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President Elect
Katie Taylor, PhD
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I am currently an Associate Professor of Exercise Science at Eastern Washington University and the Program Director for the MS in Wellness & Movement Sciences. I received my PhD in Education with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology in 2016 from the University of Idaho. Starting with my PhD and continuing into my faculty career, my research interests include the role of physical activity on health and inflammation with a particular interest in inflammatory bowel diseases. More recently, I have developed a passion towards the role of differing physical activities on our psychosocial well-being such as body image, grit, and resilience. To date, I have a modest 11 publications and >40 presentations at international, national, and regional conferences. However, throughout my career, my greatest passion has been the ability to share the research process with my students. Since joining EWU in 2016, I have supported more than 75 students in attending the ACSM Northwest conference with more than a dozen presentations – oral, thematic, and poster, 11 student knowledge bowl teams (one winning), and several awards. To me, the student experience is what ACSM Northwest is all about.
As a young doctoral student in 2012, I was introduced to ACSM Northwest through my mentor. Together, we decided to run for board positions in 2013, with the idea we could commiserate if we weren’t elected. However, commiserations turned to celebrations as I was elected as the National Student Representative. That was the point in my career that the journey truly began. Since 2013, I have served two terms as National Student Representative (2013-2017), as Member-at-Large Research (2017-2020), and as the Student Representative to the ACSM Board of Trustees (2017-2020). During my service to the chapter, I have volunteered as a session moderator, abstract reviewer, presentation judge, and abstract coordinator. I have served as a committee member on the Annual Meeting, Student Award, and Symposia Review Committees. While on the ACSM Northwest Executive Board I also submitted, and received funding for, two grants to support success and development of our student members. At the National level I have been a member of ACSM’s Student Knowledge Bowl, Strategic Planning, Membership, and Student Affairs Committees. I am excited to continue my service to ACSM Northwest and its members. As President-Elect, I want to continue, and add to, the excellent work of our leadership. ACSM Northwest is a student-centric chapter with the opportunities that it provides. I would be honored to build upon this with initiatives such as a Student Success Symposia at the Annual Meeting. This would focus on providing students the tools for success and development (e.g., building successful graduate school applications, professional networking on online platforms, etc.) in exercise science-focused careers. To allow our professional members continued opportunities for career development, I would work to establish additional presentation opportunities at our annual meeting (e.g., thematic poster sessions or rapid-fire presentations). Many of our professional members come to the annual meeting in support of their students; however, increased opportunities for scholarly activity may attract additional members and provide added motivation for others and set positive examples for our student members. In addition to other presentation opportunities for professionals, I would be excited to include a ‘works-in-progress’ research session, particularly for graduate students to gain feedback from professionals on their ongoing research. In closing, it would be an honor to be elected and serve you as President-Elect and continue progressing our chapter to be the best chapter for our members.
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Member at Large-Research
Josh Bailey, PhD
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My research umbrella looks to identify the potential relationships between mechanical movement characteristics and optimizing performance while mitigating injury risk across physically active people. As recreational endurance runners, collegiate athletes, and Reserve Officer Training Corps students begin to increase their workloads, they increase their risk of injury based on their baseline ability. My research is looking to establish a battery of threshold (fatigue, volume, intensity) tests in conjunction with functional motor pattern skill and coordination changes to identify preventative approaches to reducing injury risk factors.
The conference experience for many undergraduate and early graduate students can strengthen their interest in research and further their involvement in labs. My interest in the Member At Large – Research position is to become an active member of the regional chapter by assisting in the organizing of the ACSMNW conference. As I look to increase my involvement with ACSM, the MAL-Research position is a position that I believe supports the students within our region the most. Providing the students with the appropriate platforms to disseminate their projects are a key component in the abstract review process and this position. I am excited to increase my relationships with members of our regional chapter in hopes to increase the abstract submission numbers and overall conference experience. My students have had great experiences over the past few years presenting their work, and I would like to be active in providing the platform over the next 3 years for others. My workload going forward has created an opening to engage in the organizations I believe support my students and research agenda most appropriately. I believe that I possess the organizational and collaborative skills needed to succeed in this position. I have demonstrated this in my previous experience with the handling of the abstract submission and acceptance process for a smaller scale symposium. My duties also entailed program organization and presentation assignment. I enjoyed that experience and welcome the task of a 3x larger conference responsibility.
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National Student Representative
Ariel Aguiar Bonfim Cruz, MS
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I am writing to express my interest in the National Student Representative (NCR) position within the ACSM Northwest chapter. For the past two years I have served as the national student representative for the ACSM Northwest chapter, and I have truly enjoyed my experience, and I am extremely hopeful that I can continue working directly with our chapter. I recently received my M.S. in Kinesiology from Washington State University (WSU) in May of 2022, and I am now pursuing my Ph.D. in Education, Health, and Human Services at the University of Idaho (UI). I have nearly nine years of research experience between WSU and UI, including leading my thesis project and receiving the ACSM Northwest Student Research Award to help fund my project. To date, I have now attended eight regional ACSM Northwest conferences and three international ACSM conferences. I have had the opportunity to present at four of these conferences and have been a co-author on three additional conference presentations. I am passionate about ACSM Northwest’s student-focused mission, and with my previous experience, I am very familiar with the educational and professional opportunities that this organization can provide to students, aspiring scholars, clinicians, and fitness professionals.
ACSM has provided exceptional opportunities for me as a student over the past eight years, and my devotion to this organization can best be shown by “paying it forward” through service, particularly within the Northwest Chapter. I have a particular passion for the students within the Northwest chapter, and my service as the National Student Representative (NCR) has only strengthened my passion for the student members in the chapter. As someone who has benefited from ACSM student initiatives and opportunities like the Student Research Award, I believe I am able to provide guidance to other student members, while advocating for additional needed resources to meet student needs. This past year, I worked with the Regional Student Representative to provide student networking and engagement opportunities including a Meet & Greet Social and Student Bingo. These events were highly successful in engaging student members following the COVID-19 pandemic, and I aspire to plan a similar event for the ACSM Northwest 2023 Meeting. Further, as the current NCR, I have had experience hosting the Student Knowledge Bowl, President’s Cup Competition, as well as assisting with events at the National ACSM level. This experience has been truly rewarding and has continued to cement my desire to represent the students of ACSM Northwest. Further, at WSU and UI, I gained considerable experience as graduate teaching assistant, a judge of an undergraduate research conference, as a research assistant and lab leadership member. These experiences have provided me with leadership experience, problem resolution skills, and helped develop my team initiative ability. Examples of my past work within these roles include, coordinating course content, judging undergraduate presentations, coordination of research initiatives, mentoring undergraduate students, reviewing applications for potential future lab assistants, and spearheading with facility operations. In addition to my experience as the NCR, these experiences will help me succeed in a second term as the NCR, leading our student body, coordinating the President’s Cup, and abstract submissions, and planning student engagement events. In conclusion, I believe my past experience as the NCR and interest in ACSM student involvement as well as my developed skills as a research assistant and instructor make me a strong candidate for this position. I am confident that the experience and training received has prepared me to be successful as a national student representative. I appreciate the efforts of the ACSM Northwest Executive Board and look forward to future service opportunities.
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