Hometown: I never know how to answer this! I moved around a bit growing up, but spent most of my young life in NE Ohio. Louisville is the first place I chose to live and the place that feels most like home.

How long have you lived in Louisville?: I lived in Louisville for 10 years before relocating to Knoxville, TN, for work.

Tell us about your family: My husband, Jonathan, and I have been together for 12 years. We have a son, Benedict (5), and a daughter, Vera (2). We also have 2 cats, but I don’t claim them as mine since they were part of the deal when I started dating my husband.

Current/Previous career: I am the Director of Advising for the College of Music at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

What did you want to be “when you grow up”? A lot of things! Most consistently was that I wanted to be a baker and own my own bakery called Yummy Tummy Treats and it was going to be attached to my house. The funny thing is, I don’t really bake!

What is the furthest you have been away from home? I spent time in Italy while I was studying abroad during college. One of the top experiences of my life!

What is your favorite thing to do? Laugh, like that way-down-deep-comes-from-your-soul laugh. Nothing beats it.

What is something about you that someone may not know? Before working in higher education, I was involved in theatre education outreach. I previously worked for Walden Theatre/Commonwealth Theatre Center.

What is your favorite local restaurant to eat at? What is your go to order? The thing that I think of most often since we’ve moved are the plantain chips and queso from Havana Rumba!

What is the best thing about living in Louisville? This is a tough one! Louisville has so much to offer from the arts & culture, the food, the weirdness! I miss so much about the city, but I always get nostalgic in the spring especially about the Cherokee Triangle Art Fair!

What is your favorite color? Blue!

What is your favorite song or artist? I’ve been a HUGE Nickel Creek fan since college. I was thrilled to see them again on tour just recently.

What TV shows are you currently watching? I just finished binging Unprisoned on Hulu (so good!) and I’ve been working my way through shows that I didn’t watch when they were on TV. Right now, that’s One Tree Hill and I’m not embarrassed about it, but it is revealing so much about my view of the world when I was a teenager and how I saw myself and others!

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us: Haha, well, for people who really know me they wouldn’t be surprised to know that I proposed to my husband. I gave him a watch made out of a bourbon barrel to commemorate the moment. But, maybe more surprisingly, my family and I are relocating back to Kentucky in August! We’ll be living in Central Kentucky and we can’t be more excited about living in the bluegrass again!

If someone had to describe you in one word, what would it be and why? Self-assured. I know myself and have a strong understanding of what I need and what I will and won’t put up with. I know what I want and I do what I need to do in order to make it happen.

How did you find FIT4MOM Louisville? I somehow found the Facebook group when I was in the fog of my postpartum months. I joined the group just for support before even knowing there were workouts for moms.

How long have you worked for FIT4MOM Louisville? I started teaching with F4M in April of this year!

How has FIT4MOM Louisville changed your life? How long do you have?! F4M Lou helped me discover who I am as a mom and it got me through the first year of motherhood. So often I felt alone and like I had no idea what I was doing. To have a place where I could express that and for someone to say, “Yeah, I remember that” or “Yep, I hated that phase, too” means more than words can express. As my son got older and through the birth of my daughter, F4M Lou helped me regain a sense of self. Being a mom is such a huge part of who I am, but I am also my own person still and the mamas with F4M Lou helped me discover who that person is too!

What was the first class that you attended and/or taught? What was the last class that you attended and/or taught? First class I attended was Stroller Strides with Jenn Malone at King Louie’s! First class I taught was virtual Boost! Last class I attended was Cardio Express with Nikkie this morning and the class I taught most recently was virtual Boost!

What classes do you currently attend and/or teach? I primarily teach Boost on Wednesday evenings. I try to keep it low impact, but I can’t always help myself! I pretty regularly attend the AM virtual classes and love the on-demand option as well.

What is your favorite workout move or class layout? What workout move or class layout makes you feel strong? For cardio, I love me some skaters and, for strength, I like to keep it simple with bicep curls and I love a mix of class formats! I feel strong when I listen to my body and modify a move to suit where I am. Pushing our minds and bodies shows incredible strength, but so does acknowledging where we are in a given moment and responding accordingly.

August questions:

• It’s back to school time - favorite school supply to purchase? Pens! All the pens in all the colors (for me not my kid!)
• What was your favorite subject in school? Always English because it was a subject that I felt confident in versus any math or any science. I also really enjoyed Psychology when I took it in high school.
• Who was your favorite teacher and why? I had an English teacher in high school who was also our Speech and Debate coach. She was a bit quirky and loud and not afraid to speak her mind. She had high standards for all of us and I feel like she really saw me for who I was.
• Best thing to have packed in your lunchbox? Fruit Roll-up, probably because it was something we almost never had!