Michele Stanten
Industry Advisory Panel Chair
Michele Stanten has been motivating people to be more active for the past 20 years. As the former Fitness Director of Prevention magazine, she created a marathon walking program and coached thousands of readers to walk full and half marathons across the country. Stanten is the author of Firm Up in 3 Weeks and Walk Off Weight and has produced and appeared in more than a dozen exercise DVDs. She is also an ACE-certified Group Fitness Instructor.
Stanten has bachelor's degrees in magazine journalism and English from Syracuse University.
"I am honored to be a board member of ACE, an organization that is a leader in promoting physical activity, and look forward to working with them to help even more people lead healthy, active lives."
Graham Melstrand
ACE Liason to the IAP, Vice President of Operations
Graham Melstrand, ACE liaison to the IAP, vice president of operations, is responsible for daily operations of the organization including directing the educational services, resource center and commercial accounts departments. He is also an advisory board member to the Medical Fitness Association and a commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Additionally, he serves on the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (COAES) and on the Joint Committee on Health Fitness Facility Standards for the NSF International.
At ACE, Melstrand previously served as director of educational services, managing ACE’s continuing education and certification programs. Prior to joining ACE, he worked for equipment manufacturer Reebok/CCS Fitness as director of new business development. There, he was responsible for development and execution of the North American sales plan including key federal government, military and university accounts, trade association partnerships and specialty retail. He also held the position of territory manager for Star Trac.
Melstrand’s strong background in fitness includes athletic training for the Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Institute in Costa Mesa, Calif., and at University High School in Irvine, Calif. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education/athletic training from California State University, Long Beach. His athletic achievements include participating in the U.S. Olympic Trials (1984, 1988), as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program (1983 – 1990) and competing as a nationally ranked cyclist between 1981 and 1991.
Robert J. Brosmer
Bob Brosmer has more than 30 years of experience in the health promotion, wellness and rehabilitation industry and has been a successful leader in numerous executive positions. Prior to joining the Y of Central Maryland, he served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Central Florida YMCA and Executive Director of Wellness for Winter Park Health Foundation in Winter Park, Florida five years prior. As founder and president of Professional Fitness Systems, Inc., Brosmer's clients included the United States Senate, Delaware Governor Michael N. Castle, The Delaware State Police and Fortune 500 companies including DuPont and Textron.
In 1991, Brosmer sold Professional Fitness Systems to Health Fitness Corporation, now known as the largest fitness management company in the world with more than 400 centers. He served as Vice President for HFC from 1991 through 1994.
A cum laude undergraduate of Salisbury University, Brosmer holds a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology from the University of Delaware. He is a Fellow of the Association for Worksite Health Promotion and has served on numerous non-profit boards. Brosmer is the past chair for the board of directors for the Medical Fitness Association, which recognized him in 1996 for Distinguished Leadership. He currently serves as chairman of the board for Baltimore Medical System, the largest network of federally qualified health centers in Maryland; the Salisbury University Foundation board; the board of the Corey Gilger Foundation; and as an advisory board member of the Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center.
Brosmer has written numerous articles on health promotion for journals, newspapers and magazines, and is the co-author of Health and High Performance (Kendall/Hunt Publishing).
Bonnie Castro
Bonnie Castro, Health Education Supervisor, WebMD Health Services, has held this position for the past 2.5 years at WebMD Health Services. Prior to that she was a Health Educator for 2 years. Bonnie’s responsibilities include managing a team of health educators who deliver health and fitness information to a variety of participants. She also is responsible for assisting in keeping coaches updated on certifications and continuing education credits. She serves on the Health Education Leadership team to plan and manage the implementation of the Health Education Center’s vision, mission, and strategy values. Lastly, Bonnie is also responsible for linking National Health Observes to the coach center to promote healthy lifestyles for the coaches as well as the participants in the WebMD programs.
Bonnie has 5 years of experience in the health and fitness industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Wilmington College in Ohio.
Bonnie’s certifications include: American College of Sports Medicine Health Fitness Specialist, American College of Wellness Certified Obesity Management Specialist, American Fitness Professionals & Associates
John F. Graham, MS, CHFS, CSCS*D, FNSCA
John Graham is the Director of Community & Corporate Fitness at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown & Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. John is an adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey in the Department of Health & Exercise Science. John is a member of the Industry Advisory Panel for the American Council On Exercise (ACE). He presently serves as an associate editor and column editor for the National Strength and Conditioning Association Strength & Conditioning Journal. John currently serves on the National Strength and Conditioning Association Certification Committee. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Fellow of the National Strength & Conditioning Association & American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health/Fitness Instructor. John has authored or contributed to local, regional and national peer reviewed and lay publications on health, fitness and sports conditioning. He has given local, regional, national and international presentations on health, fitness and sports conditioning. He coordinates; designs and implements exercise prescriptions for athletes, fitness, and chronic diseased and disabled populations. He served as a member of National Strength & Conditioning Association Board of Directors from 2001 – 2003 and served as Vice President in 2002 and Secretary/Treasurer in 2003. John was awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association Strength & Conditioning Journal Editorial Excellence Award in 2000. John has been recognized by the Medical Fitness Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal, Pennsylvania State Senate, Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Hamot Health Systems for his contributions to fitness and sports performance. John is married to Lisa Graham and has two daughters, Lindsey & Alexas.
Steven Trotter
Steven Trotter is the Fitness Coordinator for Virginia Tech, a large land-grant university located in Blacksburg, Virginia that serves over 30,000 full-time students and approximately 7,000 faculty and staff. In his role at Virginia Tech, Steven directly manages the group exercise program, personal training program, special wellness-related events, and additional departmental programs. The fitness program includes a comprehensive system of a dual revenue-generating group fitness program with over 65 instructors, a successful personal training program with over 30 personal trainers, and a leadership team that consists of three student supervisors and a Graduate Assistant for Fitness.
Steven has extensive experience in group exercise, personal training, and special events. He teaches three academic classes a semester two of which are activity courses and one each semester through the ACE University Partnership. Since coming onto staff at Virginia Tech in June of 2008, he has taught over 130 students the theory and practice of becoming a group fitness instructor and taught over 220 students the theory, practice, and execution of becoming a successful personal trainer. He is an active member of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) where he serves as a member on the Fitness Committee, the Committee Chair for the 2014 National Fitness/Wellness Institute, and has taught fitness classes and given lectures at the state, regional, and national level. His passion for education and student development is evident through his involvement and expectations for his students. Steven is heavily involved with the Southeast Collegiate Fitness Expo and takes on average 30-40 students a year to the conference. Virginia Tech is the host for the 2012 Southeast Collegiate Fitness Expo where he is the Host Chair.
Steven earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his Master of Science in Education – Health and Physical Education from Virginia Tech. He has worked previously with Recreational Services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Campus Recreation at Wingate University. Steven maintains certifications and trainings in ACSM, ACE, IFTA, Zumba, LesMills, AFAA, Concept 2 Rowing, and Powder Blue Productions.
Dr. Antonio S. Williams
Dr. Antonio S. Williams is an assistant professor at Indiana University’s School of Health Physical Education and Recreation (HPER). He is also the CEO of Identity Branding and Marketing LLC and founder of Fit University (Fit U) which is a healthy lifestyles program for youth. Williams is a National Academy of Sport Medicine (NASM) certified health and fitness professional and is a member of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee. Williams’ area of disciplinary expertise is strategic brand management; which encompasses building and maintaining business and personal brand image and equity. More specifically, his marketing research focuses on providing practical branding solutions for the development and viability of the 21st century fitness and lifestyle brand, captured through the lens of the sport and fitness consumer. He has presented on the branding of fitness marketing all over the United States and abroad. His work has been featured in media outlets and scholarly journals such as, the The New York Times, Fox News, St. Petersburg Times, International Journal of Sports Management,and the ACSM Health and Fitness to name a few. Williams holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in Human Performance (Fitness and Sport Marketing) and a dual Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology and Sport Communication from South Carolina State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was a two-time Presidential Scholar.