BOSTON – The America East Conference will host its first-ever Health & Safety Summit this summer to focus on enhancing student-athlete well-being on its campuses. The summit, the latest initiative of the conference’s #3Pillars Academy, will take place June 13-14 at the University of the New Hampshire.

The Health & Safety Summit will facilitate in-depth dialog and best-practice sharing among administrators from America East’s member institutions. Attendees will include member institutions’ certified athletic trainers, sports medicine staff members, team physicians, other senior administrators and select SAAC members.

The summit will welcome national leaders in the sports medicine field to speak and educate on a wide range of topics including mental health, nutrition, concussion and head trauma, drug testing, sudden cardiac arrest and more.

Guest speakers confirmed to date include:

• Brian Hainline, M.D., NCAA Chief Medical Officer
• Tim Neal, President, TLN Consulting; Assistant Professor, Health and Human Performance, Athletic Training Clinical Education Coordinator at Concordia University Ann Arbor
• Erik Swartz, PhD, ATC, Department Chair of University of New Hampshire College of Health and Human Services
• Fred Brennan Jr., DO, Team Physician at University of New Hampshire

“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes are vitally important to us as a conference and our member institutions,” said America East Commissioner, Amy Huchthausen. “With mental health and other sports medicine topics currently at the forefront, this summit will provide valuable educational assistance from some of the most respected medical professionals in the field. Additionally, the summit will provide a forum for attendees to share and discuss ideas and best practices that can help improve the well-being of our student-athletes with colleagues across the conference.”

The #3Pillars Academy, formerly the Continuing Ed Program, focuses on providing professional development and educational opportunities to administrators and coaches from both inside and outside the conference.

About America East: The America East Conference provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.