Committees
Membership & Communications
Neal Nay, Chair
Ashley Boutwell
Education
John Crawford, Chair
Jackie Giroux
Jeff Smith
Conference
David Worley, Chair
Robert Hendrickson
Nominating
Steve Creel, Chair
Amy Korn-Reavis
Mike Ferguson
Board of Directors
Working to advance the field of polysomnographic technology since 2010
Michele Roberge, RT(R), RPSGT
President
Michele began her career in healthcare immediately after high school as a Certified Nursing Assistant. She then obtained a degree in Radiologic Sciences from Eastern Florida State College. As a Radiologic Technologist, Michele worked in the hospital setting, outpatient and urgent care setting as well as mobile imaging. She then transitioned to the sleep disorder center where she found her passion. She quickly became registered in the field and became involved in various community outreach events and, most notably, had the opportunity to serve on the Exam Development Committee with the BRPT. Michele obtained a BS in Healthcare Administration from Columbia Southern University. She managed a hospital based sleep disorder center in central Florida where she led one of the largest sleep apnea support groups in the nation. During her time as manager, Michele started the Inspire and remede programs to offer alternative treatment options for patients. She became involved as a volunteer with FAST in 2015 and officially became part of the FAST board in 2020. Michele Roberge is now a Field Clinical Representative for Inspire Medical Systems in Central Florida.
When not working in sleep, Michele enjoys helping her daughter care for her horse, Rocket, and she also enjoys playing softball and poker.
Dave Worley, RPSGT, LRCP, LPN,
Past President
Clinical Specialist/Medical Device Sales
Lake Mary, Florida
Dave is an experienced healthcare professional, licensed and board certified Practical Nurse, Respiratory Therapist, and Registered Polysomnographer.
Dave's biggest passion lies in educating allied health professionals in the dangers of Sleep Disordered Breathing and the importance of quality sleep and its impact on other co-morbid health conditions.
"I am thankful to serve on the FAST Board alongside a great team of sleep professionals, whose goal is to provide an affordable annual conference for its members."
Dave and his wife Emily live in Lake Mary, Florida, and in their free time enjoy volunteering at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford.
Michael R. Furgason, RPSGT, RST, CCSH, FAAST – Director
Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center
Palm City, Florida
Michael has been in the sleep disorders field for almost 20 years working anywhere from a 1 – 20 bed sleep center. He has clinical experience in all aspects of polysomnography from performing diagnostic and therapeutic therapies to working alongside physicians to diagnosis patients, to training and managing sleep technologists and sleep centers. Michael was recently a 2022 inductee to the AAST fellows program recognizing his professional excellence, service commitment to the association and to the sleep technology profession.
Before moving to Florida, Michael spent 15 years as a firefighter in Michigan. He spends his free time with his wife of 24 years and their two daughter’s on the farm.
Eduardo Hernández, CCSH, RPSGT
Eduardo graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Care from the Universidad Metropolitana of Puerto Rico.
Bilingual in English and Spanish and multi-credentialed as a CCSH and as an RPSGT, he currently serves on the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) as Chair of the Exam Development Committee and as Board Secretary, and has spoken at numerous sleep conferences and symposia.
Previously Eduardo worked at various adult and pediatric hospital-based sleep centers in Puerto Rico and Florida, honed skills during tenure at ZOLL Itamar, and is currently managing the Parrish Sleep Disorders Center in Cocoa, FL.
Amy Bradfield, RPSGT
Steve Creel
Nicole Sondermann
Nicholas ‘Nick’ Bashline, RPSGT, CCSH
Nick began his Sleep career in 2007 working as a night technician and immediately found his professional calling. Nick is truly passionate about patient care and improving CPAP usage, which led him to earning his CCSH in 2016.
Nick has spoken at multiple state sleep society conferences about creating and implementing a Clinical Sleep Educator program and the benefit it brings to patients.
A strong proponent of Sleep Medicine, Nick is constantly looking for means and ways to grow and strengthen our field.
In his free time Nick loves spending time with his family, cooking and cheering on his favorite hockey team
Board & Committee Nominations
To volunteer or nominate someone for a Committee, Director or Officer position, please complete the Nomination Form:
Committee Responsibilities
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee has all the powers of the Board of Directors and is responsible for transacting business between Board of Directors meetings in accordance with rules established by the Board of Directors. Actions required between Board of Directors meetings shall be ratified at the next meeting of the Board of Directors.
Nominations Committee
Nominations for President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors shall be made by the Nominations Committee. Members of the Nominations Committee must be members in good standing and are selected subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The Nominations Committee shall receive nominations from the membership and identify members who are qualified to serve and who demonstrate leadership characteristics, as candidates for vacancies occurring for offices and Board of Directors. The Nominations Committee shall report their selections to the President and names of all properly nominated candidates shall appear on the Official Ballot
Other Committees
Committees may be established from time to time as appropriate and approved by the Board of Directors. These would include such committees as the Education Committee or Conference Committee.
Board, Director & Officer Responsibilities
It is the Board of Directors’ duty to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Association, and may exercise all powers of the Association. The Board of Directors is composed of Officers elected by the Board, and 4 additional Directors elected by the membership. Directors and Officers must be members in good standing with the Association. Officers shall have completed at least 3 continuous years of membership. Membership must be current and continuous. Officers must be residents of the state of Florida for at least 7 months out of the year and must have resided in Florida at least 7 months prior to being nominated. Officers must hold credentials as sleep technologists issued by the BRPT, ABSM, or NBRC. With the exception of the President-Elect, all Officers and Directors serve 2-year terms.
DIRECTORS: 2-year terms
OFFICERS: All positions except for President-Elect are 2-year terms
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors. The President shall appoint the chairperson of all committees, except the Nominations Committee, subject to approval of the Board of Directors. The President shall designate members of the Board of Directors to act as board liaison for all committees.
The President-elect shall preside at the meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors in the absence of the President. In the event of the disability of the President, the President-elect shall become acting President with all the powers of the President. If there is no President-elect in office in the event of the disability of the President, succession shall proceed as defined in Section 4. The President-Elect shall perform such other duties as the President or Board of Directors may assign.
The Secretary shall keep the records and papers of the Association and shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors. The secretary shall perform such other duties as the President or Board of Directors may assign.
The Treasurer shall collect the annual dues of all members and shall keep account for the Association. The Treasurer shall have custody of the funds of the Association, and shall be authorized to open a bank account in the name of the Association. The Treasurer shall be required to submit an annual accounting and proposed budget, both of which shall be approved by the Board of Directors and shall be presented in printed form and available to all members at the annual meeting. The Treasurer shall secure a fidelity bond at the expense of the Association, the limits of which shall be fixed by the Board of Directors and reviewed as necessary. The Treasurer shall perform such other duties as the President or Board of Directors may assign.
Physician Advisory Board
Chair James Krainson, MD, FCCP, FAASM, RPSGT
Medical Dir., S. Fla. Sleep Diagnostic Center, Miami, FL
Medical Dir., S. Fla. School of Sleep Medicine, Miami, FL
Corporate Sponsors
Philips Respironics
Sleep Health Management Resources, Inc.
South Florida School of Sleep Medicine
