Gerry Shaw, EdD
St. Francis College Brooklyn
Professor Shaw’s background is in athletics and physical education. He earned both a doctorate in sport psychology and a master’s in exercise physiology from Columbia University, Teacher’s College. He is a fencing master, a degree he earned from the Institut National des Sports of France and that he puts to use coaching the College’s Women’s Fencing Team.
Professor Shaw teaches a variety of courses at St. Francis College including Kinesiology, Introduction to Sport Management, Organization and Administration of Physical , Psychology of Sport and Physical for Students with Special Needs. He is also a licensed psychoanalyst.
Victoria Burgess, PhD, CISSN
CEO, Tactical Athlete Nutrition
Concordia University Chicago, Adjunct Faculty
Victoria Burgess is the founder of Tactical Athlete Nutrition +Performance, in which she writes performance and nutrition programming for athletes of various disciplines, including Tactical Athletes and also the general population.
She is an adjunct at Concordia University in the undergrad, masters and doctoral program (KIN and HHP). She graduated with her Ph.D. from Concordia University, Chicago in Leadership, Health and Human Performance. She is a CISSN (certified sports nutritionist) through the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Prior to working in the performance/nutrition field, she served as a Firefighter/Paramedic for 16 years in south Florida.
Aside from her past and present careers, she is also a water sports professional, and holds a Guinness World Record in standup paddleboarding being the first female to paddle board 115 mile from Cuba to Key West in under 28 hours, non-stop. She competes nationally and internationally in SUP and surfing.
Todd Gober, MS, PhD (ABD)
Concordia University Chicago
Todd Gober is a PhD Candidate with Concordia University Chicago’s Leadership in Health and Human Performance program. His current dissertation, titled “Recreational Triathlon and COVID-19: A Predictive Interpretation,” focuses on COVID-19’s impact on recreational triathletes. He has earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from Middle Tennessee State University and has served as an automation control systems engineer for 34 years.
Gober found his passion for health and fitness through triathlons, as he became dedicated to transforming his own health. This led him to pursue his M.S. in Applied Exercise Science from Concordia University Chicago, and serve as a triathlon coach and personal trainer, aiming to help others reach their goals.
Gober has spent 11 years as an endurance athlete, completing multiple marathons, triathlons, and Ironman races. He is also a USA Triathlon Level 1 Certified Coach.
John McNamara, PhD
St. Francis College Brooklyn
John McNamara, PhD, is a tenured professor at St. Francis College. He received his doctorate in kinesiology from Temple University in Philadelphia and bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Alberta, Canada.
He is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). He is also a Level One Certified Olympic Weightlifting Coach with USAW and a Certified Physical Best Health Fitness Specialist with SHAPE. His areas of research include training theory, flexible nonlinear periodization, and exercise program design.
Daniel Gaz, MSc
Mayo Clinic
Concordia University St. Paul, Instructor, Department of Exercise Science
Professor Daniel Gaz began teaching in the Concordia University St. Paul Kinesiology department in 2013, after graduating from Indiana University with his BS and MS in Kinesiology. In addition to his teaching position with CSP, Professor Gaz is an Assistant Professor of Medicine for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, as well as a program manager within the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine.
He is a Certified Wellness Coach from the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, an ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, and a Certified Rhythm Analysis Technician with Cardiovascular Credentialing International.
Professor Gaz has worked with the Mayo Clinic since 2010, and is involved with several Mayo Clinic organizations, including the Mayo Clinic eMERGing Leaders, the Mayo Clinic ECH Pediatric Primary Care Obesity Taskforce, and the Mayo Clinic Obesity Council.
Tavis Piattoly, MS, RN, LDN
Concordia University Chicago
Tavis Piattoly, MS, RD, LDN is the co-founder and Director of Sports Nutrition education for My Sports Dietitian, an online sports nutrition education company that helps athletes of all levels improve their eating habits to enhance performance, recovery, and health through the guidance of a Licensed Sports Dietitian.
He serves as the Sports Dietitian/Nutrition Consultant for the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine’s NFLPA Brain and Body program, Fairchild Sports Performance (Houston), Custom Wellness Solutions (Baltimore), North Oaks Sports Medicine, Pelican Athletic Club, Louisiana Athletic Care, and Covington Orthopedic. He was the Sports Dietitian for the New Orleans Saints (2006-2013), New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2008-2013), and Tulane University Athletics (2002-2016). He also served as a Sports Nutrition Consultant for LSU Athletics from 2009-2011. He has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to design the nutrition programs for boxing champions Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. along with working with a long list of current Olympic, NFL, MLB, and NBA athletes to various college and high school programs.
As a 15-year veteran Sports Dietitian he has worked with Dietary supplement companies on product formulation and education. He is a regular presenter and lecturer at local, state, and national conferences and Universities on the topics of Dietary Supplement Use in Young Athletes, Dietary Supplement Safety for High School, College and Professional Athletes, and Sports Nutrition Principles for Athletes.
Piattoly graduated from Louisiana State University with a Master’s of Science in Kinesiology and Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. He is a registered and licensed Dietitian. He is a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA), Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutritionist (SCAN) groups. He also serves as the Sports Dietitian for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Sports Medicine Advisory Board and is on Science Advisory Board for Examine.com and Nordic Naturals.
Joanne Villaflor, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD
Concordia University Chicago
Joanne Villaflor is the current Performance Enhancement Dietitian for the entire U.S. Navy Command, Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She was the prior U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment Tactical Performance Dietitian for three years. She was embedded supporting Special Operation Forces and was faculty at University of Texas and other Texas colleges mentoring aspiring health professionals for over 10 years. She has done several TV and news segments, radio and print interviews throughout her career sharing her passion for performance nutrition and safe supplement use for athletes. She is an active member of the Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA) and the Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport (PINES).
Ms. Villaflor’s 15 years of experience as a dietitian comes with an educational background consisting of a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics, Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) and in Adult Weight Management, Cooper Fitness Specialist, ACSM Health Fitness Specialist eligible, TRX and SPINNING program certified.
Her recent achievements include the completion of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) diploma in Sports Nutrition from Switzerland and her Level 2 certification as an anthropometrist with the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Her passions consist of discovering unique restaurants, bodybuilding figure competitions, half-marathons, indoor cycling, playing the piano and traveling.
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