The vision of the NATA Research and Education Foundation is to be the leader in supporting innovative research and educational opportunities to advance health care and inform policy for the benefit of the physically active populations.

The NATA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), was incorporated in 1991 and established with grants from NATA and Johnson & Johnson. It is the only philanthropic 501 c(3) non-profit dedicated to advancing the athletic training profession through research and education. 

The Foundation’s work benefits every athletic trainer (AT) and every company associated with the profession, as well as the physically active community at large. Athletic trainers are health care professionals who can be seen on the sidelines, on the job site, on the stage, the battlefield and even in space. They collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.

The NATA Foundation relies on the financial support of dedicated athletic trainers, corporate partners, and friends of the industry, to help carry out our goal of supporting and advancing the athletic training profession through research and education.

Through the years, the NATA Foundation has advanced the AT profession by:

• Awarding 1,972 scholarships valued at more than $4.02 Million to support future AT leaders.
• Awarding 385 research grants valued more than $5.44 Million to advance AT clinical practice and patient outcomes.
• Providing the opportunity for AT researchers to present 8,773 abstracts through the Free Communications program during NATA’s annual clinical symposium and AT expo.
• Pairing 126 mentors and mentees to assist junior AT faculty with navigating the challenges of the first several years of employment within higher education.
• Coordinating the release of 17 position statements in collaboration with the NATA (since 2012).
• Providing students with the opportunity to develop their professional writing skills through the Student Writing Contest.
• Making some of the latest science behind EBP more accessible to AT clinicians and other healthcare professionals through the “Research to Clinical Practice” newsletter.
• Coordinating the AT Research Agenda in order to identify research priorities and unify research with clinical practice to improve patient care and advance the profession.

You can view a copy of our organizational chart here.

The daily management and operation of the NATA Research and Education Foundation is led by 2 staff members:

Kathryn LaLonde, MS, ATC
NATA Foundation Director
Office:  (972)532-8814
Email:  KathrynL@NATA.org