Charmain Sutherland

Charmain Sutherland, a national board-certified physical educator, loves a great challenge. She began teaching physical education and health in 1990 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 2007 she was named the Physical Education Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD). In that same year, Sutherland received the Washington Post Agnes Meyer Award as Teacher of the Year for her innovative teaching methods. At Severn Elementary, she vowed to teach like her hair was on fire and was chosen as their Teacher of the Year and became a finalist for the Excellence in Education award by Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Annapolis, Maryland. Her dedication and service to the physical education profession won her a Simon McNeeley award from MAHPERD.

Sutherland also served as vice president of physical education for MAHPERD. She worked with her MAHPERD team as exhibits co-chair for the AAHPERD national convention and continued advocating for physical education as a physical activity consultant for Head Start Body Start. While opening a new school in 2008, Nantucket Elementary (home of the Starfish), she discovered that more than ever, even the littlest efforts make a difference. Since then, she continues to serve as a physical education advocate—however she is needed—to promote physical activity while working in Maryland as a physical educator and living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In her leisure time, she enjoys playing water sports, tennis, softball, and golf and inventing new games.