National Strength and Conditioning Association Announces 2021 Election Results

Colorado Springs, CO – The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) announces the results of the 2021 election, as voted on by NSCA Members, which includes newly elected members to the Board of Directors Brandon Roberts, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F and Robert Linkul, MS, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, FNSCA.

Joining the Nomination Committee are Sandor Dorgo, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA and Rhodri Lloyd, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA.

The members also voted to approve proposed Bylaw changes 1, 2, and 3 listed below.

Finally, the National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation has selected two new members for its Board of Directors Kristen C. Snyman, PhD, CSCS,*D and Don Melrose, PhD, CSCS,*D.

Filling the Academician/Researcher position on the NSCA Board is Dr. Brandon Roberts.

Dr. Brandon Roberts is a Captain serving in the U.S. Army as a Research Physiologist with the mission of optimizing Warfighter health and performance through medical research. His career has been focused on muscular adaptations to exercise and nutrition. His background in research began at the University of Florida where he completed a PhD with a focus on muscle biology. While a student, he also worked as a personal trainer and strength coach, both in-person and online. Later, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in exercise medicine and nutrition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition to his educational pursuits, he gained practical experience competing as a physique athlete. His involvement in the NSCA began as an undergraduate student participating in NSCA conferences and state clinics, and he later served as a member on the Bodybuilding & Fitness Competitions SIG.

Robert Linkul joins the NSCA Board as the Personal Trainer Board Member.

Robert Linkul is the owner of TOA (TrainingTheOlderAdult.com), a personal training studio and online continued education provider for fitness professionals in Shingle Springs, California. Linkul is an internationally known continuing education provider for fitness professionals who shares his expertise in resistance training strategies for the Older Adult with physical limitations and/or decreased quality of life. He has his master’s degree in personal training, is the NSCA’s 2012 Personal Trainer of the Year award winner, and is a 2017 NSCA Fellowship inductee.

The members elect Dr. Sandor Dorgo and Dr. Rhodri Lloyd to the Nomination Committee.

Dr. Sandor Dorgo is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is the Founding Director of the Human Fitness and Performance undergraduate degree program and the Fitness Research Facility within the Department of Kinesiology, as well as the Physical Fitness in the Golden Age program in the UTEP Extended University. Dr. Dorgo teaches various undergraduate and graduate courses related to aging, fitness, and strength and conditioning, and also oversees the strength and conditioning undergraduate internship. Dr. Dorgo leads the largest graduate student group within the department, including PhD and Master’s students. Dr. Dorgo’s research has focused on aging, human performance, and the physiological responses to physical training in adolescents, adults, and older adults. In addition, Dr. Dorgo has assumed various leadership and administrative roles, including serving as the Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Kinesiology, serving as the UTEP Faculty Senate President, and serving as the Chair of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Research Committee. Dr. Dorgo is also an active reviewer for over a dozen scientific journals and serves as a Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Dr. Rhodri S. Lloyd is a Professor of Paediatric Strength and Conditioning and the Graduate Studies Lead in Sport at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He is also Chair of the Youth Physical Development Centre within the University, which offers after-school strength and conditioning provision to approximately 100 young athletes. He holds a research associate position with Auckland University of Technology and is a research fellow for Waikato Institute of Technology. Rhodri has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts, three books, and 26 book chapters examining the impact of growth and maturation on long-term athletic development and the neuromuscular mechanisms underpinning training adaptations in youth. In terms of service to the NSCA, he has been involved in multiple working groups, is a current member of the Research Committee, has chaired the NSCA Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) Special Interest Group, and also chaired the authorship group for the association’s position statement on LTAD. Rhodri is a senior associate editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and an associate editor for the Strength and Conditioning Journal. In 2017, he was the recipient of the NSCA Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator of the Year award, and in 2019 received the Educator of the Year and Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Editorial Excellence awards.

The members vote of the Bylaw changes are:

• Change 1 has been approved: To approve the amendment of pronouns throughout the bylaws.
• Change 2 has been approved: To approve removing Board Liaisons from Special Interest Groups.
• Change 3 has been approved: To approve removing the requirement of membership ratification for minor grammar and clerical issues.

Finally, the NSCA Foundation welcomes two new Board members in Dr. Kristen C. Snyman and Dr. Don Melrose.

Dr. Kristen C. Snyman (Cochrane) is an Assistant Professor of Health & Human Performance and doctoral program coordinator at Concordia University, Chicago. She has previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Human Physiology at the University of California, Irvine, and worked as a tenure-track faculty in the California State University system. She earned her PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and MSc at California State University-Fullerton. Her research involves physiological mediators of the perception of effort and neuromuscular adaptations to exercise. She maintains an active role as a reviewer and associate editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, has over 40 peer-reviewed publications, and has been an active member of the NSCA for 10 years with a consistent record of poster and oral presentations at NSCA National conferences. She has been a member of the NSCA research consortium since 2013 and an acting member of the research committee from 2017-2020. She has done all of this while also being a dedicated toddler mom.

Dr. Don Melrose is a Full Professor and Chair of Kinesiology and Military Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). He is currently in his 21st year with TAMUCC. Completing his PhD in Exercise Physiology in 1999 from Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, he served as TAMUCC’s first Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for its new Division I Athletic Program. Three years later, he became a full-time Assistant Professor in TAMUCC’s Department of Kinesiology and Health. Dr. Melrose is a teacher and a researcher who has spoken nationally, regionally, and locally. In addition, he has organized and promoted numerous NSCA events between 2011 and 2019. He has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on a variety of sport, fitness, clinical, and educational issues. In a previous life, he was a competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter. He is also a guitarist and singer in two different bands. Lastly, he proudly served in the US Air Force Reserves from 1990-1996.

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About the National Strength & Conditioning Association

Founded in 1978, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing the strength and conditioning and related sport science professions around the world.

The NSCA exists to empower a community of professionals to maximize their impact through disseminating evidence-based knowledge and its practical application by offering industry-leading certifications, research journals, career development services, networking opportunities, and continuing education. The NSCA community is composed of more than 60,000 members and certified professionals throughout the world who further industry standards as researchers, educators, strength and conditioning coaches, performance and sport scientists, personal trainers, tactical professionals, and other related roles.