CSEP Professional Development Events

About the speakers:

Jeffery Zahavich,
PhD, CSEP CEP, ChPC,
Dalhousie University

Pearls of Wisdom for Exercise Professional Practice and Small Business Management

Dr. Zahavich joined the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University as a faculty member in February 2020. Prior to entering academia, Jeff operated a private exercise physiology lab in Halifax that provided exercise testing and prescription for both healthy and clinical populations, as well as offering endurance sport coaching for recreational athletes. Outside of office hours, you will typically find him doing girl-dad things with his three daughters, such as attending dance recitals and playing in the dirt. Jeff has been a CSEP certified member since 2008 and is a CPT/CEP Instructor-Examiner.

Julia Mitchell,
PT, BA HKIN (Hons), MScPT,
RockTape Canada

An Introduction to Kinesiology Taping for Pain and Performance

Julia Mitchell is an experienced and dedicated physiotherapist with 15 years of working in private practice in Nova Scotia. She currently works in private practice at a multidisciplinary clinic in Dartmouth (The Pelvic Health Clinic), and loves her role as the clinic orthopedic physiotherapist.

In addition to her physiotherapy career, Julia has been an instructor for RockTape since 2018, and is also the Medical Education Coordinator for RockTape Canada. Outside of her work with RockTape, she has presented internationally at a women’s health conference on the topic of returning to running postpartum. Along with a RockTape colleague, she has also developed a course for healthcare professionals focused on pregnancy and postpartum fitness. Julia owns a business called Mom on the Run Club, Inc., which creates and offers return to run courses for postpartum individuals, providing education and resources for supporting a successful return to running postpartum.

Karen Kendall,
PhD, CSEP CEP
Acadia University

The Role of the Qualified Exercise Professional in Proactive Health and Community Care

Dr. Kendall is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology at Acadia University. She is also the Director of the Acadia Active Aging Program in the Center for Lifestyle Studies and holds the professional certification as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology).

Dr. Kendall’s research and professional practice centers on the role of physical activity and exercise programming for healthy aging and for the prevention/management of frailty. She is a recent recipient of the 2023 Healthy Aging Canada Catalyst Funding and aims to develop and evaluate the use of an interdisciplinary virtual care program targeting older adults at risk for or living with frailty living in rural areas of Nova Scotia.

Angela Dufour,
PhD (Candidate), MEd, RD, CSSD, IOC Dip Sports Nutr, ISAK 2, HPC
Nutrition in Action

From Good to Great: Unlocking athletes performance potential with the most current nutrition advice

Angela Dufour has been working as a high-performance certified (HPC) sport dietitian within the Canadian sport system, including the Sports Institute Atlantic and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN) for the past 20 years. Angela has been the Lead Performance Dietitian for the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Team Canada since the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympics and she leads a national directive on sport supplement policy, provisions, tracking, and education in Canada with Own the Podium. Angela is also a service provider for Major Games Canada overseeing food and nutrition provisions at all major games.

Angela is currently pursuing her PhD studies in the area of Food Service Provisions for Athletes at Major Games, Focusing on Safe, Sustainable and Suitable Food. She is also a part-time faculty instructor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax where she supervises masters and post graduate human nutrition students in practical research projects through practicums. She is the owner of her private sports nutrition consulting and education practice: Nutrition in Action and Performance Nutrition Academy Ltd.

Danielle Poulos,
MSc
Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic

Fostering Synergy: The art of cultivating client relationships through shared values and a culture of excellence

Danielle is a passionate leader and advocate for mental health and wellbeing in high performing environments. Since 2005 Danielle has worked as a Mental Performance Consultant with grass roots-to-Olympic level athletes, coaches, and a multitude of corporate and sport organizations. She currently works at the Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic as the Mental Performance Lead and Senior High Performance Scientist. In this role, she regularly presents to teams on team dynamics, emotional intelligence, communication, confidence, stress management, goal setting, performance anxiety, and resilience. Furthermore, she is one of the handful of individuals selected by Own the Podium to work with National Sport Organizations on developing a Culture of Excellence. Danielle has also taught regularly at both Dalhousie and Acadia University as a Sessional Professor in psychology, sociology and wellbeing. Danielle has a person-centered approach to her work and aims to help individuals in achieving peak performance, personal growth, and wellbeing.