Kathleen Riley

Eleven years ago,  I had just had twin daughters and had made the decision to leave my job in enrollment management at a college to be an at home mother to my girls. Having been active my whole life as a ballet dancer and athlete, I was counting down the days until I was cleared to return to my exercise program. In November 2001, Jody Hoegstedt, creator of the Balletone Program presented a Master Class at the Health Club I belonged to as a member. It seemed as though she created it with me in mind. After the class, I asked her about becoming an instructor and enrolled in an upcoming workshop. As the company grew, she needed Master Trainers to help with Instructor Trainings. Jody was a great instructor and mentor. I spent time with her first shadowing her at workshops then co-presenting and eventually I was off on my own. In order to be able to give CECs from ACE and AFAA, I had to be a certified professional with each of those associations, so I did. As the company continued to grow, Jody asked me to present at the Boston Mania conference and at the TSI Summit. It was a great learning experience. In 2008 the brand was sold to Sunshine Fitness in Colorado and the structure for Instructor workshops required that the presenter do both the instruction as well as marketing and registration. With this new format, it didn't fit into the time I had available so I opted to continue teaching, but not presenting.

In the meantime I realized that I liked teaching fitness classes and members at my health club liked taking my classes. I continued to take my favorite classes as a student including mat Pilates. The instructor at the club (who also owned a Pilates Studio) encouraged me to get a  Pilates Mat certification.When I did, she hired me to teach at her studio subbing her classes when she was away. I eventually began teaching Balletone there and Yoga (after I did the YogaFit training). Eventually, she sold her studio to the owner of my health club and continues as an instructor at the club (she is my second reference)

Always enjoying to add to my "bag of trick" I have completed instructor trainings with willPower&Grace, TRX, and will complete Zumba on 6/3. I still take classes as often as I can because I believe it makes me a better instructor to be a student now and then. I started a children's fitness class called MoveIt!! when my daughters began Kindergarten in 2006 and taught it for two years then passed it along to a colleague when they aged out of it. I have coached my girls' soccer teams since they were in first grade (now in fifth). I also enjoy biking, downhill skiing and am currently training for the Boston Athletic Association's 10K. As you can see, I like to keep moving

Outside of the fitness world I am an active volunteer with the GIrl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (as a leader) and a member of the Junior League of Boston, most recently serving on the Nutrition and Wellness of Girls Task Force. I love to travel and will be visiting Montreal and Valencia this year.