NATA Welcomes New Board Members

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
DALLAS, May 18, 2011 – During its 62nd Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) will formally welcome Michael Goldenberg, MS, ATC, and D. Eric McDonnell, MEd, ATC, to its board of directors. NATA’s annual meeting will take place June 19 to 22 at the Ernest J. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Goldenberg succeeds NATA’s outgoing District Two Director Jim Thornton; McDonnell will replace outgoing District Five Director Terry Noonan.
 
“We’re delighted to welcome these two dynamic leaders of the athletic training profession to our board of directors,” said NATA President Marjorie J. Albohm, MS, ATC. “Their demonstrated commitment and expertise will help us meet our ongoing challenges in the years ahead and help us take the association and its members to the next level.”
 
Michael Goldenberg, MS, ATC
A member of NATA since 1983, Michael Goldenberg is currently an associate athletic director and athletic trainer at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Since graduate school Goldenberg has been active with NATA committees at the state level, eventually moving on to the state executive board, the district executive board, and now the national board of directors. “Each level brought new challenges and ways I could impact my profession in a positive way,” Goldenberg said. “Being elected to the NATA board of directors is the ultimate way I can give back to the profession that has done so much for me and my family.”
 
In his new position on the board of directors, Goldenberg says he will work to develop strategies that will help create and improve jobs in traditional and non-traditional settings, such as requiring an athletic trainer in every secondary school and continuing to evaluate and implement new communication technologies to increase members’ awareness of important, current issues in athletic training.

 
D. Eric McDonnell, MEd, ATC
Eric McDonnell has been an athletic trainer at the University of Missouri since 1982. A member of NATA since 1978, McDonnell served as the NATA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) chair for the past six years, where he worked with state leaders and state GAC chairs on legislative issues. According to McDonnell his goal on the board of directors is “to see that we continue to provide strong educational programs, increase the value of the athletic trainer and the services we provide, complete the task of getting the last two states under regulation, and continue to explore nontraditional settings for athletic trainers.”
 
“Serving as a leader is about service first; it is a balancing act to represent the district and NATA,” McDonnell continued. “We are here to serve the members. I look forward to serving the members of my district and NATA.”
 
NATA is divided into 10 geographic districts. District Two, which Goldenberg will oversee, covers Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania; District Five, which will be led by McDonnell, covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
 
National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & Sport
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and supports 34,000 members of the athletic training profession