Meet the 2011 Presenter

Alisa Arce
Youth Health and Nutrition Director, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Alisa Arce is the Youth Health and Nutrition Director for United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. She is responsible for supervising the coordination and delivery of nutrition education to over 30 after-school programs in the greater Tucson area. Alisa has worked in the past at various after-school and college settings promoting health education in topics such as nutrition and body image to youth in the Bay Area. Her most recent experiences have involved training afterschool programs to implement photovoice projects to analyze their nutrition environment. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley (2007).


Stephanie Armstrong
Founder, Heart of Leadership, San Diego, CA

Stephanie is the founder of Heart of Leadership, an organization that supports young women in heart-centered leadership. She is a certified yoga instructor for kids, teens, and adults.

Chris Boynton, EdD
Director, Project EAT, Alameda County Office of Education, Hayward, CA

Dr. Chris Boynton has been the Director of Project EAT for a decade. Project EAT serves more than 50,000 students and their families in Southern Alameda county. Currently, 700 teachers in 50 schools are working with the program to improve the health of their students.

 

Janice Chin
Program Manager, California After School Resource Center, Hayward, CA

Janice Chin is a program manager at the California After School Resource Center (CASRC) where she facilitates the review and understanding of violence, tobacco-use and drug-abuse prevention, nutrition, physical activity, health education and professional resource information for statewide access. Her work also includes the coordination of statewide committees to develop and evaluate standards, evaluation instruments, research, laws, policies, and other professional resources for California after school programs. Ms. Chin began as a health educator, working with San Francisco Bay Area middle school and high school youths. After earning her Masters degree in Public Health, Ms. Chin has worked in a variety of public sector as well as private sector organizations, including the Alameda County Public Health Department, Alameda County Medical Center, and the New Haven Unified School District, focusing on program planning and evaluation, process improvement projects, and fundraising. She has a strong interest in community capacity building and also works with at-risk youths at her local boxing gym in her free time.

Patricia Dawson
Professor – Youth Development, Oregon State University Youth Development Program, Pendleton, OR 

Patricia Dawson has over 25 years of service as a Youth Development Educator for Oregon State University with prior experience as an Executive Director for Camp Fire USA in Oregon. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in afterschool curriculum design and program management including the “Attitudes for Success” program designed for at-risk Latino youth. Professor Dawson currently manages a 4-H afterschool program serving over 3200 youth annually which provides her with the opportunity to have hands-on experience in developing and providing educationally sound learning experiences for afterschool youth that are not only meaningful but FUN! Professor Dawson also serves as National Editor of the Journal of Youth Development – Bridging Research and Practice. She has been honored by Annie E Casey Foundation, National County Commissioners Association & MetLife for her youth program efforts. Dawson holds degrees in Education/Extension from the University of Idaho and Norwich University, Vermont.

Crystal DeSoto
Founder & Executive Director, Local Point of View Nature Tours, San Diego, CA

Crystal DeSoto (M.A.Education) has worked in the informal science education for 15 years specializing in field exploration. She now operates her own company out San Diego, CA providing naturalist guides for youth programs into nearby nature. She also offers naturalist trainings as well as environmental education consulting for various organizations. Kathy Wilder has worked in the non-traditional and adventure education field for 17 years primarily in the residential camp and environmental education. She now works as the Youth Program Director at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA providing both in and out of school day programs for over 1000 children ages 5 to 17.


Daniela Diamente
Executive Director, El Grupo Youth Cycling, Tucson, AZ

Daniela Diamente has a MA in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on youth, democracy and education reform. She is the co-founder and director of El Grupo Youth Cycling, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower youth through bicycles. She is a nationally certified bike safety instructor through the League of American Bicyclists and a USA Cycling Level 3 Coach. She served as the Education and Administrative Director for five years at BICAS, a nonprofit education and recycling center for bicycles. She was the Event Coordinator for the first two years of Cyclovia Tucson, a community-wide event that closed 5 miles of roadways to cars and opened them to people to walk, skate, run, and bike - over 10,000 people attended each event. Daniela enjoys being very active, riding bikes with youth and her husband (also Head Coach of El Grupo) and playing with their extremely active two year old son.

Liz Fautsch
Yoga Instuctor/Teacher Liaison to the Board, The Sean O'Shea Foundation, Encinitas, CA

Liz Fautsch has taught hatha yoga for more than a decade. Over the past four years she has taught in schools around San Diego County with the Sean O'Shea Foundation. She has helped develop the foundation's yoga curriculum and is involved in its teacher training program, and acts as teacher liaison to the Board. She has also taught ESL and speaks Spanish fluently.

Dr. Andria Fletcher
Chief Afterschool Consultant, Center for Collaborative Solutions, Sacramento, CA

Andria J. Fletcher, PhD, is a nationally recognized expert in afterschool program and policy development. She directed a highly successful afterschool program and has helped hundreds of afterschool programs improve their quality. She is CCS’ Chief Afterschool Consultant for the Healthy Behaviors Initiative and has led successful Healthy Behaviors Learning Communities to create Healthy Behaviors Learning Centers. She authored Changing Lives, Saving Lives, A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Exemplary Practices in Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Food Security. Andi received the 2011 BOOST OSTI Pioneer Award for her leadership in the afterschool field and the Who’s Who 2011 Professional of the Year award representing the Educational Consulting Industry. Normandie Nigh is Executive Director of A World Fit for Kids! afterschool program, which hosts two Healthy Behaviors Learning Centers. Normandie has been providing fitness and self-empowerment programming for inner-city youth since 1986. Her specialty is integrating youth development principles and practices into physical activity programming, and training teens and adults to work with kids. A World Fit for Kids! received a Gold Medal Award for the outstanding organization from the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and is featured in the national implementation plan for physical activity. Kathy B. Lewis, VP and COO of the Center for Collaborative Solutions, has been the project manager for the Healthy Behaviors Initiative since 2007. She partners with a variety of organizations to promote afterschool programs as a venue for addressing the childhood obesity crisis, and to develop tools and resources to help afterschool programs get healthy. She is co-chair of the CA AfterSchool Network’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee and vice-chair of the CA Action for Healthy Kids team. As a former deputy superintendent of the CA Department of Education, Kathy oversaw development of afterschool legislation, policy and technical assistance infrastructure.

Carol Goedken
Director of Growth, Families and Schools Together, Inc., Madison, WI

 Carol Goedken is the Director of Growth for Families and Schools Together Inc, a private, non-profit, 501c3 organization. Ms. Goedken brings to this position her passion and belief that increasing parent involvement and support networks for families enriches the lives of all children. With over 20 years of experience in the field of education, Ms. Goedken has a strong background in developing evidence-based programs that have a track record of helping children succeed in school and in life. She is an experienced presenter and has presented at Technology and Learning Conference, International Reading Association, Creating Connections In Education Show, and Technology, and Learning Difficulties Conference.

Karen Haas-Foletta
Executive Director, Footsteps Child Care, Inc., Belmont, CA

Karen Haas-Foletta, Footsteps Child Care’s Executive Director, has been a child care professional for more than 30 years. Karen is the author of a nationally recognized book, entitled School-Age Ideas and Activities for After-School Programs. Karen is a consultant and presenter, both in California and nationally. She is also an endorsed trainer for the California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC). Karen has been an active member of CalSAC since 1985 and has served as board member, conference chair and consultant for accreditation. Karen was a board member for four years for the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) and has been an Accreditation Endorser since 1998. She has been on the Board of Directors for the Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County for the past three years. Karen is also the co-chair for the Get Healthy San Mateo School-Age Task Force and a member her local school district School Wellness Committee.

Gena Julian
Western Regional Manager, GeoMotion Group, Orlando, FL 

As GeoMotion Group’s Western Regional Manager, Gena educates and trains clients in the northwestern and southwestern regions of the US.  The focus of the trainings is movement-based learning in conjunction with physical activity and physical fitness. Gena brings 10+ years of sales and relationship management experience in several industries including telecommunication, payroll and now her true passion - physical fitness.  She feels she has found a home where she can combine something she is extremely passionate about with years of work expertise.  Having a five year old daughter, Gena has a strong understanding and drive for bringing physical fitness into the lives of children through the school education system. Gena has extensive experience presenting to groups and encouraging an atmosphere where everyone is interacting, having fun and learning in the process.  She believes that you and everything in your life will come ALIVE with a healthy active lifestyle. Gena is CPR Certified and in pursuit of a Group Exercise and Personal Training Certificate to supplement her new career with GeoMotion Group.

Ann Kramer
President, Good 4U Inc., Hood River, OR

Ann Kramer is a licensed professional counselor in private practice. She is author of “Life Puzzle..putting the pieces together” and “Life Puzzle for Teens.”

Sue Manglallan
4-H Youth and Family Development Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension - San Diego County, San Diego, CA

Sue works for the University of California Cooperative Extension as a 4-H Youth and Family Development Advisor. She has more 25 years of experience working with afterschool programs. Sue has co-authored seven afterschool curricula. The two most recent curricula are Tools of the Trade: Giving Kids a Life Time Guarantee and Tool of the Trade II Inspiring Young Minds to be SET* Ready for Life! (*Science, Engineering and Technology). Sue has presented trainings for afterschool staff at the National Afterschool Association, 21st Century Learning Centers and Beyond the School Hours national conferences. She has trained over 500 Tools of the Trade staff trainers. Sue has shown a commitment to making staff development a “hands on” fun experience. As a credentialed educator, Mandi Bottoms has eight years of experience designing, evaluating and publishing curriculum related to gardening, nutrition and food production. Mandi has her B.S. in Agriculture Science and M.S. in Agriculture. Most notable projects include partnering with former First Lady Maria Shriver to design and install an edible garden at the California state capitol, and designing and distributing more than 1 million copies of What’s Growin’ On?, an agriculture-based youth newspaper. Currently, Mandi provides programmatic leadership for the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program’s Healthy Living Initiative.

Elle Mari
Social Marketing Specialist, Network for a Healthy California – CDPH, Sacramento, CA

Elle Mari has an academic background in psychology and community engagement. Professionally her work has focused on empowering youth using social marketing strategies and positive youth development principles. At the Network for a Healthy California, a state-wide social marketing movement to empower low-income Californians to live healthier lives, Elle has developed and implemented a photovoice project to champion elementary school youth as community advocates. Her work has supported youth in eating more fruits and vegetables, being more physically active, and asking for healthier options in schools and the community at large. Before coming to California, Elle led grassroots social marketing initiatives in Chicago around youth alcohol and tobacco prevention causes. Elle is a dynamic trainer and had led workshops for both youth and adults in nutrition education, community advocacy, food security, substance abuse prevention, and literary arts. 

Kellee McQuinn
Founder, KidTribe, Santa Monica, CA

Kellee McQuinn is nicknamed “the Pied Piper with a Boom Box” by the LA Times. In 2002 she founded KidTribe, an international children’s obesity prevention program and in 2010 & 2011 performed at The White House for the Easter Egg Roll in conjunction with the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign. She also wrote, directed and produced a hip-hopera for NASA called "Space School Musical." Kellee's also been featured on PBS, Discovery Kids, ABC News, KTLA, BBC, and Exercise TV. With over 2,500,000 participating kids in nearly 3000 schools and thousands of trained teachers throughout the US and the UK, KidTribe has partnered with such organizations as the Nutrition Network, DHS, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, CCS, YMCA-USA, California Parks and Recreation Ass., CalSAC, Senator Torlakson’s Wellness Task Force, numerous County Offices of Education, countless school districts and the UK’s National After School Program. KidTribe performs its famed “Hoopapalooza” interactive school assemblies for 5000 kids a week and the instructional DVD’s and CD’s have won Parents' Choice Awards.


Lisa Morrison
Founder, Infusion Wellness, Los Angeles, CA

A professional fitness consultant, yoga expert and entrepreneur for over 25 years, Lisa is the author of the soon to be published book “Did You Know You Have Superpowers?” Lisa founded Infusion Wellness in 2001 with the goal of making the benefits of yoga more accessible to people of all ages and all walks of life. She especially wanted to address the alarming fitness and self esteem issues facing our kids. Utilizing her credentials from UCLA she created and launched the yoga-based afterschool program called Zenergy. The Zenergy program has reached over 20,000 children and their teachers in programs throughout the country, with profound results. Today she speaks about the roles of superpowers in kids lives in workshops and conferences throughout the country. Teaching individuals how to inspire, engage and empower kids in their own programs by using the positive themes of superpowers and superheroes.


Normandie Nigh
CEO, A World Fit For Kids!, Los Angeles, CA

Normandie has worked with corporations, sports teams, fitness professionals, community organizations and individuals of all ages, but her primary passion is working with young people. Before taking the helm at A World Fit For Kids! in 1994, she founded Fit For Success, a Boston-based consulting company specializing in the design and delivery of physical activity, sports, fitness, and personal development programs for inner-city teens. She was certified as a Personal Development Consultant for Tony Robbins and Associates, and is the former International Fitness Marketing Manager for Reebok. An active advocate for youth programming and services, she meets regularly with local, state and national officials and serves on a number of boards and committees. Normandie received the High School Innovator Award for Youth Development in 2010 from the CA Afterschool Network, and the Community Leader Award from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition in 2011.


 Danny Radd
Training Consultant, GenMove USA, Charleston, SC

Danny Radd, Training Consultant Danny has presented at a national level for After School, Physical Education and Early Childhood conferences as well as provided numerous staff development trainings across the country. For the past six years, Danny has helped physical educators and classroom teachers find and implement research based physical education curriculum and equipment into their new or existing programs. Having a background in surfing, soccer, and basketball, Danny realized the importance of carrying a love for physical activity and sports from childhood to adulthood. Now, he is able to help teachers find safe, fun, and effective physical activity solutions to bring back to their staff and classrooms. Danny is a highly organized, dependable, and an innovative professional with an infectious enthusiasm.


Sarah Rasak
Coordinator, Fitness 4 Life – Pajaro Valley Unified School District/Extended Learning, Watsonville, CA

Sarah Rasak is the Fitness 4 Life Coordinator in the Extended Learning Department of Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Sarah has been working in after school programs since 2007. She is an advocate of healthy living and eating habits and also teaches yoga. She holds a B.A. from UC Santa Cruz, and has led workshops in non-violent communication, public speaking and classroom management.


Heather Reed
Nutrition Education Consultant, California Department of Education – Nutrition Services Division, Sacramento, CA

Heather Reed is a Nutrition Education Consultant with the California Department of Education. She oversees projects related to school wellness policy and nutrition education, including the 2011 Nutrition Education Resource Guide, school wellness implementation, and the SHAPE workshops. She is the Nutrition Services Division liaison for the State Superintendent of Instruction, Tom Torlakson’s Team California for Healthy Kids Campaign. She also serves on the California Action for Healthy Kids executive committee and on her daughter’s district health and wellness committee. A Registered Dietitian, she holds a MA from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Science from University of Delaware.


Robin Rifkin
Program Manager, Health Promotion Council, Philadelphia, PA

Robin Rifkin, M.S. has worked in the food and nutrition field for over 35 years, managing numerous projects around the country. She combines her extensive background in food projects, nutrition education and health literacy, with the planning and facilitating of group processes for planning, policy and systems change. Robin has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Food and Nutrition, and is currently taking coursework in collaborative leadership and organizational development. She is on staff at Health Promotion Council in Philadelphia, where she works on the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Out-of -School Time Partnership, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded - Get Healthy Philly, an initiative of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. . She has co-authored a number of research papers, and has presented at many food and nutrition related conferences.

Kacy Rodriguez
Program Administrator, Health Education Council, and Regional Manager, Network for a Healthy California Children's Power Play! Campaign, Sacramento, CA

Kacy Rodriguez is Program Administrator at the Health Education Council and Regional Manager for the Network for a Healthy California Children’s Power Play! Campaign – Gold Country Region. Kacy is a graduate of Pepperdine Univeristy, class of 2006, where she received a BA in Speech Communication and a minor in Spanish.  After graduation, Kacy attended Purdue University’s Department of Communication to pursue a MA in Health Communication where she focused on class, race and gender issues as they relate to health communication.  After moving back to California, she worked as a personal trainer for 24-hour Fitness and as Education Coordinator for Volcano Corporation.  She joined Children’s Power Play! in 2009.

Karen Ronney
Tennis Service Representative, United States Tennis Assoiciation – Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Karen Ronney is an award-winning national coach and author, USPTA and PTR tennis professional, a National USTA RCW and Quickstart trainer, a high school tennis coach, a motivational speaker, educator and mother of three young athletes. She is a former women's pro tour player and NCAA All-Conference selection, she combined her playing and coaching skills to help others learn the game of tennis. She was recently recognized as the 2009 National Youth Sports Double Goal Coach of the Year by the Positive Coaching Alliance, and she received U.S. Professional Tennis Association's 2009 Community Service Award for the San Diego Division. She has won many publishing awards for her book Proud Parents' Guide to Raising Athletic, Balanced and Coordinated Kids: A Lifetime of Coordination in Just 10 Minutes A Day.


Ari Silber
Director - Communications and Sales, Healthy Lifestyle Choices, New Orleans, LA

A relative newcomer to the children's health care field, Ari Silber is nine year veteran of the motion picture industry with an emphasis on marketing communications and sales. Mr. Silber gained experience in team environments at corporations and initiated entrepreneurial ventures in the independent film arena. He has brought his media savvy experience to Healthy Lifestyle Choices in the effort to help children between Pre-K and Middle School understand corporations' messaging techniques and how they can choose the best options for a healthy life. Mr. Silber earned a BA in Film Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed his MBA at Loyola University New Orleans with Dean’s Honors.


Sandy Slade
President & CEO, Skillastics, Corona, CA

For almost two decades Sandy Spin Slade was considered one of the best basketball handlers in the world, performing for thousands at schools, camps, WNBA and NBA games. Spin is also known for being one of the premier session speakers/presenters at state AHPERD (Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) and After-School conferences throughout the country. She has written two books, produced two instructional DVD’s and designed and patented ten games: Basketball, Fitness, Fitness Xtreme, Character is Cool, BFit4 Winter, Volleyball, Tennis, Soccer and HalfPint and HalfPint Bilingual Skillastics®. Her commitment and enthusiasm for developing a basketball and fitness curriculum that is appropriate for all ages and abilities is contagious.


Alexis Steines
Field Outreach Associate, Afterschool Alliance, Washington, DC

Alexis Steines is the Field Outreach Associate for the Afterschool Alliance, serving as the liaison between the organization and its growing network of afterschool providers. She keeps the field up-to-date on the ever-changing afterschool policy landscape and mobilizes them to affect the development of afterschool-related public policy. She is excited to travel around the country speaking to afterschool providers about how to ensure the long-term sustainability of their programs. Alexis joined the Afterschool Alliance in June 2011 after spending 5 years with the School Nutrition Association, the professional organization for individuals administering the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Alexis holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the George Washington University. Crystal FitzSimons is the Director of School and Out-of-School Time Programs for the Food Research and Action Center. She oversees its work on the School, Summer, and Afterschool Nutrition Programs. During her 13 years at FRAC, she has successfully worked with national, state, and local partners to make numerous improvements to the nutrition programs, including the nationwide expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program and the creation and nationwide adoption of simplified Summer Food rules; authored numerous publications; presented at most of the afterschool and summer program conferences, and provided technical assistance on operating the federal nutrition programs directly to schools, local government agencies, and private nonprofit organizations.


Deborah Tamannaie
Nutrition Education Consultant, California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA

Deborah Tamannaie is a Nutrition Education Consultant with the California Department of Education. She oversees projects related to nutrition education and creating healthy school and after school environments. Currently, she supports After School Programs through partnerships that strengthen nutrition education, food security, and physical activity in the after school setting. She was project director for CDE’s “Garden in Every School” program for ten years. As a volunteer she established a school garden and successful classroom cooking program at her son’s elementary school. Prior to working with the CDE, Deborah was a public health nutrition specialist with the California Department of Public Health, taught nutrition as an adjunct professor in the Los Rios Community College District, and was a WIC Program director. A Registered Dietitian, she holds a MS in Nutrition Science from the University of California at Davis and a BA in Biology from Westmont College.


Jean Wiecha
Director and Associate Professor, GoKids Boston U Mass Boston, Boston, MA

For the past 20 years, Jean Wiecha has focused on childhood obesity and on children’s diets and physical activity, She has made significant contributions to the field locally and nationally. Currently she is an Associate Professor of Exercise and Health Sciences and directs GoKids Boston, a unique fitness, research and training center for youth. She holds a doctorate in nutrition and has extensive health promotion experience. Dr Wiecha has a long-standing investment in youth-focused chronic disease prevention. She was a co-founder of the Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center and helped develop Planet Health, an award-winning middle school curriculum effective in preventing both obesity and eating disorders. On a national level, she recently co-led an innovative collaboration that developed healthy eating and physical activity standards adopted by the National Afterschool Association.


Yelena Zeltser
California Farm to School Program Manager, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute – Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA