The NFHS Podcast

Join NFHS Coordinator of Sports, Jessie Benner as she speaks with Brenda Hilton, founder of Officially Human and current Big10 Senior Director of Officiating. Hilton highlights the importance of humanizing sports officials and describes what has motivated her throughout her career. Subscribe and share this episode! Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn ! https://www.nfhs.org/...

Join Jessie Benner, NFHS Coordinator of Sports, for an engaging conversation with Dr. Jenny Millward, the Executive Director of the American Association of AdaptED Sports Programs. In this episode, Dr. Millward shares her passion for creating inclusive athletic opportunities and the critical role advocacy plays in the growth of adapted sports. She also reflects on her leadership journey and how in...

Join NFHS Coordinator of Sports, Alyssa Decosse as she speaks with Anne Fennell, the President of the California Music Educators Association and the K-12 Music Program Manager for the San Diego Unified School District. Fennell highlights the transformative nature of music education and advocacy, and the impact these practices have on a school community. Subscribe and share this episode! Follow us...

Join NFHS Coordinator of Sports, Jessie Benner as she speaks with MK McGee, a Nebraska high school basketball official and creator of “Her Call.” McGee highlights ways officials can educate and motivate one another and the importance of creating a community of support for female sports officials. Subscribe and share this episode! Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn ! https:/...

Maggie Berthiaume is the Director of Debate at Woodward Academy in Georgia. She is a past recipient of the National Debate Coaches' Association Educator of the Year Award and the Georgia Forensic Coaches' Association Debate Coach of the Year Award. She has been on the NDCA and GFCA Executive Board and was a member of the editorial board of Contemporary Argumentation & Debate. As some...

Sean King is the Executive Director of USBands and has been a member of the USBands team for 27 years. Since 2020, he has overseen the transition of the organization from one parent non-profit to a program offering of BD Performing Arts, a non-profit organization based in Concord, CA.  Sean has been responsible for aligning organizational and operational cultures as well as the team building, stra...

Amy Perras is the Instructional Supervisor for Music, Art, and Library Media for Milford Public Schools in Connecticut, a role she took on after spending 14 years teaching PK-12 instrumental, choral, and general music.  In addition to her work in Milford, Amy is the President of the Connecticut Arts Administrators Association and the NFHS Music Advisory Committee Chair.  As we get to learn from Am...

Join NFHS Coordinator of Sports, Jessie Benner as she speaks with Becky Moran, NIAAA Associate Executive Director on the importance of encouraging support of female athletics. Moran explains what it means to her to be a woman in sports and how we can create a positive narrative around female sports and activities. Subscribe and share this episode! Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and...

Host Ken Burke is joined by Eric Arnold, Program Director for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) Executive Institute at Western Illinois University. As someone who has so much experience with emergency action plans and campus safety, there are few people that know more than Eric on these issues and topics.  Throughout this conversation, Eric shares stories, lessons-...

Join NFHS Coordinator of Marketing and Social Media, Olivia Jennings as she speaks with NFHS Director of Sports, Julie Cochran on the origin and evolution of the Women in Leadership team. Cochran explains how she identified the need and began to create the program and the ways in which it has grown to serve our member states around the nation.

On this episode of The Stage, host Ken Burke speaks with Ramon Rivera, Mount Vernon School District Mariachi Director, Mariachi Artist, and 2023 Washington State Music Educator of the year. Ramon Rivera began teaching Mariachi in the late 90s and brings a wealth of knowledge on the subject and on educating to this conversation. As he leads and educates students through music, he has built the most...

On this episode, host Ken Burke interviews Dr. David Kelley, Associate Professor in the Sport Administration Program within the University of Cincinnati’s School of Human Services. He also currently serves as the Online Master’s Degree in Sport Administration Program Coordinator and has a wealth of knowledge not only on sport administration, but on grant writing, corporate sponsorships, and more!...

On this episode of The Stage, our guest today is Tooshar Swain, Director of Public Policy at Americans for the Arts. Before joining Americans for the Arts, Tooshar served as Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the National Association for Music Education. Tooshar has made a career in Music Education, Policy, and Advocacy, and has even worked on Capitol Hill with the US Senate. Throughout the...

Our guest today is Davine Davis, former Assistant Executive Director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Davine, who has recently retired, helped establish Missouri as one of the leading states in the country in terms of music and she has served on the NFHS Education Committee as well as the NFHS Spirit Rules Committee. She made a career out of strengthening relationships wit...

On this episode of The Stage, our guest today is Chantal Epp! Chantal is the  Founder and CEO of ClicknClear. ClicknClear prioritizes music licensing for Choreographed Sports, Arts, and Fitness, and makes it easy! Chantal is a multiple award winning business founder and owner, an international cheerleader, and so much more that we will touch on throughout our conversation today. Listen now and lea...

On this episode of The Stage, our guest today is Craig Manteuffel, Assistant Executive Director with the Kansas State High School Activities Association and newly appointed Assistant Executive Director of the Kansas Music Educators Association. In his role, Craig oversees Speech, Debate and Drama, Music, Piano administration, Sportsmanship and Event Sanctioning. He is also coming off of his time a...

On this episode of The Stage,   Nick Averwater, Vice President of Amro Music, joins the show today to discuss how the retail industry continues to support music education across the nation. Amro Music is the largest piano, band, and orchestra store in the Mid-South and one of the largest in the nation. It has been family-owned and operated in Memphis since 1921. Nick also hosts their podcast calle...

On this episode of the Stage, we are honoring Rebecca Meyer-Larson, 2023 NFHS Citation Award recipient for Theatre. Rebecca is a theatre and speech & debate educator at Moorhead High School in Minnesota and has led her students to MANY state titles, awards, and more. During her 32-year career, Meyer-Larson has received several honors including two U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Teacher awa...

Jennifer Brooks began her career in 1996 as a band and choir director for Banks (Oregon) Junior and Senior High School before moving to the David Douglas School District in Portland, Oregon, in 1998, where she currently works as the director of all music in the K-12 schools. Today, we get to talk to Jennifer about winning this year’s NFHS Music Citation Award, her career as an educator, and what s...

On this episode of the Stage, we honor Jamelle Brown, 2023 NFHS Citation Award recipient for Speech and Debate. For those of you who remember, Jamelle was a guest on our show a few months ago, but we invited her back on to talk more about her education background, how it feels to win a NFHS Citation award, and more. Jamelle is a high school speech and debate coach at Sumner Academy of Arts and Sci...

On this episode of The Stage, John Mlynczak, the new President and CEO of National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), joins the show to discuss how music education and creative industry can work together to better the future of music as a whole. John has so much experience not only in the creative industry space, but also in the music education world, as well. He has worked as a music educator...

Dr. Steven Karageanes is a primary care sports medicine physician at Restorative Physical Medicine, a founding member of Athletes and the Arts and co-hosts the Athletes and the Arts podcast, and is one of the first physicians in the United States certified in performing arts medicine by the Performing Arts Medical Association.  Today, Dr. Karageanes joins the show today to discuss how to emphasize...

Join NFHS Coordinator of Sports, Jessie Benner, as she speaks with Executive Director and Co-Founder of American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Tommie Storms, to share her journey. Storms emphasizes the importance of offering inclusive opportunities for all and explains how AAASP came about.

On this episode of The Stage,   Adam Jacobi, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts Association comes on the show. Adam has been involved in education, adjudication, communication, and so much more for 20-plus years, and he continues to work to bring opportunities for every student in Wisconsin. With a background with the NFHS, NSDA, high school outreach progr...

On this episode of The Stage, Robyn Hilger, Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, joins the show to discuss what it means to have sustained creativeness and entrepreneurialism in the music classroom. With a wealth of knowledge within music education and advocacy, Hilger provides key information for all music educators looking for new, innovative ideas in their curriculum...