Annie Shaffer

Annie’s passion for health and fitness began in her teenage years. Before she was even old enough to drive, she walked to her local YMCA to work out nearly every day. Now, with more than 15 years of experience in the fitness and wellness industry, she is an avid runner who has completed several half-marathons. Annie currently serves as the Wellness Director at Sunnyside, where she designs and leads land and aquatic fitness programs, as well as broader wellness initiatives, for over 550 residents and 350 employees.

She loves teaching both land and aqua classes to participants of all ages and is frequently praised for her enthusiasm and her talent for making exercise genuinely fun. Annie strives to make every class creative, dynamic, safe, and effective—her love for multitasking shines through in her workouts! Trained in Yoga and Zumba, she often weaves these styles into her sessions, and she especially enjoys leading aqua, sculpting, and hi/lo classes.

Annie’s “synergistic” approach ensures participants get maximum benefit by safely engaging multiple muscle groups at once. Her strong educational background in health and fitness ensures her instruction is research-based and aligned with industry standards. With her sincere passion for wellness and extensive professional expertise, Annie is truly a top-tier group fitness instructor.

Annie graduated from Florida Atlantic University with B.S. in Exercise Science and Wellness Education in 1995.  Soon after graduating, she began working as a Health Educator for Augusta Medical Center where she remained for almost 3 years.  During this time, she completed course work required to become a Licensed Registered Nurse.  For two years she worked as a nurse for the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton, Virginia.

In September, 2000 Annie joined the Sunnyside Retirement Community team as the Director of Wellness.   In addition, to being a registered nurse, Annie is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine and Aquatic Exercise Association.  She is also a Certified Aging Services Professional through the University of North Texas and has earned a Gerontology Certification through James Madison University.

As Wellness Director she oversees and teaches all land and aquatic based fitness programming which is designed to improve individual functional ability, balance, agility and overall fitness.  Annie also oversees the coordination of a wide variety of other Wellness programming including guest speakers, fitness testing, health fairs, massage therapy, and wellness related outings and challenges. Her goal is to offer safe and beneficial opportunities that improve quality of life by strengthening the mind, body and spirit.

Under Annie’s exceptional leadership, the Sunnyside Wellness Center has won awards at state, national and international levels.  Sunnyside has won several awards: 2006, 2009, 2015, and 2017 International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Industry Innovators Award, 2009 Commonwealth of Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging Best Practices Award and 2010 NuStep Pinnacle Award Senior Living Division. These accolades have been earned due Annie's leadership in creating a Wellness culture on its campus. Annie has also led her Wellness Team to winning 2019, 2021, 2025 ICAA NuStep Pinnacle Awards. Annie as named as a Top 5 Wellness Director in North America ICAA and NuStep Pinnacle Award winner in 2004 and 2025 .

Annie lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia with her husband, Greg, and two daughters, Rennie and Claire.  She also enjoys traveling and has visited countries including New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, Italy and Spain.