Episode 159: Ruth Childs, Lauren Lieberman, and Mary Connolly

SHAPE America's Podcast - Professional Development for Health & Physical Education Teachers

Sean is joined by Ruth Childs, Lauren Lieberman, and Mary Connolly, authors of SHAPE America’s newest book, Infusing Self-Advocacy into Physical Education and Health Education. On the podcast, they discuss their careers, the journey to creating this text, why self-advocacy is important for ALL students, and more!

Ruth Childs

Ruth Childs, MFA, is a professor at State University of New York at Brockport. She has been at the College of Brockport Department of Theatre and Music Studies since 2001. Her teaching specialties include public speaking, acting, voice and speech, improv, and the politics of theatre. Childs served as regional chair of the National Playwriting Program for Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and has been a respondent and reader for national and regional playwriting awards. She was awarded the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Gold Medallion. Childs is a public speaking consultant as well as a specialist in teaching self-advocacy. She directs the self-advocacy program at Camp Abilities each summer.

Lauren J. Lieberman

Lauren J. Lieberman, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Service Professor in the Kinesiology Department at the State University of New York at Brockport (SUNY) in adapted physical education. She started her career teaching at the Perkins School for the Blind in the Deafblind program. She is co-director of the Institute on Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments or Deafblindness (IMSVI) (see www.brockport.edu/IMSVI) and founder and director of Camp Abilities, an educational sports camp for children with visual impairments. Lieberman has published over 193 peer-reviewed articles and 21 books and has been an invited guest speaker in the U.S. and internationally. She is a Research Fellow with the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity and has won awards from numerous organizations for her work.

Mary Connolly

Mary Connolly, BS, Med, is a professor at Cambridge College and adjunct professor at Curry College. She is an accomplished health education professional whose career spans nearly four decades and includes teaching and administration in public schools and higher education. Connolly served on the committee to revise the National Health Education Standards and is a member of the Massachusetts Interdisciplinary Health Education and Human Services Advisory Council and the American School Health Association (ASHA), Coordinator’s Committee, and is a reviewer for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. She presents at numerous state and national conferences and is a member of SHAPE America, AAHE, SOPIE, ASHA, ASCD, and MAAHPERD.