Trustee Candidate: Regional Chapters

Judith A. Flohr, Ph.D., FACSM
Founding Director
Morrison Bruce Center for the Promotion of
Physical Activity for Girls and Women
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

1.  Please list your previous service to ACSM.

ACSM Leadership & Diversity Training Program (Mentor)
Representative to ACSM from SEACSM
President of SEACSM
Member at Large SEACSM  Executive Board
Chair, SEACSM Women's Breakfast Committee
Reviewer SEACSM Student Award Poster Presentations
Ad Hoc Reviewer Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®
Chair, Free Communications Sessions at ACSM annual Meeting
Reviewer Abstracts ACSM Annual Meeting

2.  What is ACSM’s greatest strength and how would you make that aspect of the organization even stronger?

I have been member of ACSM for 37 years and have had the opportunity to observe the strengths of ACSM proliferate and intensify. In my opinion ACSM‘s greatest strength is two pronged; one, it is an organization that at its core seeks to support and encourage the pursuit of scientific research and, two ACSM provides the mechanism at the national and regional level for students and professionals to interact and engage in a supportive environment to facilitate the dissemination of research that can have an impact on human performance, fitness and health. I believe that in order for ACSM to maintain its role as the leading international organization for exercise science and sports medicine it is critical that it  uses the appropriate resources to continue to foster the development of students and young professionals who will “carry the torch” for future generations. Specifically, I believe Regional Chapter meetings are an ideal environment for students and young professionals to disseminate their research and interact with professional members who are established and recognized. Therefore, if elected to serve as the Regional Chapter Representative I will work with the Board of Trustees to help regional chapters enhance their ability to deliver quality meetings and stimulate ACSM professional members to engage at the chapter level to insure the strength of the ACSM is maintained in future generations. During the course of my membership in ACSM I have presented and attended the annual regional meeting in 3 different regions, and thus feel as though I have the experience and qualifications to represent the value and needs of the regional chapters to the ACSM Board of Trustees.

3.  ACSM works closely with many other organizations, including associations, companies, philanthropies, and governmental agencies. Indicate those organizations/companies/agencies for which you play an advisory, consulting, or leadership role.

Presently, I am serving in a leadership role as the Founding Director of the Morrison Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls and Women (MBC). The mission of the MBC is to develop and provide physical activity programming for girls and women and conduct research to enhance the understanding of the impact of an active lifestyle on women's health. In my role as the Founding Director I work with local and state health agencies and currently serve on the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Executive Board of the Women and Girls Health Coalition.