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
Shelby Williamson, MBA
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Exam Development Manager
Shelby serves as the Exam Development Manager for NSCA, which includes the responsibilities of development and maintenance of new and existing certification examinations and programs, as well as oversight over the accreditation for 3 of the NSCA’s certifications. She has served on the I.C.E. External Stakeholders Task Force since 2021, and was a part of the I.C.E. Inaugural Leadership Development Program (2021-2022).
Shelby has a BS in Exercise Science from the University of Kansas, and an MBA from the LSU – Shreveport. Prior to serving in her role at the NSCA, she obtained the NSCA’s Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F) certifications.
PAST PRESIDENT
Graham Melstrand
American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Executive Vice President
Community Health and Wellness
With more than 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, Graham Melstrand is the Executive Vice President of Community Health and Wellness for the American Council on Exercise where he is responsible for developing and managing opportunities and relationships that advance public policy positions and industry standards that support active, healthy lifestyles and advance the role of the exercise professional. He currently serves as a member of a variety of advisory boards and committees including: the board of directors for Physical Activity Alliance (PAA) where he serves as president and on the Fitness Advisory Committee for Special Olympics. He is also a former member of the Joint Committee on Health Fitness Facility Standards for NSF International, a past commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) where he sat on the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (COAES), and the Medical Fitness Association’s (MFA) Facility Standards and Guidelines Committee.
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.
Director Government Affairs
Wade Delk
8120 Lehigh Avenue, Suite 100
Morton Grove, IL 60053
Email: wadebdelk@gmail.com
Executive Officer
Danielle Vitogiannes
8120 Lehigh Avenue, Suite 100
Morton Grove, IL 60053
Email: daniellev@celticchicago.com
