Pilates Program Faculty
For more information on PMA-Pilates certification, please click here.
Karyn Atienza (Certified Pilates Instructor)
Karyn received her BFA in Dance from the University of Akron in Akron, OH, and also trained with the Alvin Ailey American Dance School in NYC. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education from Kent State University in Kent, OH. Karyn danced professionally with modern and ballet companies in Cleveland, OH, upstate New York and throughout the San Francisco Bay area. She has presented her own choreography professionally and has been teaching ballet and modern for 14 years. Karyn began practicing Pilates to keep herself in peak condition while dancing and just recently completed the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program.
As a serious practitioner and teacher of both Pilates and dance, Karyn’s ability to understand the body in motion, whether in performance or everyday actions, allows her to develop meticulous, creative and personalized lessons that meet the needs and goals of each of her clients. She is very excited to be teaching at ADI.
Jennifer Campbell (PMA-Pilates Certified Pilates Instructor, ADI Director of Pilates Programming, Director of Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program)
Jen has been a student of the Pilates Method for nearly 20 years and has been teaching the method since 1994. Her experience of her own strength and will were invigorated through this amazing technique despite the fact that she had been a dancer since childhood. She was drawn to teaching and empowering others to health. Jen received her certification through The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado in 1994, shortly after completing a BA in Dance from the University of Colorado. Since that time, she has taught in New York and the Washington DC area. From 1998-2001, Jen owned and directed Stronger Self Fitness, a Pilates studio in Bethesda. Stronger Self was the first Pilates studio of its kind in the area and grew to be a thriving community-oriented studio that encouraged growth and health in clients and instructors alike. In 2007, Jen completed her level 1 training in the Franklin Method, a method that informs her teaching with the use of imagery and knowledge of functional anatomy. She is also PMA-Pilates certified.
Jen encourages self-exploration and focus in her work through the Pilates Method; she views Pilates not only as a workout, but as a way to find greater inner strength, balance and energy for ones life.
Jennifer Coulter (PMA-Pilates Certified Instructor)
Jenna has been practicing Pilates since 1999 and teaching since 2001, both as an apprentice and then, a certified instructor. Jenna completed her comprehensive certification at The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado. She is also PMA-Pilates certified. Jenna has taken many workshops in teaching, assisted stretching, massage, modification for injuries, integrative movement, anatomy, and truth in movement. She also has a BA from the University of Northern Colorado in Dance Science, focusing on the mechanics behind dance and movement, as well as choreography and performance.
Jenna has worked with people of many different ages and body types, including dancers, figure skaters, other serious athletes, and those recovering from injuries. Jenna believes in the coordination of mind, body, and spirit and incorporates this into her teaching. She also believes that through Pilates, one can increase strength, flexibility, coordination and body awareness to gain an overall healthier lifestyle. With this comes the ability to fully enjoy all aspects of life.
Emily DeCoster (PMA-Pilates Certified Instructor)
Emily has been practicing Pilates for the past six years and has been teaching since 2005. She is a graduate of the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program, as well as being PMA-Pilates certified. Emily has personally experienced the benefits of Pilates, especially to get back into shape following the birth of her son and also as a key component of her triathlon training. She is able to use this personal experience to work with clients on overall conditioning, rehabilitation, and sports-related training.
In addition to working with clients at the studio, Emily has also worked with both swimming and diving teams in the Rockville area.
Erin Evans (Certified Pilates Instructor)
Erin came to the Washington DC area after receiving her undergraduate degree in Arts Administration from PA State University. She has been practicing Pilates since 2003, when she began at ADI as an administrator. In July 2007, she completed her training in the 700+ hour Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program and is excited and honored to be teaching at ADI.
Erin’s goal for each lesson she teaches is that the client leaves having learned or gained insight that can improve how they move and feel outside the Pilates studio.
Nikki Goldsborough (PMA-Pilates Certified Instructor)
Nikki was first introduced to Pilates when she began working at The American Dance Institute as an administrator. After three years of practicing Pilates, she was accepted into the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program’s first class of trainees. Upon completion of over 600 hours of training, Nikki graduated from the comprehensive program and was certified in February, 2005. She is also PMA-Pilates certified.
Nikki appreciates the personal rewards of practicing Pilates, and enjoys sharing her knowledge and love for teaching with her clients. She brings sensitivity combined with precision to her work, creating a safe and encouraging yet challenging environment to work with clients at all levels.
Irene Koegel (PMA-Pilates Certified Instructor)
Irene has been practicing the Pilates Method for over 6 years and graduated from the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program in February, 2005. Upon completion, Irene immediately joined the staff at American Dance Institute. Irene is also PMA-Pilates certified.
Irene enjoys a wide range of physical activities such as roller-blading, tennis, power walking, hiking, and yoga. Irene credits the Pilates Method for giving her the strength, flexibility and stamina to keep up with her 4 children and maintain an active life-style.
Debra O’Reagan (PMA-Pilates Certified Instructor)
A life-long athlete, Debra began Pilates in 1997 to help get back in shape after the birth of her second child. The combination of strength and agility required for Pilates intrigued her, and the efficiency of a whole body workout appealed to her. Working through a number of injuries and rehabbing them through Pilates made Debra a devoted student. After a 20 plus year career in the corporate world, she was looking to make a change and completed the Articulate Eye Teacher Training Program in 2005. Debra is also PMA-Pilates certified.
As an instructor, she brings a high energy approach to helping people meet their goals. Looking for continual growth in all facets of Pilates, she offers her clients a varied and energetic approach.
Julie Polsky (PMA- Pilates Certified Instructor)
Julie has been teaching movement, dance and exercise for over 20 years. Julie earned her undergraduate degree from American University majoring in dance and focusing her studies on kinesiology and different movement reeducation techniques. Upon graduation she danced with various local modern dance companies including Carla Perlo and the Dance Place. She has also conducted teacher-training workshops for various studios including Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires where she also served as a guest instructor. Julie discovered Pilates in 1998 and received her initial Pilates certification at that time. She loves the connection between her dance training and the Pilates method. She has been teaching Pilates in the Washington area since 2000. In 2005, she completed the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program, giving her over 600 hours of teacher training. She is also PMA-Pilates certified.
Jill Studley (Certified Pilates Instructor)
Jill has been practicing the Pilates Method since 1998. After being inspired by Jennifer Campbell, she enrolled in the Pilates Teacher Training Program at The Pilates Center in Boulder, CO and completed the program in 2000. She immediately joined the staff at Stronger Self Fitness in Bethesda. In 2001 she joined the staff at American Dance Institute where she was an instructor and an advisor to trainees in the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program. In July of 2005, Jill had a baby named Dylan, and decided to take some time off to be Dylan’s Mom. She has now eagerly rejoined the staff at ADI and is happy to be teaching the Pilates Method again.
The connection between the mind and the body is what initially made Pilates interesting to Jill, and it is that relationship that she now enjoys studying more intensely.
Barb Taylor (Certified Pilates Instructor)
Barb has been active in a wide variety of fitness pursuits including dance, aerobics, running and yoga for more than two decades. She began to practice the Pilates Method three years ago and was an instant convert; so much so that she entered the Articulate Eye Pilates Teacher Training Program in January, 2007. Barb completed her training in April of 2008.
She believes Pilates is good for the body and soul; a great way to get fit, relieve stress, relax and improve over-all health.
