Keynote Speakers
Christine D’Ercole,
Senior Peloton Instructor
Christine D'Ercole is a public speaker whose work is rooted in self-talk. We all talk to ourselves. And often, what we say starts with ‘I am’ and ends with something awful.
Through her WORDSHOPS™, she guides us through editing our self-talk from the berating to the liberating.
Her WORDSHOPS™ span topics from body-image to addiction, self-care to corporate cultural growth.
She is also a Senior Cycling Instructor at Peloton. Her classes are grounded in the science of cycling and the power of words. Her unique style of mindful motivation and inspiration reaches thousands of devoted riders every day.
As a competitive track cyclist, she is a Masters World Champion and 5x National Champion.
She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and has been in the fitness industry for over 17 years.
For more information on WORDSHOP™ visit Christinedercole.com and @iamicaniwillido on Instagram
Martina Navratilova,
Legendary Professional Tennis Champion
Legendary tennis champion Martina Navratilova is undeniably one of the greatest athletes of all time. Over a spectacular career that has spanned four decades, Martina won an unprecedented 59 Grand Slam titles, including a record 9 Wimbledon singles championships, 167 singles and 177 doubles championships. Over the course of her tennis career, Martina was distinguished as the WTA's "Tour Player of the Year" seven times, named the Associated Press's "Female Athlete of the Year" and declared one of the "Top Forty Athletes of All-Time" by Sports Illustrated. After being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she continued to take part in WTA events and the 2004 Olympics Games. She won her final mixed doubles grand slam title at age 50. Currently, Martina provides her articulate, outspoken commentary to the Tennis Channel, BBC and Amazon Prime. She spends as much time as she can with her family in Miami while tirelessly promoting the issues closest to her heart.
Speakers
Leah Roberts, MD
Dr. Leah Roberts is a board-certified, emergency medicine physician with a special interest in female endurance athletes and preventative primary care. She holds a BA in biochemistry from Barnard College, an MS in Nutrition from Columbia University and an MD from Temple University School of Medicine. She did her her Surgical internship at Temple University Hospital and her Emergency Medicine Residency at Cooper University Hospital (Camden, NJ). Dr. Roberts currently practices as an emergency physician at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. She is also a concierge doctor specializing in endurance athletes with SteadyMD and the team doctor for I Race Like a Girl. Dr. Roberts is a regular contributor to Triathlete Magazine and a ten-time IRONMAN (IM) finisher (PR 9:47) with amateur win at IM Lake Placid 2018. She is also a four-time IM World Championship qualifier, a three-time Olympic Distance World Championship competitor and an IM 70.3 World Championship qualifier.
Melinda Nagle, MD
Dr. Nagle is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, who provides care to women in the Roaring Fork Valley. She practices at Aspen Valley Hospital in addition to her private practice All Valley Women’s Care. Dr. Nagle has been the longtime Chair of the Aspen Valley Hospital Board of Directors, which is an elected position within the hospital district. She received her medical degree from New York Medical College and completed her residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. In addition to her medical experience and accomplishments, Dr. Nagle was a Division I tennis standout at University of California-Berkeley and captain of her team. She also worked as a Grand Champions and Maroon Creek Club teaching pro prior to going to medical school. More recently, she has qualified for and competed in five IRONMAN (IM) World Championships in Kona and has finished a total of thirty-three IM races.
Elaine Gerson, JD, MBA
Elaine began her healthcare career in the early 80s, as an Air Force nurse. She served in Operation Desert Storm as a critical care nurse and has also worked in medical-surgical units and outpatient settings. She moved into administrative roles in healthcare, running several large group practices. She moved to Aspen in 2000 and was elected to the Aspen Valley Hospital Board of Directors in 2002. She served in that capacity until 2004, when she moved into an administrative role at the hospital. She was legal counsel, chief clinical officer, and compliance officer for many years. Now, as Chief Transformation Officer, she is responsible for developing and implementing an integrated system of care that can perform effectively in a value-based reimbursement environment. She continues to serve as legal counsel for the Hospital. Elaine holds a bachelor's degree in nursing, a master's in business administration (health service management focus), and a juris doctorate (healthcare law focus).
Thea Wojtkowski, MD
Dr. Wojtkowski graduated from Stanford University with honors in Humanities and a BS in Biology. She remained at Stanford researching heat shock proteins and their relationship with type one diabetes for one year post graduate. Dr. Wojtkowski completed her medical training and orthopaedic residency at the University of Washington. Within her residency, Dr. Wojtkowski did extensive orthopedic trauma training at Harborview Medical Center, a world-renowned orthopedic trauma center. She has practiced in Hawaii, North Carolina, Washington and Colorado. Her focuses include care of the hip, and orthopeadic trauma care and prevention. She serves as medical director for AVSC, working with Erin Young AT-C to care for the valley’s snow sport athletes. Dr. Wojtkowski and her husband (also an orthopedic surgeon) have four children with whom she enjoys reading, hiking and the outdoors. Dr. Wojtkowski is also a former alpine ski racer and enjoys the active, Aspen lifestyle.
Elizabeth C. Brew, MD, FACS
Dr. Brew is a board certified general surgeon with a special interest in breast surgery. She was raised in Los Altos, CA and is the oldest of four sisters. She followed in her father’s footsteps and attended Dartmouth College. While at Dartmouth, she was a geology major, enjoying the outdoors and field trips. Upon graduation, Betsy realized that medicine would be her passion. She then attended Dartmouth/Brown School of Medicine before coming to Denver to do her surgery training. She was a general surgery resident at the University of Colorado and also did a two year trauma research fellowship. Brew joined Foothills Surgical Associates in 1996 and has remained with the same practice since her initial employment. Betsy is the mother of three children born to her during surgical training. She loves playing outside with her husband and family – skiing, mountain biking and hiking. She sees patients in Golden, Wheat Ridge and Aspen.
Natasha Knight, MD
Dr. Knight is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, who provides care to women in the Roaring Fork Valley. She practices at Aspen Valley Hospital in addition to All Valley Women’s Care, where she is a partner. Dr. Knight completed both her medical training and residency at The University of Florida College of Medicine. She was a faculty member at Loma Linda University from 2000-2003 and worked in the obstetrics and gynecology department of the University’s Family Practice until 2007. Dr. Knight moved to Colorado to join All Valley Women’s Care in 2008 and has been an integral part of the practice ever since. In 2019, Dr. Knight was voted Aspen's best doctor in the Aspen Times "Best of Aspen Awards." She enjoys hiking, biking and skiing with her husband, who is also a physician at Aspen Valley Hospital.
Katie Elliott, MS, RD, CSSD
Katie Elliott, MS, RD, CSSD, USA Triathlon Coach is a board certified sports dietitian and the founder of Elliott Performance and Nutrition, based in Aspen, Colorado. Katie works with clients nationwide in-person and via telehealth, and also does exercise physiology testing at Achieve Health and Performance. Katie’s practice specialties include sports nutrition, wellness nutrition, worksite wellness and weight loss. Katie enjoys working with athletes of all levels and abilities from weekend warriors to professional athletes. In addition, Katie played Division I tennis at Davidson College, is a two-time Tour of New Zealand champion and has competed on more than 10 amateur world championship triathlon teams.