Physical Education and In-Service Teachers," School of Education, 2000 Observatory Drive.
- Kuhrasch, C. (Presenter & Author), Wajciechowski, M. (Presenter & Author), Goodwin, B. (Presenter & Author), Project Based Learning in Physical Education, "Project Based Learning in Physical Education," PE Central, Atlanta, GA.
- Kuhrasch, C. (Presenter & Author), South Korean Education Delegation, "The State of Physical Education in the United States," External Relations, 2000 Observatory Drive.
- Kuhrasch, C. N. (Presenter & Author), Teaching & Learning with the iPad 2015, "Meta Teacher Evaluation: Empowering and Informing Teacher Development," Emerging EdTech, Raleigh, NC.
Keynote Topics:
- The Value of Play
- Technology
- Trends in PE
- Assessment
Presentation Topics:
- Project Based Learning
- Assessment
- The Value of Play
- Technology
- PE Methods and Effective Teaching Principles
- Curriculum
- And More...!
Joe McCarthy
Location: Farmington, MN (Meadowview Elementary)
Grade Levels: K-8 PE and prefers doing 3 hour sessions
Teaching Experience: 15+ Years Public School teaching
Presentation Experience: 6 Years
Willing to present locally and throughout the USA and would consider doing keynote speeches. Can present throughout the year.
Bio:
Joe is an elementary Physical Education teacher in Farmington, MN. He is a board member of MN SHAPE, SHAPE America Central District Leadership Council, MN Healthy Kids Coalition and was also the SHAPE America Chair of the K-12 Standards Based Grading Report Card. Joe was recognized as the 2012 MN SHAPE Elementary Teacher of the Year and has presented nationally on many topics. Joe is a relentless advocate for the benefits of Physical Education and physical activity for students.
Presentation Highlights:
I presented 3 times at the 2016 Shape America Conference in Minneapolis, MN. I presented at the MN School Boards Association and the MN Elementary School Principals Association in 2015. Finally, I presented at the National Physical Education Institute in NC in 2015.
Presentation Topics (expanded presentation descriptions):
- Academic Games
- Overhand Throwing Activities
- Technology in Physical Education
- Brain Boost Activities
- And More...!
Keynote Speech Topics:
- Advocacy in Physical Education
Justin Schleider
Location: Trenton, NJ (Springfield Elem.)
Grade Levels: K-12 PE
Teaching Experience: 10 Years Public School teaching
Presentation Experience: 3+ Years
Willing to present locally, in the USA and Internationally. Can present throughout the year and is willing to do Keynote presentations.
Bio:
Justin Currently teaches physical education, health, and technology in Springfield Elementary School grades prek-6th in NJ. He has taught there for 5 years. He previously taught for 5 years at Mercer County Special Services and Lambertville Public School. He is the brain behind #slowchatpe and slowchatpe.wordpress.com which is the impetus for the slow chat (question a day) which is a question a day on Twitter and Voxer. He is also the co-creator of voxerpe.com and the voxer physical education chat which has 500 physical education teachers from all over the world.
Presentation Highlights:
- Keynoting CUE Nevada 9/2016
- NJPAECET2
- Eastern District SHAPE AMERICA 2015
- NJEA conference 2016
- SHAPE AMERICA 2017
Keynote Topics:
- Social justice
- Lifelong learning
- Technology
- movement
Presentation Topics:
- Technology
- Class management
- Social justice
- Inclusion of all students
- Differentiation
- And More...!
Tom Winiecki
Location: Manlius, NY (Mott Road Elementary)
Grade Levels: Elementary PE
Teaching Experience: 28 Years Public School teaching. Nationally Board Certified in PE
Presentation Experience: 16+ Years (see Presentation Topics and descriptions)
Willing to present locally and in the USA. Can present during Fall and Spring and is willing to do Keynote presentations.
Bio:
Tom Winiecki is a Physical Education teacher in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District in Central New York State. He has taught at the elementary level since 1981. He was named the NYSAHPERD Central North Zone Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2003, the NYSAHPERD Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the year in 2010 and the NFL Network Physical Education Teacher of the Year in 2013. Tom was National Board Certified in 2005 and re-certified in 2015. He serves on the District Curriculum Council, Technology Committee and Wellness Committee at Fayetteville-Manlius. He is also the K-12 Physical Education Curriculum Coordinator at Fayetteville-Manlius. He has presented at the local, zone, state and national level on a wide range of topics related to physical education. Tom has also taught as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University in 2007. He has been a Section Editor for PHEAmerica (formally PELINKS4U) since 2000.
Presentation Highlights:
- Spring 2014 AAHPERD National Convention, St. Louis, MO, Teaching in Themes in K-12 Physical Education
- Fall 2015 NYSAHPERD Convention, Verona, NY, Creating a Culture of Physical Activity in Your Building
- Fall 2013 NYSAHPERD Convention, Verona, NY, "Why Do I Have to Learn This? Here is the Answer!"
- Spring 2015 Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) District Education Fair, Physical Activity and Academic Success
Keynote Topics:
- Physical Activity for a Lifetime
- Teaching to Become Obsolete to Our Students
Presentation Topics (see descriptions of each):
- A Culture of Physical Activity
- Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom
- Making Assessment Easy and Student Centered
- Teaching in Common Themes/Not Separate Units
- Using Pedometers and Heart Rate Monitors with Elementary Students
- Curriculum Mapping
- And More...!
Misti Wajciechowski
Location: Richmond, VA (VCU)
Grade Levels: K-12 PE and Health
Teaching Experience: 18 Years Public School, 4 Years at College Level. Nationally Board Certified in PE
Presentation Experience: 15+ Years
Willing to present locally and in the USA. Can present throughout the year including the summer and is willing to do Keynote presentations.
Bio:
Misti Wajciechowski is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the School of Education. She has 18 years of public school experience and currently is in her fourth year in higher education. She received her Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from VCU, is Nationally Board Certified, and is working toward her PhD in education. She has presented at the National, State, and local levels specifically on the topics of pedagogy and incorporating technology into the field of health and physical education as a means to enhance the educational experience for students. Misti was chosen as the Virginia Middle School Physical Educator of the Year in 2004, the National Health Educator K-12 in 2010, and was just recently selected as the College/University Physical Educator for the state of Virginia for 2015. She also just recently presented Project Based Learning in Secondary PE to the PE teachers in Henry County GA in March of 2016 with two other PE Central Presenters.
Presentation Testimonials: "We want her to come back and spend more time with us", everything she shared was useful, and I can't wait to implement these strategies", "this was the best PD we have had in a long long time".
Presentation Topics:
- Project Based Learning
- Technology
- Assessment
- Physical Education K-12
- Health
- Adventure Education (Biking, Adventure Racing, Geocaching, non-traditional activities)
- And More...!
Keynote Topics:
The importance of starting P.E. and fitness in children beginning with preschool. Lots of statistics on how large corporations are already influencing young children to be inactive, eat poorly and develop unhealthy lifestyle habits. People need to be motivated to start the process of teaching nutrition and physical skills/activity to children as young as age 2 to prevent diseases now being seen in childhood. By the time children are in the elementary grades it's much harder and critical times for learning skills may have passed.
Dana Zimmerman
Location: River Falls, WI (University of Wisconsin, River Falls)
Grade Levels: K-12 PE and Health
Teaching Experience: 6 Years Public School, 1 Year at College Level.
Presentation Experience: 10+ Years
Willing to present locally and in the USA. Can present throughout the year including the summer and is willing to do Keynote presentations.
Bio:
Dana Zimmerman is the new Assistant Clinical Professor at University of Wisconsin River Falls, River Falls, WI for Adapted Physical Education. He was born with cerebral palsy, but hasn’t let a disability prevent him from pursuing his dreams. Dana ran track, cross county, and cross country skied for his “abled-bodied “high school and college teams. He won the N.O.V.A. CARE Award and was selected as the M.I.P. skier on the team. Dana was also selected as the BEST Ropes Course Director at Camp Zanika. He has been a member of 2 Paralympic teams and won a silver medal in Sydney, Australia for the 1500m race for track. He has taught Adapted Physical Education for 6 years. Dana has a wealth of information about working with students with disabilities and would love to share it with you.
Presentation Topics:
- Teaching Physical Education with a Physical Disability
- Bully Prevention
- Starting a Disability Sports Program in Your Area
- Teaching Adapted Physical Education with Feeling
- Human Value & Building Strong Self-Concept
- Becoming a Paralympian & Beyond
- Disabilities Don’t Stop Me
- Including “ALL” Students into your Physical Education classes
- Fun Ice Breakers for Everyone
- And More...!
