My guest today is Mike Hagensick, who is returning to the podcast. Mike is the co-founder of the E3 collective. The vision of the collective was sparked while Mike was a special education teacher working with children with complex needs. During this time, he worked with many great teachers, paraeducators, physical therapists, and occupational therapists through close collaboration and a shared vision of opportunity.

Students could access unique experiences and opportunities, leading to improved quality of life as Mike transitioned into his new role. He started the Panther Academy for Water Safety to promote evidence-based learning to swim and water safety instruction to individuals with diverse abilities by integrating high-level teaching and community. PAWS strives to deliver excellent programs for children regardless of their individual needs.

Mike Hagensick is currently the assistant swim coach at the University of Northern Iowa and the founder and director of the Panther Academy for Water Safety. Mike has his Masters in Special Education. He has served as a consultant with the Auburn University Pediatric Movement and Physical Activity Lab and is the author of a recently published paper on adaptive tennis programming. His mission is to provide high-quality and socially equitable adaptive sports and activity programming for individuals with special needs.