Meet the PE4life Team

Teresa Dilley, Program Director

Words to live by: "It’s about the journey, not the destination." "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Hobbies: Backpacking, hiking, fishing, motorcycling, playing softball, working out & traveling.

Role models: My parents and grandparents.

PE experience: I love playing sports and working out but PE was NOT my favorite class...

Why PE4life: I have spent the majority of my career in the fitness field encouraging individuals to be physically active and educating people on the connection between physical activity and improved quality of life. The mission and core values of PE4life echo my passion. Working at PE4life has allowed me to join a team of talented, passionate people driven to create a positive change in physical education. Combined with an organizational structure that facilitates success and promotes professional development we work toward greater impact on the health and fitness of our youth.

Rachelle Gardner, Program Support Coordinator

Words to live by: Anyone who claims to have all the answers is surely a fool.

Hobbies: The fine arts, though that’s a bit more than a hobby, including media such as drawing, ceramics, fibers and even woodworking. Otherwise, hobbies include playing the piano, tilling the earth, swimming, & yoga.

Role models: My parents, a couple of city kids who moved to the country to raise their own kids and dedicated their lives to professions that made a social contribution.

PE experience: Definitely not my favorite class growing up. For the most part, I dreaded PE and was not gifted (at all) in traditional team sports. However, later in life I discovered that I was a yoga nut and love a good swim.

Why PE4life: Too often we hear of societal problems associated with declining public schools, childhood obesity and healthcare costs, and too rarely do we have a chance to actually have a positive impact on these issues as an individual. PE4life positively and meaningfully affects all of those issues.

Jennifer Straub, Program Delivery Specialist

Words to Live By: Be better today than yesterday; be better tomorrow than today

Hobbies: I enjoy playing volleyball and basketball, reading, traveling, and spending time with my daughter, Allie.

Role Models: My role models include co-workers, professors, and friends that have positively impacted my life.

PE Experience: I have 7 years of experience in teaching Elementary and Secondary Physical Education, and experience coaching Volleyball, Basketball, and Track.

Why PE4life: I believe in the children of tomorrow and I desire for all students to have a positive experience in their Physical Education classes. All students should have multiple opportunities to explore and engage in fitness, adventure, sports, and life skill activities. The healthier we are as children and adults, the more productive and fulfilling our lives will be! I am proud to work for PE4Life to help create quality Physical Education programs for every child.

Mark Yontz, Iowa Regional Project Manager

Hobbies: Running and biking; competing in road races (mostly 5Ks); competitive volleyball; reading fiction; dabbling in the arts (painting, sculpture, etc); spending time with family; a variety of outdoor activities

Role Models: Personally, I’d say my parents and my wife and daughter, as they are all great people who keep me in-line and hold me accountable. Professionally, I’m not sure, though I really admire the commitment, energy and daring of anyone who does something really epic, like biking across the country, kayaking the length of Mississippi River, creating a new product, or starting a new business. So I enjoy reading about (or meeting) people who have interesting stories of success.

My PE experience: From what I remember, it was pretty good, as I fell into the “jock” category in school. So I enjoyed PE, but I don’t remember doing anything overly memorable, except never being able to do enough pull-ups to get the Presidential Physical Fitness badge!

Why PE4life: I really like how we provide assistance to a part of schools that is often overlooked (and definitely underfunded). And, being a firm believer in the lifelong importance of physical fitness and personal wellness, our efforts to make PE meaningful and beneficial for all kids is great!

Jen Neubauer, Iowa Program Delivery Specialist

Words to live by: "People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do." —Lewis Cass

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing." --Dale Carnegie

"If you're too busy to laugh, then you're too busy." --Author Unknown

Hobbies: Traditional Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking, Photography, Playing Piano, Collecting Spoons from my travels, baking & decorating cakes, kids' sporting events, and music concerts

Role models: I can think of several but there are 3 professionally that had a great impact on my mindset, my methods of teaching, and my mission. Roger Bishop - Wartburg College advisor in Waverly, IA, Beth Kirkpatrick - Tilford MS PE teacher in Vinton, IA and Polar Heart Rate Monitor pioneer in our state, and then Phil Lawler Madison Jr. High PE Teacher in Naperville, IL.

PE experience: I was the small town 4 sport jock of my class and I loved my PE teacher because he was a great coach and friend. However, I disliked PE because I thought it was a waste of my time. I didn't learn anything and I had to play the same sports I was already doing with no challenge. And, we played dodgeball with volleyballs which was awful.

Why PE4life: I have spent 11 years teaching at the secondary level and now 4 years at the college level. One of my role models, Phil Lawler, introduced me to PE4Life as they were getting off the ground. I felt their Core Principles represented what I already was doing as a PE teacher and PE4Life gave me the confidence that I had an organization supporting me on a larger platform as I advocated for quality PE teaching and programming at my school. To be a member of the PE4Life team is a dream come true for me and I love that I can now support, educate, and showcase other schools like PE4Life did for me. I love the mission of the organization and the passion of everyone who is a part of this team.

Jodee Schaben, Iowa Program Evaluation & Delivery Specialist

Words to live by: “What lies behind us; and what lies ahead of us; is nothing compared to what lies within us” – Henry David Thoreau

Hobbies: golf, running, boating, pilates, skiing, ice skating…really anything outdoors, and spending time with my family and friends.

Role models: My parents, who instilled in me the value of hard work, dedication and commitment. They are amazing role models that “walked the walk” by following their dreams, sacrificing for their family, loving unconditionally, and being actively involved and physically active with both my sister and I.

PE experience: I loved PE until high school. My high school experience included teachers who were really more interested in coaching, so class time really was time to prepare for the upcoming game. Thankfully, I had already made a number of activity selections that allowed me to be active outside of school and continue to foster my love for physical activity.

Why PE4life: It is an organization that embodied the values and beliefs that I have about physical education and the importance of QUALITY physical education. It allows me the opportunity to do something I am passionate about and make a difference in the health and fitness of our youth.

Brent Akright, President & CEO

Words to live by: The twelve points of the Boy Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

Hobbies: Cycling, weight training, running, an occasional round of golf, going to indie films with my wife, Becky (a K-8 principal), and spending time with our three sons and their significant others.

Role models: Composites formed by the characteristics of the men and women I’ve known – parents, family, teachers, coaches, scout leaders, friends, and associates – who’ve provided me with essential nuggets of knowledge, insight, and wisdom. Chief among these are honesty, integrity, service to others, inclusion and acceptance of all, looking at situations from multiple aspects, and fulfilling commitments.

PE experience: As an 8th grader in a new city and school, performing PE fitness tests in front of my new classmates was an intimidating experience. I didn’t do particularly well, but the incident had a significant impact on my life, motivating me to pursue a lifelong commitment to exercise and fitness.

Why PE4life: PE4life is a great fit for me. It allows me to use the business skills and experiences that I’ve gained during my career in working with a mission-driven organization that has fitness at its core. I get a lot of satisfaction from working with a great group of people, focused together on helping children embrace wellness for life.

Carrie Gibson, Event Manager

Words to live by: "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight - but never stop fighting!" - e.e. cummings

Hobbies: Play with Jeff, Theo and Max, follow the Jayhawks in any sport - Rock Chalk! Golf, catch up with TiVo, read, wander through Target.

Role models: My dad - He has a self assurance that is far from arrogant. He doesn’t worry if others might judge him and he thinks that his family is the absolute coolest - even if we may be the biggest dorks around.

PE experience: A lot of typical sports related skills – which was fun for me because I was an athlete and my friends were all athletes. It was very sports oriented. Looking back I can see how it couldn’t of been much fun for those who didn’t enjoy sports or who weren’t athletically inclined.

Why PE4life: The passion of the PE4life team is undeniable. Each person on the team motivates and inspires me to do a better job. Plus, I can honestly say that PE4life makes a difference!

Carla Marchetti, Marketing and Partnership Specialist

Words to live by: Treat people the way you want to be treated. I believe in the law of attraction and that we create our lives, with every thought every minute of the day, therefore I feel that you control your destiny.

Hobbies: Spend time with my family, cook, play slow pitch softball

Role models: My mother, father and high school Softball Coach.

PE experience: I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and we had PE everyday K-12. I absolutely loved the time I spent in PE, but being a jock it was the best place to be. :)

Why PE4life: I have embraced the PE4life philosophy and believe the mission is not only worthwhile but critical to the future of all children. I know that it is only a matter of time before the PE4life philosophy will be adopted by every school in the country and I want to be a part of this historical movement.

Melanie Sheppard, Communications Coordinator

Words to live by: "Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead." - Scottish Proverb

Hobbies: hang out with Nick and Parker, read memoirs and vampire stories, experiment with vegetarian cooking, play fetch with Frodo (the Shi Tzu, not the hobbit)

Role models: my mom - she’s completely selfless and has an extremely unique sense of humor

PE experience: Two words: mile day. Huffing and puffing around the baseball field for a miserable 18 laps almost ruined my love of running.

Why PE4life: An organization comprised of such a passionate, devoted, mission-driven team seldom comes along… who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?!

Jason Robinson, Development Director

Words to live by: "On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key"

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." -- FDR

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." – MLK JR

Hobbies: I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and being active personally and in my community.

Role models: My mother and Bo Jackson

PE experience: Loved it!!!!

Why PE4life: worthy cause, great staff!