Meet the 2024 Outride Summit Presenters!
Please join us for the 2024 Outride Summit, this summer on July 25th! We have an exciting lineup of presentations in the morning followed by an interactive Expo with networking, tabling, and poster presentations in the afternoon. All presentations are curated toward the theme of Supporting Wellbeing through Cycling Across the Lifespan. Attendees will finish the day understanding more about how cycling impacts both mental and physical health and learning about cycling programming across a variety of geographic locations! We hope to see you at the Specialized Headquarters in Morgan Hill on July 25th!
PRESENTERS
Norman is 88 years old and a medical doctor and scientist (PhD SUNY) who has spent the last 20 years as part of a research team at Kings College London, Guy’s Campus doing research on how to age as optimally as possible.
He has worked as the Head of Diabetes Research and has been the Advisor to the Minister of Health on Food Toxicology, and has appeared on Disney+ in the series featuring Chris Hemsworth on Health.
Norman has walked many long distance paths in the UK, New Zealand and South Africa. He was the Audax UK Veteran Cycling Champion in 2001.
Dr. Lazarus will share both his personal and research experiences of aging, and the role cycling has played in supporting long-term health.
Sumita Sharma, MD, is a double board-certified psychiatrist in both adult and child and adolescent psychiatry. She currently serves as an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the child and adolescent psychiatry department. Dr. Sharma completed her adult psychiatry training at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and her child and adolescent psychiatry training at UCSF. Her research focuses on nature-based mental health interventions for youth, combining her love for the outdoors with her clinical practice. Dr. Sharma is dedicated to holistic and psychopharmacological approaches to help patients unlock their innate strengths and build enduring resilience.
Lauren Schuck
Lauren is a Research Specialist at Outride, supporting the team with all things research and evaluation. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Psychology, and has worked on various neuroscience research projects spanning from Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease to working memory and motor adaptation. At Outride, Lauren is thrilled to research the social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of cycling.
PANELISTS
Morgan Lavender:
Morgan is the Director of Operations at Mile High 360 where she oversees the day-to-day work and is responsible for mobilizing and organizing the external and internal resources that Mile High 360 relies upon to fulfill its mission. In this work, She oversees school, corporate, foundation, and business partnerships. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Morgan created, implemented, and evaluated various wellness programs for college students across the country. She holds a Master's Degree in Health Promotion from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Psychology from Florida State University. She is a certified yoga teacher, meditation instructor, health coach, and body-positive facilitator, and is working towards her goal of completing at least one race (bike, marathon, triathlon, etc.) in each of the 50 states!
Roxanne Mejia:
Roxanne is a Program Director based in New York City with 16 years of experience in K-12 education nonprofit services - as an educator, curriculum developer, and program manager. Roxanne is also a part-time fitness instructor and likes to stay active by lifting weights, boxing, cycling, running, and dancing!
As the Program Director for I Challenge Myself, Roxanne is grateful for the opportunity to continue partnering with urban communities to provide essential youth programs.
Ryan McKinney:
Ryan is the 2024 SHAPE America National Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year. He has been teaching physical education for 16 years; the last 8 years at Spooner Middle School in Wisconsin. Outside of school, Ryan coaches hockey, football, baseball, and mountain bike racing, and enjoys fishing, exploring, and biking with his wife and 3 sons. His passion at school is using daily outdoor physical activity, mainly biking, to help students with attention challenges find academic and behavioral success.
Tanisha Bitsoi:
Tanisha is from the community of Naschitti, NM which is located on the Navajo Nation reservation. She is currently working with the Silver Stallion Bicycle & Coffee as a lead female coach. Prior to the Stallion she worked as a physical education teacher for 8 years. Tanisha is also the head coach for the Girls High school basketball team at Tohatchi high school. Since being involved with the Stallion she has gained a passion for mountain biking, the positive impacts it has shown for her communities and the continued efforts to see that grow. Her passion has always been to help, teach, coach, mentor and be the best person she can be to make a positive impact on the communities on Navajo Land.
Tavaghn Monts:
Tavaghn Monts works with Clemson University's Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management Department and is the Executive Director of Momentum Bike Clubs (MBC). Monts is also the Assistant Director of Community Collaboration for The Race, Ethnicity, Youth and Social Equity (REYSE) Collaboratory at Clemson University, which is an interdisciplinary group of researchers and community scholars conducting research and providing programming to improve the lives of racial and ethnic youth living in diverse communities. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Tavaghn earned his bachelor's in Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management from Clemson University.
Expo Organizations & POSTER PRESENTERS
Central Michigan University
Loma Linda University
Educators from around the country
And more!