The United States Registry of Exercise Professionals® is operated by the Coalition. The Coalition has a volunteer Board of Directors composed of individuals representing qualifying member organizations. The Board and two non-voting Advisory Directors are elected to a specified term. The two Advisory Directors represent elected individuals from the Commission for the Accreditation of Exercise Science (CoAES) which accredits two-year, four-year and graduate level programs in Exercise Science and the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), which works to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public through the accreditation of a variety of certification programs/organizations that assess professional competence.
PRESIDENT
Francis Neric, MS, MBA
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Associate Vice President of Certification and Credentialing
Francis Neric is the Association Vice President of the American College of Sports Medicine. Francis leads the development and administration of ACSM's state-of-the-art certification and educational certificate programs. He also serves on the boards of Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (CoAES) and the International Confederation of Sport and Exercise Science Practice (ICSESP).
VICE-PRESIDENT
Brian Biagioli, EdD
NCSF Board for Certification
Executive Director
Dr. Brian Biagioli currently serves as Executive Director for the National Council on Strength and Fitness Board for Certification and as the Graduate Program Director for Strength and Conditioning in the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Science at the University of Miami. He is very active in the fitness industry, presently serving on four national committees related to standard setting, education accreditation and population engagement in physical activity. Dr. Biagioli has authored three college text books and most recently is the primary editor for a new book on advanced sports performance. He has presented internationally at Universities and for different sport conferences, including lectures in Argentina, Turkey, Ukraine and at the Olympic training center in Korea. Formerly, Dr. Biagioli was the Program Director for the Department of Exercise Physiology at Florida International University.
TREASURER
Brent Feland, M.S.P.T., PhD
CSCCa
Dr. Brent Feland is an Associate Professor in the Exercise Science Department at Brigham Young University where he teaches Advanced Musculoskeletal Anatomy, Functional Neuroanatomy, Orthopedic Impairments, and Pathomechanics. Dr. Feland has authored over 40 publications in peer-reviewed professional journals as well as numerous commentaries in fitness journals related to his research interests stretching & flexibility, aging activity and balance, and neuromechanics of whole-body-vibration training. He has been an invited panel reviewer for department of defense research funding applications as well an invited presenter internationally.
He has a passion for fitness, advanced training, and rehabilitation and has been actively involved with the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa) since 2012 as a written exam committee member and featured speaker at 4 national conferences. He has also served as the CSCCa representative for multiple NCAA interassociation task force meetings for creation of NCAA position statements. Dr Feland is also a licensed Physical Therapist with a specialty interest in both orthopedics and geriatrics and has served on the Utah Physical Therapy Association Board.
SECRETARY
Brent Alvar, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D, FNSCA
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
President
Dr. Alvar is a Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Kinesiology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California and current President of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He has been a member of the NSCA since 1996 and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction (CSCS*D), Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator with Distinction (TSAC-F*D) and recognized as a Fellow of the NSCA (FNSCA). He began his career as a Personal Trainer/Strength Coach working with the general population, various clinical populations, as well developing collegiate Sports Performance and Tactical Strength and Conditioning Programs. In addition, he has been instrumental in developing many college and university academic programs in Sports and Tactical Strength and Conditioning, including programs from the Associate’s level to the PhD.
His research focus is in the area of Dose-Response of Resistance Training as well as the various components of Exercise Testing and Prescription related to Human Performance and Occupational Preparedness. Dr. Alvar has over 50 published papers and book chapters as well as over 75 invited research and professional presentations both nationally and internationally. He is also extremely involved in the tactical area of the NSCA, helping to develop the NSCA’s Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning as well as the TSAC Strength and Conditioning Course. His teaching is centered on Evidence-Based Practice, Research Methods, Clinical Exercise Prescription, as well as Sport and Tactical Strength and Conditioning. He spends the majority of his time guiding young scholars in their professional and research pursuits and feels this is the most important aspect of his career.
BOARD MEMBER
Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, FACSM
President & Chief Science Officer
American Council on Exercise
Dr. Cedric X. Bryant serves as president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE), where he develops strategies to deliver exercise-science and behavior-change education in ways that are engaging and compelling, recruits more people to become exercise professionals and health coaches, and equips them for growth in their respective fields. He leads ACE’s exploration of how their science-based programs and interventions appropriately integrate into healthcare and public health. Bryant also represents ACE by serving on the advisory boards and committees for several highly respected public health organizations, including the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Bryant has written well over 300 articles or columns in fitness trade magazines, as well peer-reviewed sports medicine and exercise science journals, and authored, co-authored or edited more than 40 books. He is often cited as a subject-matter expert for health and fitness articles in a variety of respected national media outlets, including USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Consumer Reports and more. Bryant has served on the editorial board or as a regular contributor for several publications, including Arthritis Today, Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, U.S. News & World Reports and Women’s Health. Bryant has also held academic appointments on the exercise science faculties at several leading institutions, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Pennsylvania State University and Arizona State University. Dr. Bryant earned both his doctorate in physiology and master's degree in exercise science from Pennsylvania State University, where he received Pennsylvania State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor presented to its alumni.
ADVISORY DIRECTOR
Chad Buckendahl, Ph.D.
ACS Ventures, LLC
Dr. Buckendahl currently serves on technical advisory committees for departments of education in Nevada, Mississippi, Nebraska, Indiana, and Massachusetts, and the Standards and Testing Agency in the U.K. In addition, he has served as a consultant to numerous certification and licensure assessment programs in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia, including multiple organizations that develop and maintain NCCA-accredited programs for exercise professionals.
ADVISORY DIRECTOR
Ben Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM, ACSM EP
Metropolitan State University of Denver, Department of Human Performance and Sport;
Chair, Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (CoAES)
Dr. Ben Thompson is a Professor of Exercise Science and Program Director of an Exercise Science (ES) accredited (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs - CAAHEP) program at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). The undergraduate program at MSU Denver is practitioner focused and has been accredited since 2011. Dr. Thompson is an active member in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and has held leadership positions at the National and Regional levels. He has been a certified exercise professional (Certified Exercise Physiologist), through ACSM, since 2000 and became a Fellow of the College in 2015. In addition to his academic appointment and service in ACSM, he has served as an at-large member for the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (CoAES) since 2012 and was elected as Chair in 2018. The CoAES is the organization that makes recommendations to CAAHEP regarding the accreditation of undergraduate and graduate exercise science/physiology programs.
Executive Officer
Danielle Vitogiannes
8120 Lehigh Avenue, Suite 100
Morton Grove, IL 60053
Email: daniellev@celticchicago.com
