ABOUT SPORT SAFETY INTERNATIONAL

SSI’s mission is to promote safe participation in sport and physical activity through education. This mission is fulfilled in part by offering the highest quality continuing education programs for athletic trainers and other health care providers. SSI was created by, and is currently operated by practicing athletic trainers serving youth, amateur, collegiate and professional sport organizations.

WE ARE EDUCATORS & ATHLETIC TRAINERS

WHO WE ARE

Meet Our Team

We are a group of dedicated individuals with over 100 years of combined experience in sports injury care and prevention.  Our leadership takes pride in our commitment to educating the world on sports safety, saving lives along the way.

Robb Rehberg, PHD, ATC, NREMT

Founder, President & CEO

Dr. Rehberg is a Professor and Coordinator of Athletic Training Clinical Education at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. He is also a founding partner of The Rehberg Konin Group, LLC, serves as co-founder, President and CEO of Sport Safety International. He currently serves as an ATC Medical Spotter for the National Football League for New York Jets home games. Through his experience as an award-winning educator, clinician, author, coach, expert, and parent, combined with his experience as an athletic trainer in sports ranging from youth to professional levels, Robb has seen the issues related to sport safety from every point of view. It is this unique perspective that drives his vision for making sport and physical activity safer through education.

Shawn M. Landgraf

Chief Operating Officer

Shawn was the CEO of Magnus Associates before being hired by SSI. Magnus Associates is a management- consulting firm with advisory expertise in domestic and international private equity, investment banking, and business development matters. Over the past several years, Magnus Associates has provided consulting services to companies such as Coffee Digital, Magnus Gyan (where he served as President), Qwips (where he currently serves as a Director), and Capstar, on a range of business matters, including merger & acquisition analysis, operational redesign and sales strategy. Shawn is currently responsible for SSI’s new business generation, investment relations and channel development. He received his honors degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and currently sits on the board of Qwips, Edusynch and Vyborg Kraft Spirits.

Michele Monaco, DSc, AT

Director of Education Initiatives

Michele Monaco is an Associate Professor and Clinical Coordinator for the Athletic Training Education Program at Immaculata University. She received her undergraduate degree from Lock Haven University, and went on to earn a Master’s in Sports Administration at St. Thomas University. Dr. Monaco continued her education and earned her Doctorate of Science in Athletic Training from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She is an active member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Executive Committee on Education and serves as the Secretary of the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association. Her professional involvement includes being a paramount member of the Board of Certification Standards Committee. Dr. Monaco is a lead site visitor for the Commission on Accreditation on Athletic Training Education Programs.

Joanne Ploch, MS, ATC

Vice President, Curriculum Development

Joanne is a certified athletic trainer at Vernon Township High School in NJ. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education from The Pennsylvania State University in 1990 and Master of Arts degree in Educational Technology from New Jersey City University. Currently Joanne is an Adjunct Professor for the Athletic Training Education Program at William Paterson University where she also serves as a preceptor. She has served as both Secretary and Northern Representative for the Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey. Joanne was the recipient of the Victor Recine Distinguished Service Award and was the ATSNJ representative for the NJ Special Education and Traumatic Brain Injury Taskforce. In 2014 Joanne was selected as the Governor’s Educational Professional of the Year for Vernon Township High School.

Michael Prybicien, MA, ATC, CSCS, CES

Vice President, Operations

Michael has worked as an athletic trainer in a variety of different venues with patients of all ages and skills sets. Michael is currently employed as an athletic trainer at Passaic High School in NJ and is also an adjunct professor at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. He is both an Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey Distinguished Service Award Recipient and a Hall of Fame Inductee. Additionally is a New Jersey State Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame Inductee. Michael has authored numerous book chapters, abstract articles and journal articles specializing in sports emergency care, and injury prevention, recognition and management. Michael received 2 Bachelor of Science Degrees from Pennsylvania State University and his Master’s from Kent State University in Ohio.

Joelle Stabile Rehberg, DO, FAOASM

Medical Director

Dr. Joelle Rehberg is a fellowship trained sports medicine physician, and is also board certified in family practice. She currently practices sports medicine and concussion management at Atlantic Neurosurgical Specialists in Morristown, NJ. A large part of Dr. Rehberg’s practice includes seeing patients at the Center for Concussion Care and Physical Rehabilitation, at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, which is one of the largest hospital-based concussion programs in the region. Dr. Rehberg is a graduate of Seton Hall University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Rehberg also serves as the Medical Director for the Athletic Training Education Program at William Paterson University in NJ, and has spent 14 seasons on the sidelines of Montville Township High School’s football team, as team and school physician. Most recently, Dr. Rehberg was named a Fellow of the American Osteopathic Academy for Sports Medicine.

Keal M. Blache

Director of Marketing & Brand Experience

Keal founded Loba Creative, a digital creative and marketing agency. He is a Detroit native and moved to Orlando to attend the University Central Florida – his alma mater. Keal graduated from UCF with a degree in finance and a minor from the DeVos Sports Business Management program. He was honored in 2017 as a top 30 under 30 UCF Alumni. His experience started in the banking world, working in enterprise information systems and investment banking at Suntrust (Atlanta) and Sumitomo Trust (NYC), respectively. He has also held sports marketing positions at UCF Athletics and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Before LOBA, he worked as the head of marketing and branding at Insurance Office of America (IOA). Keal helped the organization develop their brand experience, identified scalable opportunities for improvement, and worked on partnerships with the Magic, Jaguars, Raiders, Hornets, Wizards, Capitals, Lightning and many other teams.

Medical Advisory Board

James Kyle, MD, FACSM, FAAFP
Sports Medicine and Emergency Medicine Physician
Beckley ARH Hospital, Parkersburg, WV

Jill Guzman, DNP, RN, CPNP
Director, Health and Wellness Center
William Paterson University, Wayne NJ

Donna M. Siegfried
Senior Director – First Aid Programs
National Safety Council, Itasca IL

Jill Brooks, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Head to Head Consultants, Gladstone, NJ

Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC, PT, FACSM
Director, Physical Therapy Program
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Jim Clover, MEd, PTA, ATC
Coordinator
The SPORT Clinic, Riverside, CA

Robert Franks, DO, FAOASM
Sports Medicine Physician
The Rothman Institute, Philadelphia, PA

Eric Sugarman, ATC
Head Athletic Trainer
Minnesota Vikings, Minneapolis MN

Corey Tremble, MS, ATC
Medical Coordinator
Detroit Tigers Baseball Club, Lakeland, FL

Seth Stoller, MD
Neurologist
Atlantic Neuroscience Institute, Summit, NJ