Presenters and Topics
To download a pdf of the schedule, click HERE.
Keynote Address
Ma’o Tosi
Ma’o Tosi overcame tremendous adversity to excel as a dual-sport athlete growing up in Anchorage. He was named Alaska High School Basketball Player of the Year while at East High School, but went on to a standout football career with the Idaho Vandals, then the Arizona Cardinals. After suffering a career-ending injury in his third NFL season, he moved back to Alaska to raise his young family. In 2006, he began to work with at-risk youth and went on to found AK P.R.I.D.E. Youth Programs. Ma’o is a previous recipient of Alaska’s Top 40 Under 40 Award and his AK Pride program has received national recognition.
Cultural Influence on Physical Activity and Adolescent Health: Mind, Body, Spirit
Dr. Tina Woods
Dr. Tina Woods is Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Senior Director, providing leadership for Community Health Services programs including Wellness & Prevention, Clinical Research & Services, Epidemiology and Community Environment & Health. Tina is Aleut from St. Paul Island, Alaska, and Chamorro from the Island of Guam. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and holds a Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology with a Rural Indigenous Emphasis from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She respectfully blends both Western science and indigenous practices based on teachings from Elders. She has dedicated her academic training and career to working with Alaska Native people to provide quality, holistic and comprehensive health services. Woods presents with “lived experience” and leverages such experience in combination with science for teaching others about trauma-informed care.
Challenges of Physical Activity Programs in Rural Alaska
Dr. Robert “Trey” Coker, PhD
Dr. Robert “Trey” Coker Trey received his PhD in Exercise Science from the University of Mississippi and completed research fellowships at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center. He joined the faculty at the UAF in the Department of Biology and Wildlife and the Institute of Arctic Biology in 2013. He also formed Essential Blends, LLC, that is headquartered in Alaska, and recently received the first Small Business Innovations in Research grant from the National Institutes of Health associated with the University of Alaska, and has filed two patent applications on products. Utilizing his background in clinical research, Dr. Coker’s research interests are focused on clinical nutrition, physical activity and cold exposure, and their impact effect on health and longevity throughout an individual’s lifespan.
Sudden Cardiac Events in Adolescents
Lynne Young, ME, ATC/L, ITAT
Lynne Young is a certified athletic trainer with over 20 years experience and is an Impact Trained Athletic Trainer. She provides athletic training to numerous high school and other athletic programs, helps train professional ski patrollers at Alyeska and Hilltop ski areas, and gives injury prevention talks throughout the region. She’s also a recognized leader in concussion education, prevention and recovery. Ms. Young earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education and exercise science from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, where she later went on to serve as Assistant Athletic Trainer. Ms. Young was also appointed Director of Sports Medicine & Head Athletic Trainer at Flour Bluff School District in Corpus Christi, Texas, and later Clinical Instructor/Coordinator at the University of North Florida.
Teen Opioid Addiction and the Role of Sports
Dr. Jay Butler, MD, State of Alaska Chief Medical Officer
Currently Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jay Butler formerly served as Senior Director of the Division of Community Health Services at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, where he was also an infectious diseases consultant and Medical Director for Infection Control and Employee Health. Dr. Butler also served as Director of the H1N1 Task Force at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Medical School, Dr. Butler has an extensive medical background and has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers and medical textbook chapters on medicine and public health. He is an Affiliate Professor of Medicine at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Pain Management Strategies for Overcoming Sports Injuries
Jason Capo, MD
Dr. Jason Capo is an orthopedic surgeon and department director at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Over the years his interest and specialization in pediatric sports medicine has grown while working with the team physicians from multiple high school, college level and pro teams. He especially enjoys taking care of kids and keeping them healthy so they can keep playing. The youngest of 7 kids (6 boys) he grew up playing every sport he could.. basketball, soccer, beach volleyball, golf, tennis, skiing and snowboarding and continues to stay active by running, biking, fishing, skiing and practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Trauma Informed Care
Eric Boyer, Master Trainer
Eric Boyer is a training coordinator for the Trust Training Cooperative at the Alaska Center for Human Development. He was previously the training manager at Alaska Children’s Services and has more than two decade’s experience working in behavioral health in Alaska. In addition to being a certified FASD 101 and FASD 201 trainer, Eric is a certified trainer for Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention, Mandt Systems, CAFAS, Pressley Ridget Treatment Foster Care Parent Curriculum, and others.
Diabetes in Children
Dr. Rachel Lescher, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist
Dr. Rachel Lescher has been the pediatric endocrinologist at Alaska Native Medical Center since 2011. She completed both her undergraduate degree in International Studies and her medical degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia, in central Missouri. Dr. Lescher completed her residency in pediatrics at University of California-Irvine in Southern California and her pediatric endocrinology fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. She provides care for Alaskan children with endocrinologic diseases and diabetes. She enjoys running with Sadie, her Siberian Husky, and spending time at her cabin with her husband and dogs. “Childhood obesity is a significant problem in our society,” she says. “With the collaboration of medical, dietary, behavioral health and exercise physiology providers from . . . our goal is to meet the needs of children struggling with weight management.”
Eating and Hydration Strategies for Optimal Metabolism
Rikki Keen, MS, RD, Sports Dietician
Rikki Keen has provided nutritional counseling and guidance to medical patients/clients and athletes for 15 years as a sports dietician. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University (FSU), she earned her master’s degree from Central Michigan University. Currently, Rikki owns a private practice, Fuel & Fluids for Performance, LLC, working with athletes at various levels (recreational, high school, collegiate, Olympic, and professional including NFL players) utilizing optimal nutrition for peak performance. She provides presentations and workshops on healthy eating, hydration, female athlete traid, supplementation, and sports nutrition. In addition, Rikki is an adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and has worked over 10 years as a clinical dietitian at Alaska Regional Hospital.
Coaching and Gender Issues
Holly Brooks, LLC
Holly Brooks is a recently retired professional athlete who has turned her attention towards helping other athletes. Her business Holly Brooks LLC, combines her love of sport, her rich athletic career, and her academic training into services designed to empower girls and women to achieve their dreams. Her goal when working with athletes is to educate, draw attention to current strengths, and foster independence, resiliency, and a growth mindset. Holly skied for USA in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. She also posted seven top-10 World Cup finishes and was a member of the U.S. women’s relay team that won a historic bronze medal in 2012. Brooks recorded seven podiums at the U.S. national championships, including two victories before she retired in 2016. She is also a highly successful mountain runner with victories at Mount Marathon, Lost Lake and Bird Ridge.
Sports Psychology and the Adolescent Athlete
Dr. Kristen Kemerling, PsyD
Dr. Kristen Kemerling is a licensed psychologist in Alaska, Oregon, and Wisconsin and a Certified Sport Psychologist with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Having lived in Alaska for over twenty years, she’s recently returned to take a position with the University of Alaska–Anchorage (UAA) Student Health and Counseling Center. Additionally, she serves student-athletes as the sport and performance psychologist for UAA’s athletic department and also has a private practice. She appreciates the strong mind/body connection to mental health and overall well-being and believes through a positive, strengths-based approach, we are all capable of reaching our fullest potential. Kristen is thrilled to be back living and working in Alaska and excited and honored to be a part of the 2017 PLAAY Summit. In her free time, she can be found running, skiing, or biking the trails and exploring the mountains of this beautiful state.
Panel Speaker
Katie Ronsse Libby
Katie Ronsse Libby enthusiastically facilitates movement to support health and wellness in her physical therapy practice. Earning her DPT at the University of Utah in 2014, her professional focus is outpatient orthopedics with special interests in pediatric orthopedics, craniofacial pain, and injury prevention at Alaska Physical Therapy Specialists. While on athletic scholarship at University of Denver, Katie excelled in her passion of competition by being part of Denver’s DI NCAA Championship Ski Team. In 2016 Katie had a traumatic backcountry skiing accident that offered personal experience of how quickly one can become dependent on opioid medications. Katie enjoys moving through mountains with her husband Justin as well as the lifestyle involved with their family commercial fishing business in Bristol Bay, AK.
Panel Discussion 1 – The Importance of Physical Activity for Improved Long-Term Health in Children
- With Dr. Robert Coker, Dr. Tina Woods, and Lynne Young
Panel Discussion 2 – The Opioid Epidemic and its Effect on Adolescents
- With Dr. Jay Butler, Dr. Jason Capo, Eric Boyer, and Katie Ronsse Libby
Lab – Sports Psychology and Gender Differences for Adolescents
- With Dr. Kristen Kemerling and Holly Brooks