Executive Director
Level 1 and Level 2 Examiner
Certified Level 1 and Level 2

As the Executive Director of Skate IA, Trish runs the day to day aspects of the company, puts on the annual Camp SkateIA event - an experience she created many years ago, and develops and operates new programs such as Side Hustle and After the Cert. As examiner Trish runs all of the Level 1 Online Certifications as well as several in-person certs around the continent. Trish is committed that skaters get to see what is possible on skates and get a chance to try different disciplines in skating!

Formerly a trial paralegal and private detective, Trish decided in 2001 to teach skating for a living. At heart, she is an artistic skater having started as a competitive ice figure skater in singles and pairs in her early teens. Trish appreciates the diversity that is possible in skating as she has done many marathons, A2A, learned how to drop in at Camp Rollerblade, loves to dance around the slalom cones, and is currently playing with Wizard skating.

Trish runs the Seattle-based Skate Journeys Skate School which has been in business since 1999 (23 years+) and has the largest staff of any school in USA - currently at 40 - teaching about 500 students a year who take about 4,000 classes annually. Trish also runs Sports-Preneur, where she assists skaters in building their own skate businesses.

Associate Director
including Website and Membership
Certified Level 1

Edison serves as the Associate Director for Skate IA, where he plays a crucial role in managing the organizational aspects that ensure smooth daily operations. His responsibilities include maintaining the instructor and skate school database, processing insurance requests, overseeing completed certifications, managing communications, and serving as the primary point of contact for all Skate IA members. In addition to these duties, he works directly with Trish, assisting her in various projects and helping to build and maintain Skate IA’s website.

Edison’s journey into the world of skating began in 2015 at his local rink in New York City. What began as casual skating sessions transformed into a daily routine after school, where he honed his skills largely through self-teaching, guidance from friendly mentors, and observation of other skaters. His enthusiasm for skating expanded to inline skating, allowing him to transition skills from the ice to asphalt seamlessly. Edison’s ambition led him to Skate IA, where he earned his Level 1 certification in 2018. He aims to master various skating disciplines, striving to become a well-rounded skater known for his versatility.

His particular interests include ice hockey freestyle, figure skating, inline urban skating—where he has been actively featured in publications like Blade in NY—speed skating, and ice acrobatic skating, where he performs jumps on synthetic ice ramps. Currently, Edison is traveling globally as an acrobatic ice skater for Disney On Ice, collaborating with elite skaters and acrobats alike. He aims to promote skating to diverse audiences, a mission that has garnered attention from mainstream media, including features in the New York Times and on ABC News Good Morning America.

Tech and Processes
Level 1 and Skate Park Examiner
Certified Level 1, Level 2, Freestyle Slalom, and Skate Park

Aside from running certs and developing curricula, Sonic, as a former Google software engineer, heads up SkateIA’s tech platforms. He built the instructor search from scratch, set up the new website and registration system, and is continuously finding ways to improve SkateIA’s processes to help it run more smoothly.

Sonic’s been skating for over 25 years, but it wasn’t until Camp SkateIA in 2014 that his eyes were opened to the expansive world of skating. Since then, he’s mastered multiple skating disciplines including urban skating (blasting through NYC’s traffic laden streets), slalom, speed skating (winning the Elite Masters category at multiple races in 2022), ultra distance (skating 308 miles at the 2022 Le Mans 24 hour race to bring home a podium); and is making inroads with skate park and Wizard skating.

Sonic’s involvement in the skating community is paramount, from helping to operate the humongous NYC Wednesday Night Skate for 14 years to launching the city’s only inline skate shop in the middle of the pandemic. Sonic is not only an ambassador within the worldwide skating community, but brings it to the public eye from music videos to news articles, and even an Emmy winning feature.