Erin

Erin Edson, born and raised in Buffalo, has been involved in the area of sports and coaching for most of her life. Growing up she played many sports including Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey and Soccer. Throughout high school and college she coached multiple lacrosse camps, clinics and local club teams. She attended Fredonia State University, and has her Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management with Minors in Athletic Coaching and Business Administration. While at Fredonia, she competed on their Division III Women’s Lacrosse Team for all 4 years. She then attended Daemen College and earned her Masters Degree in Executive Leadership and Change. While at Daemen, she worked as a Graduate Assistant in their Division II Athletic Department. She has over 8 years of administrative experience in the health care, higher education and athletic settings. 

Erin joined the Dr. Derek Health and Fitness team in 2020. 

She enjoys staying active, cooking and spending time with her family and friends!

Dana

Dana Guenther was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Growing up, she participated in Cheerleading and Track and Field through High school. Since then, Dana has enjoyed finding new ways to incorporate health and fitness into her everyday life. Dana graduated from Buffalo State University in 2023, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production. In her spare time, Dana enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as being an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills.

Olivia

Jake

Jacob Kluge, born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Started playing sports at a very young age, participating in Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, and Football. He attended Kenmore East Highschool and continued to compete in sports such as hockey, football, soccer, and outdoor track & field. Jacob’s love for sports and his fascination with human performance is what led him to pursue an education in Sports Medicine.

Jacob recently graduated from Mercyhurst University, in Erie PA, with a BS degree in Exercise Science. During his time as a strength and conditioning intern at Mercyhurst, Jacob worked with many NCAA athletes as both an Athletic Training and Exercise Science major. Jacob also has several years of both personal and group training experience of various ages (7-75 years+) and populations (general fitness enthusiasts, athletes, tactical professionals, etc.). He has recently moved back to Buffalo to pursue a career as a personal trainer/ strength & conditioning specialist and plans to attend Chiropractic school next fall. 

In addition to Jacob’s experience as an Exercise Science professional, he also has experience coaching youth ice hockey, skill-skating clinics, children with disabilities and has hands-on experience performing emergency first aid, clinical injury evaluations, kinematic analyses, and body composition measurements. 

Carl

Carl Neuman has been involved in the health and fitness field since 2003. Carl studied Physical Education at Niagara County Community College and has been a Personal Fitness Trainer since 2009. He also managed a Vitamin Shoppe for over 8 years and gained knowledge in nutrition and supplementation. 

Carl loves to workout, golf and spend time with his family. He is a huge Buffalo Bills fan and can talk about football all day. 

His passion for learning and helping others achieve their health and fitness goals has made him a key member of Dr. Derek’s team since 2014.

Matt

Matthew Henechowicz was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from The University of Rhode Island. While attending university he was a member of the triathlon team that competed in the University Multisport Series. Upon graduating with scholastic distinction, Matt learned his true area of expertise is in the domain of exercise science in the aging population. Matt is involved with many charitable foundations and spends hours of volunteer service in the local community. Prioritizing and managing time efficiently has been pivotal in allowing him to improve his client’s quality of life and well-being, while personally maintaining a high level of fitness. 

Although Matt has diverse interests one of his most rewarding pastimes was as a competitive snowboarder. Traveling across Canada to Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia, was the culmination of many years of training. His time there led to many successes and many more valuable learning experiences. During this experience, Matt obtained employment as a snowboard instructor, SPIN instructor and triathlon coach, and continues teaching today. 

In 2018, Matt moved to Buffalo and began employment at Dr. Derek Health and fitness in 2019. His hobbies include reading, golf, hockey, and strength training.

Josh

Josh Beiter was born and raised in Pendleton, NY. After graduating from Starpoint High School he attended Bryan University for his degree in exercise science. Josh grew up playing ice hockey and has been around the sport as a player for 10 years and as a coach for 2 years. 

Josh’s love for the sport led him to his love of fitness his passions include music, comedy, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Bills, and of course fitness. 

Eli

Elijah (Eli) LaVarnway was born and raised in Cowlesville N.Y. and has been a part of the sports and fitness world since the day he could walk. Growing up he played many sports such as basketball, baseball, volleyball, swim team, cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, and soccer. He currently attends the University at Buffalo where he will receive his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Physiology. He also works at some of his father’s pharmacies where he gains additional knowledge of drugs and supplements, however he hopes to begin his career as a personal trainer soon.

 In his free time Eli is an avid outdoorsman and spends his free time hunting, fishing, and studying agriculture, as well as planting fields and raising animals. He also loves to play guitar, paintball, cheer on the Bills, and spend time with his friends and family. 

Eli’s passion for athletics, training, learning, and helping others has led to his internship with Dr. Alessi in 2022. He hopes to now learn from the best and perfect his own craft so that he will one day be able to help others with peak efficiency.

Tricia 

Alicia