MEMORIAL: Tribute to Dr. Evelyn I. Bird (1928–2020)

The biofeedback community lost one of the earlier pioneers who developed integrated biofeedback stress management programs at the university level. Dr. Evelyn Bird, a professor in Human Kinetics at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada created the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic in 1978. Her 12-session program amalgamated information and research she learned at early meetings and workshops of the Biofeedback Society of America (now the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback), the International Stress Management Association and the Canadian Sport Psychology Association, along with research and training in stress management and sport psychology. Later she returned and taught self-regulation skills at these associations. Her university teaching was impactful and included novel experiences, such as taking students up in a glider airplane while monitoring their physiology. Her group and individualized stress management programs greatly benefited from the respect and referrals from the university and local medical practitioners and...