Master Trainers

HSBS Master Trainers are renowned professionals in the fields of physical education, motor development, and early childhood physical activity. They assist HSBS Education Staff in the development of training materials and resources for our grantees and the entire early childhood community. We love working with these dynamic, passionate professionals!

Kristi Mally, Ph.D

Kristi is the physical education teacher education director at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, where she has had the opportunity to redesign the elementary physical education preparation component of their curriculum. She has 14 years of teaching experience in both elementary and middle schools and has worked on a number of unique projects, including authoring the early childhood physical activity calendar for the NASPE Teacher Toolbox and co-writing the early childhood PIPEline workshop "Let's Get Moving." She has also worked with Kelsey Learning Corporation, which runs more than 2,000 day care centers across the country, to write a physical activity program. Kristi is currently writing and hosting a physical activity training video produced by Nike and the Head Start Association. She has a Ph.D in kinesiology with an emphasis in motor development from the University of Minnesota.

Clersida Garcia, Ph.D 

A specialist in the field of motor development, Clersida is the director of the Motor Development Research Laboratory at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and assistant research director of the Developmental Sport Skill Research Program at NIU. She has published a number of articles on children and physical education and also received a number of grants in early childhood. Clersida has a Ph.D in kinesiology and physical education from Michigan State University.

Rae Pica

Rae is founder and director of Moving & Learning and has been a children’s physical activity specialist since 1980. A former adjunct instructor with the University of New Hampshire, she is the author of 18 books, including Experiences in Movement and Music; the award-winning Great Games for Young Children; Jump into Literacy, A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity, and Free Time Create a Successful Child, written for the parents of children birth to eight; and Physical Education for Young Children: Movement ABCs for the Little Ones. Rae is known for her lively and informative workshop and keynote presentations and has shared her expertise with such groups as the Sesame Street Research Department, the Head Start Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues,” Gymboree, and state health departments throughout the country. Rae also served on the NASPE task force that created Active Start, the national guidelines for early childhood physical activity, and is a member of the advisory boards for HighReach Learning, Integrations Catalog, and the Gesell Institute for Human Development. In addition, Rae is cofounder and host of an internet radio program called “Body, Mind and Child,” for which she interviews experts in early childhood education, child development, play research, the neurosciences, and more. Along with Mark Ginsberg, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, she co-hosts NAEYC Radio. She also co-hosts PTA Radio.

Steve Stork, Ed.D

Steve is director of Programs & Education at iHealth Center for Integrated Wellness in Roanoke, TX. He has also been a gymnastics coach, elementary physical education teacher, and college professor. As a physical education pedagogist, Steve has been strong advocate for developmentally appropriate instruction. He is a former senior editor of Teaching Elementary Physical Education and wrote Movement Education & Lesson Plan Development for the USA Gymnastics Kinder Accreditation for Teachers program (KAT) and Assessing Gymnastics in Elementary Physical Education for NASPE. His most recent scholarly work included an examination of the state of physical activity within preschool education.

Meg Greiner, M.Ed

Meg teaches elementary physical education at Independence Elementary School in Independence, Oregon, and has been teaching elementary PE for 21 years. She has presented more than 100 sessions throughout the United States and has received numerous national awards and accolades for her innovative physical education program and the development of TEAM Time. Recognition includes the 2005 National Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year, awarded by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE); the 2005 USA Today All Star Teacher Team; and the 2006 Disney Outstanding Specialist Teacher of the Year. She is a National Board Certified Teacher whose presentations are informative, interactive, and engaging. She is committed to her profession and her students as demonstrated by her word to live by: "You don't stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing!"  Meg received her master's of education in adapted physical education from Oregon State University.