Board
Jay Gilmer, Esq.
Erika Jefferson
Leah Kalish
Dr. Cynthia Zurchin
Dr. Amy Andrews
Garrett Cooper
Doug Spence, Esq.
Joanne Spence
Staff
Joanne Spence, Executive Director
Felicia Savage, Yoga Educator
Katrina Woodworth, Educator
Leslie Wright, Educator
Cathie Sunderman, Educator
Heidi Zellie, Administrative Assistant
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STAFF
Joanne Spence, Executive Director
info@yogainschools.org, www.yogaonthesquare.net
Joanne Spence is a dynamic and experienced yoga teacher and staff developer. She works primarily in schools and hospitals and is known for her ability and passion to teach, encourage and motivate beginners. Self-care and self awareness are the hallmarks of her trainings. Joanne brings 20 years of social work experience to her work.
She is the director of Yoga on the Square, a friendly, knowledgeable, all-inclusive, eco-friendly yoga studio in Pittsburgh’s East End and the founder and Executive Director of Yoga in Schools. She also works part-time at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic as a yoga therapist and staff developer.
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Felicia Savage, Yoga Educator
smileandlaughoften@yahoo.com
Felicia Lane Savage has earnestly practiced Raja Yoga for 20 years. She has taught for over 14 years in various community settings. Her yoga practice has influenced all aspects of her life: the way she thinks, speaks, moves, works and drives.
Felicia holds a BS in Natural Sciences: Mathematics, Geology and Biology; PA Instructor I Teachers Certification in Elementary Education and her MEd in Elementary Ed. all from the University of Pittsburgh. She is certified as a Yoga Instructor with a Pilates specialty certificate through NETA (National Exercise Trainers Association), SilverSneakers YogaStretch and a YogaEd. Elementary through High School Teacher/Trainer.
Felicia has joyfully been bringing yoga to the community through her business Yoga On Location. She has taught at various community venues such as: YWCA, YMCA, UPMC-Passavant Hospital, as well as “The Ladies” on the 4th floor at the Allegheny County Jail. For the past 4 years, Felicia has been a Health Coach/Yoga Instructor teaching and training for the Healthy Black Family Project, Center for Minority Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh for 4 years. Felicia strongly believes in empowering community members, which is why she has been training them to lead yoga classes at The Kingsley Community Center for over one year.
Felicia is the humble mother of two young adults both at the university: Cleveland, a senior in Manufacturing Engineering and Maya, a freshman in Business Management.
Go to the people, Live with them, Learn from them, Love them. Start with what they have, But with the best leaders, When the work is done, The task accomplished, The people will say “We have done it ourselves” Lao Tzu (700 BC)
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katrina.woodworth@verizon.net
Katrina Woodworth first found and fell in love with the practice of yoga through a course called Prayers of the Body and Heart: Yoga as a Spiritual Discipline. Yoga opened a way for Katrina to connect her mind, body and spirit, creating space in her life for physical wellness, inner peace and mental clarity. Having worked eight years in campus ministry and becoming a busy mom of four young children, Katrina created with yoga a sacred space in her life. As the benefits of a consistent practice began to take affect on Katrina’s well-being, a friend and local studio owner encouraged her to pursue teaching yoga in order to share these benefits with others.
Katrina has completed levels 1, 2 and 3 trainings through Yogafit. Longing to find a training that emphasized the spiritual as well as physical benefits of yoga, Katrina switched to a local 200-hour teacher training in hatha yoga within the broader tradition of Raja yoga. Katrina feels that it is the benefits of physical movement combined with inner awareness leading to inner stillness that both attract and attach people to yoga.
Certified through YogaEd, she currently works for Yoga in Schools to improve focus, concentration, creativity, responsible behavior and academic achievement of public school children. When Katrina is not teaching, she enjoys creating jewelry, taking long walks and spending time with her husband and four children.
Leslie Wright, Educator
lesliederosa@yahoo.com
When Leslie Wright first began to practice yoga, she experienced such a rapid and profound improvement in her own well-being that she soon realized she wanted to pursue yoga in a formal way; and she knew early on that she wanted to pass this knowledge along to others.
Wrangling with the demands of an anatomy and physiology course, Leslie was amazed to discover that the human body is every bit as intriguing as the human mind and that yoga provides a vehicle for exploring both. Now, she fills her lessons with intense inquiry of anatomical structures and functions, tempering, however, hard science with imaginative and metaphor and play. Her students will hear the names and locations of all four quadriceps muscles; but then Leslie might personify them all, describing their interactions are like those found among squabbling members of a typical P.T.O. Or she might suggest that we should approach the stretching of hip flexors as gingerly as we would approach a lost and frightened dog that we have found cowering under a shrub. Leslie believes that just as yoga can unite body and mind, yoga class can unite serious inquiry with serious fun.
Leslie has completed Yoga Fit trainings 1-4, YogaFit Seniors, YogaFit Kids and Anatomy. She is a certified Yoga Ed teacher for grades K-8 and 9-12. She has also completed specialized training for teaching yoga for MS. Contributing her sense of play, Leslie is currently part of a lively team of instructors who are bringing yoga three days a week to a public school in Pittsburgh.
Cathie Sunderman, Educator
kdsunderman@netzero.com
Cathie Sunderman enjoys kids! She has two of her own. After the birth of her last child, she began working with children in various children’s programs in the east end of Pittsburgh. Then, in 2005, Cathie discovered yoga in a real and deep way: a reconnection with the enjoyment of movement and playfulness!
A new passion was born within her: Kids and Yoga! She believes it is such a natural connection to guide children through moving their bodies to bring confidence and strength, giving them fun ways of breathing to calm and focus, and adding stories and music to encourage imagination. She now holds certifications in Yoga Ed’s K-8 training and YogaFit levels 1-3.
When she is not in the public library looking for children’s books and music for inspiration, Cathie is deepening her knowledge of yoga, or practicing it with her two cats, all the while discovering new veggie recipes with her two kids and husband, Kevin.
Heidi Zellie, Administrative Assistant
natarajayoga@gmail.com
Heidi Zellie, RYT, had her first experience with yoga during undergrad in 1999. After studying on her own for the next 4 years, she decided to deepen her knowledge and practice by completing a 250-hour RYA certification based in the Iyengar tradition from Lighten Up! yoga studio in Asheville, NC. Since then, she has taught Iyengar and Vinyasa Flow classes in Highlands, NC, Lafayette, IN, Pittsburgh, PA, and even incorporated yoga into her 9th grade anatomy/physiology classes which she taught at The Academy for Technology and the Classics in Santa Fe, NM. She is certified in Yoga Ed’s High School Teacher Training, Yoga Ed’s Tools for Teachers, Lotus Palm’s Thai Yoga Massage, and currently studies Anusara Yoga through various trained teachers.
Heidi finds absolute joy in playing yoga with kids of all ages! Yoga keeps her balanced and energized as she works to make the world more sustainable, healthier and spirited. Practicing and living this ancient art form also makes her more aware of the people and energy around her, deepens her breath and keeps her flexible in mind and body.
Breathe Deep! Feel Light! Shine On!
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BOARD
Jay Arthur Gilmer, Esq, Board Member
Jay Gilmer is an attorney-activist who uses his extensive experience in the corporate world to help faith-based groups become more efficient in delivering critical services to the urban poor. A graduate of New York University’s School of Law and Graduate School of Public Administration, he currently serves as the Project Manager for Faith Works, a non-profit funded by Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) to assist in capacity-building to insure that their investment in churches and faith-based non-profits produce the highest impact possible.
In the corporate world, Jay was a business owner and corporate attorney. He spent three years as Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of the Diet Center Inc., an international weight-loss franchiser. Upon leaving the company, he bought and operated a franchise business of his own, selling it to become more engaged in the work of faith-based groups. In addition to his work on the board of the GOAL Project, Jay serves on many other boards including Oakland Service Ministries and Love & Care Family, an African relief organization.
Erika L. Jefferson, Board Member
Erika Jefferson has returned to her native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to earn her Masters degree in Public Policy and Management and start on research toward the completion of her doctoral dissertation at Carnegie Mellon University. Erika leveraged previous consulting experience to form Rehoboth Unlimited, an independent consulting firm providing business operations, non-profit strategic planning, program development, and government relations services in small business, non-profit and corporate environments. Most recently, she worked as a Business Process Consultant of Aeon Limited in Bermuda. Erika has developed her entrepreneurial skills and business operation process development and redesign through her years of consultancy experience. Having a balanced work and family life has been very important to Erika and she has truly loved her work as result of prioritizing this personal value.
She has been an active community volunteer for many years, which earned her the American Institute for Public Service Jefferson Award in 1997. Currently, she is a board member of Pittsburgh-based Yoga in Schools. In her leisure time, Erika enjoys traveling internationally, baking, and fostering relationships with her family, friends, and colleagues.
Leah Kalish, Board Member
An educator, yoga teacher, and national speaker / trainer for health and empowerment through yoga and creative play, Leah Kalish, MA, is the former Program Director of Yoga Ed. She co-created all Yoga Ed. curriculum, trainings and products.
She co-authored the Yoga Pretzel and Planet Decks for Barefoot Books and the Yoga Kit for Kids for Imaginazium, and is the featured instructor in Gaiam’s Yoga Fitness for Kids videos.
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Dr. Cynthia Zurchin, Board Member
Cynthia received her Doctorate degree in Education from Duquesne University and is celebrating her 29th year of teaching dance. She expands and hones her skills by attending workshops taught by experts from New York City and California. Cynthia is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced teachers in the Pittsburgh area specializing in teaching dance technique. She continues to train new dance teachers, instructing them to help all students reach their fullest potential. She is very proud that several of her dancers have gone on to perform professionally all over the world with Disney, Cruise Ships, Sesame Street, Busch Gardens and more. Cynthia is also an elementary principal for the Pittsburgh Public Schools where she helps students develop academically. Her sons John and Nick also love to dance.
Dr. Amy received her Doctor of Chiropractic degree in Los Angeles, California after completing her undergraduate degree at Pennsylvania State University. She uses her knowledge of the musculoskeletal system everyday in her chiropractic practice in Pittsburgh. Her goal with her patients is to help them find balance in their life, their bodies and their minds. Often she suggests yoga to help in that quest.
Dr. Amy found yoga as a student at PSU. She fell in love with the practice and the effects on the body in just 15 weeks! Amazing what a 2 credit course can do. She was in better shape after 15 weeks of yoga, than she was after 12 years of gymnastics!
Amy is married to Michael, an IT guy and musical genius. She has a fantastic son, Alexei. She is also an avid Penguins hockey fan, as well as a hockey mom and wife!
Garrett holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in finance, both awarded from the University of Maryland, College Park, and has spent 5 years as a risk manager, investment banker, hedge fund analyst, and adjunct accounting instructor. Garrett is proficient in strategic management, research, corporate finance, and accounting concepts, and currently employs these skills as a member of the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management’s consulting team.
More recently, Garrett fulfilled a one year commitment with the Pittsburgh Literacy AmeriCorps chapter (2007-08) while working part-time as an accounting adjunct faculty member at the Community College of Allegheny County. At present, he is a “big” of two teenagers through the Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization; a member of the Board of Directors of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater; and is working towards his Masters in Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. He is also an active runner and triathlete, and coaches a local running group.
Doug Spence, Esquire, Board Member
In his younger days, Doug Spence traveled extensively in Europe and through parts of Asia and the South Pacific. In Australia, he met Joanne, to whom he has been married happily for twenty-one years. Doug and Joanne have three wonderful children ages 13, 11, and 7.
Doug’s wife and children inspired him to take more of an interest in yoga after yoga played such an important part in healing Joanne’s injuries resulting from a traumatic car accident. Subsequently, Doug trained to become a YogaFit instructor and has taught yoga classes at FitnessYoga’s studio in Regent Square and at Alexander’s Fitness Center in Monroeville. Doug has seen and experienced many positive benefits of yoga as they affect adults and is even more excited about the benefits that school children will experience through the Yoga In Schools program.
Doug has practiced law for over twenty years, and is currently focusing his efforts on a residential and commercial property management business. He has served on several boards including those of the Garfield Jubilee Association and Perspective Theatre, as well as the Advisory Board of Hosanna House, Inc. Doug has provided pro bono services to help incorporate many local non-profit organizations. His hobbies include chess, hunting, cooking and swing dancing.
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.1112 S. Braddock Ave. Suite 201. Pittsburgh, PA 15218. 412-287-4591.