Kristen Leadem

Kristen is a passionate, experienced, and reliable fitness professional with an entrepreneurial spirit and keen ability to engage, motivate and encourage diverse student populations.  She does this by creating impactful classes in safe, fun, inclusive environments to promote wellness, achieve personal goals and increase confidence. 

Kristen fell in love with ZUMBA® Fitness the moment she attended her first class in 2009. Inspired by how this fun dance fitness workout done to Latin and international rhythms is a fast, effective way to burn calories, increase endorphins and enhance mood, she thought it would be the perfect thing to help cope with the stress of working in Afghanistan, the grief of her father’s terminal illness and to combat her lifelong weight ‘issues’. The mind*body*spirit connection that Kristen experiences and encourages while engaging in Zumba® is the foundation of her approach to wellness.

Kristen officially launched her Zumba® career when she brought Zumba to Pokhara, Nepal in 2010. Since then, she has enjoyed teaching several classes per week to diverse populations while working internationally and upon returning to make Portland her home in 2014. 

Kristen is AFFA

Kristen strives to make every class fun, inclusive and a challenge for all fitness levels so that you look forward to coming and leave motivated, inspired, and fueled to thrive in your dynamic life. Kristen helps people who shy away from gyms or group fitness class and “can’t dance” to find their rhythm, inner strength and get a great work out.  Kristen also offers high energy, intensity for fitness fanatics alike. Her favorite phrase is, “Go at your own body’s fitness level and with how you are feeling today. Modify! Intensify! Do YOU”.

Kristen is AFAA certified and licensed to teach Zumba® specialty formats including: Toning, Gold, Gold Toning, Aqua, Sentao, and Kids + Kids Jr.  She's also trained to teach SPRK(R) Beat Driven Strength Training, Bootybarre and enjoys developing curriculum for active older adults.