Charlene R. Burgeson is Executive Director of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), a non-profit membership organization of over 16,000 professionals in the physical education, physical activity, and sport fields.

Previously Ms. Burgeson was employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA, where she served as a Health Scientist in the Division of Adolescent and School Health and a Public Health Advisor in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

She serves on four national advisory boards: Clinton Foundation/American Heart Association’s Alliance for Healthier Generation Healthy Schools Program, Campaign to End Obesity, Partnership for Play Every Day, and Cartoon Network’s Get Animated Program. She also chairs the EnergyNow! Alliance, a national initiative to improve physical education and nutrition education in schools through grants and professional development.

Ms. Burgeson was lead author on the physical education and activity article for the CDC’s 2000 School Health Policies and Programs Survey (SHPPS) and co-author of the 2006 article. She co-authored the 2000 report from the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Education to the President of the United States entitled, “Promoting Better Health for Young People through Physical Activity and Sport.” Additionally, she has co-authored four articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

In 2001, she was honored by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) with the Mabel Lee Award for achieving national recognition as a professional leader prior to reaching age 36.

A former elementary physical education teacher in the Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools, Ms. Burgeson also coached local youth sports. She received her M.A. in Physical Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and B.S. in Health and Physical Education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.