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Philena Latcha is in her third year as Head Athletic Trainer at John Jay College. Before arriving at John Jay, Latcha served as the head athletic trainer at Hunter College, a fellow CUNY institution, for the past seven years.
 
During her tenure with Hunter, she developed a nine-month ACL rehabilitation program that focuses on the biomechanics of acceleration, deceleration, running, jumping, and transverse plane movements to improve athletic movements. She implemented, designed, and executed assessment tests for risk factors in the ACL prevention program and concussion management, which include, but are not limited to, sideline care procedures and return-to-play protocols. 
 
Among her responsibilities at Hunter were providing care and prevention of athletic injuries while implementing treatment within the scope of practice defined by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) to over 250 intercollegiate student-athletes. 
 
Latcha assisted Hunter College Athletics with Strategic Planning and End-of-Year reports while maintaining and updating the Emergency Action Plan for all facilities used by athletic teams. Additionally, she cultivated and executed an Emergency Mental Health Plan for all student-athletes. She trained all coaches and recreational staff in First Aid/CPR/AED for certification and collaborated with the CUNYAC Medical Advisory Committee to develop COVID-19 Return-to-Sport Plans. 
 
She assisted with the organization and development of the Hunter College Student-Athletic Advisory Committee, as well as coordinating student-athlete speakers and National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Latcha has served as an adjunct professor for First Aid and CPR at Brooklyn College, while also volunteering as an athletic trainer at the United States Olympic Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, in 2018. 
 
Her first full-time role as head athletic trainer began in 2007, when she was also the Co-Director of the Sports Performance Team at The City College of New York (CCNY). In her nine years at CCNY, she provided care and prevention of athletic injuries while also overseeing the strength and conditioning programs. 
 
Latcha secured several athletic training internships while pursuing her degree, including one at Professional Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy in 2007. A year earlier, she worked at Wagner College, a Division I Northeast Conference (NEC) member, where she assisted in the care of approximately 100 members of the football team. In 2005, she interned at a fellow NEC institution, Long Island University (LIU), where she helped develop new exercise strategies for rehabilitation programs, as well as modalities and manual training techniques. 
 
Latcha earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Hunter College in 2003 and then graduated from Long Island University in 2007 with a Master of Science degree in Sports Science. 
 
She is affiliated with the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) and holds certifications as a NYS Licensed Athletic Trainer, NATABOCK Certified Athletic Trainer, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). NATABOCK Certified Athletic Trainer, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).