Meet the BE / U Accelerator Speakers
Michelle is an expert movement teacher who finds joy in motivating others to make connections through mindful movement. Michelle holds a BFA in Dance, PMA®-CPT, 200hr Yoga certification, and trained in The Roll Model Method by Jill Miller.
With her rich background in various movement styles, Michelle created Barre Variations. A manual, method, and video library with an expanded syllabus of choreography and technique. Michelle believes that there is plenty of room at the barre, and aspires to inspire others to let their inner creative barre star shine!
Scientist, Movement Expert, Energy and Sound Healer, and Intuitive Guide, Shannon speaks the language of energy. Shannon’s passion is to teach others how to witness, embrace, and share their own powerful energy. She holds instructor certifications in Pilates (Level 1 STOTT PILATES®), Barre (barre3), and Yoga (200hr RYT through YogaWorks and Radiant Yoga Boston). Her movement classes are more than just a workout: Shannon takes you on a journey that not only strengthens and challenges the body, but also empowers the mind and uplifts the spirit. She believes that movement is an enlightening, healing force that can teach us playfulness, curiosity, self-compassion, the value of community, and resilience in the face of challenge.
As an Energy Healer, Sound Healer, and Intuitive Guide, Shannon creates compassionate space for others to step out of the challenges and frenetic pace of daily life and into welcoming sanctuary to rest, gain clarity, and find inner peace. In addition to her extensive training in movement and energy work, Shannon holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and spent over a decade performing cancer biology research in both academic and clinical research settings. With one foot in the world of science/technology and the other in holistic healing/spirituality, Shannon has the unique ability to speak the language of science while also being grounded, intuitive, empathetic, and heart-centered.
Jason has been in the health and fitness industry since 2002. As a former collegiate track athlete he saw the importance of working hard with proper alignment. With proper alignment and corrective exercise you can prevent injury and improve performance. He has taught a multitude of classes such as bootcamp style and spin, but his main interest is Pilates and Barre. As a personal trainer he brings his knowledge of the human body to all his classes. Jason has recently become a meditation teacher and Reiki Master. As a Wellbeing Coach, he teaches clients about not only fitness and nutrition, but the whole mind body connection. As an author he has written three children’s health and fitness books, “The Adventures of Frankie Fitness” , “The Adventures of Frankie Fitness, Introducing Ginger” and newest book “The Adventures of Frankie Fitness, A Family That Meditates”.
His fourth book, “The Adventures of Frankie Fitness, Franke Does Pilates” is set to release this Fall/Winter 2020
Stephanie Lyons is the President of Barre Intensity as well as a Master Trainer. Prior to her career in the fitness industry, Stephanie spent 9 years in the digital advertising space as a Project Manager and Account Director. Although her professional background started in business marketing, Stephanie is no stranger to the art of movement. Combining her years as a dance student and professional dancer, Stephanie has 20 years of dance experience and 12 years as a barre fitness instructor.
Stephanie completed her STOTT Pilates mat and reformer training, is a certified Knocked-Up Fitness prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist, ACE & AFAA group fitness certified and educated through W.I.T.S for personal training. Stephanie stays current with her fitness, movement and anatomy education through attending conferences and workshops on a regular basis.
Stephanie is the author of the Barre Intensity Comprehensive and Essentials instructor training manuals, contributor to the Barre Intensity Anatomy and Prenatal/Postnatal instructor training manuals. and regular content contributor to Barre Intensity’s video on Demand platform: Barre Now.
www.barreinstensity.com
Alexis Sweeney is the CEO and Founder of SilhouettebyAlexis.com: an online platform offering Alexis’ Signature Pilates and Cardio Barre workouts to thousands of subscribers all over the world. Alexis came from a professional dance background, began teaching at Equinox, and then decided to launch her own platform after much success within Equinox. Originally from Huntington Beach, California Alexis is excited to continue to make Silhouette accessible and fun for all abilities and levels.
Kelly Wackerman is the Creator & Co Owner of theLONDONmethod, home to the ORIGINAL Lotte Berk exercise technique. Kelly is a BASI Certified Pilates instructor who became a Master Teacher trainer in Barre after falling in love with the method. Her research led her to England to train with the only daughter of Lotte Berk, Esther Fairfax. During this training Kelly was able to heal her own body & as result found that her waist, hips, and thighs had narrowed between 1-2 inches after practicing the exercises that Esther taught her. Esther Fairfax was 81 years old at the time & the strongest, fittest women Kelly had ever met. Kelly began sharing the technique with other women & found that what Esther had taught her was like a formula, they were ALL losing at least 1-2 inches in each area of their bodies while gaining strength in their core like they had never seen before. When theLONDONmethod launched online it sold in over 14 countries & now clients all over the world are able to receive the back healing, body lengthening, hip strengthening benefits that Kelly & her team have seen hundreds of women benefit from. Kelly is extraordinarily passionate about sharing the story of the ORIGINAL technique & can be found on Podcasts such as “Climbing the Ladder in Heels”, speaking about & sharing the technique at Summits & Conferences all over the country, as well as guest teaching the ORIGINAL class at fitness studios everywhere.
Pam trained with Cloud Nine Yoga and over the last four years made a name for herself teaching in Southern California teaching Yoga On The Beach; a movement created to offer free yoga to the Long Beach community and its surrounding areas. Always open to new ways to stay in shape and have fun, a year ago she began incorporating the ORIGINAL Lotte Berk Technique into her personal workouts, and she’s been hooked on the LONDON method classes ever since. By adding just two classes to her weekly regimen, Pam noticed significant results. Her waist started to pull in more, her core became stronger, and even though the exercises were small movements, they were challenging. She loved that the technique was designed specifically for women and that the classes were full of positive energy. She was hooked. Pam saw that Kelly was quickly growing out of her original space and approached her with an idea to expand into what’s now the Bluff Park Studio.
Pamela has made it her life’s mission to help spread the word of the ORIGINAL Lotte Berk technique. She has been to England several times to learn from Lotte’s daughter, Esther Fairfax and vowed to stay true to the moves that spawned the industry we know today as Barre. Women used to fly from all over the world to learn the exercises that are still as effective today as they were way back then. A purest when it comes to the work of Lotte Berk, Pam has become an international trainer of the method and looks forward to teaching and training others for many more years to come.
Micki has always been a lover of fitness and wellness . As a pre-teen she made workout and eating plans for my friends, ran track in both high school and college and continued running competitively into the early 2000’s. Micki started practicing Pilates in preparation for her wedding in 2000 and fell in love with the principles, movement and results of Pilates. After practicing for 2 years she became certified through Power Pilates as a Mat and Mat II Pilates instructor.Micki is also certified through ACE and AFAA as a Wellness Coach and Strength Coach and Group Fitness Instructor.
In 2011, Micki started a Wellness company called MickiPhit, combining my knowledge of fitness and nutrition. She wanted to help clients set personal wellness and fitness goals and provide support and guidance to help achieve those goals. In 2018, Micki started an Online Pilates Studio; providing simplified Pilates for your home or on-the-go Pilates practice.
In 2019, she created my PilatesPHIT fitness program. PilatesPHIT is an athletic Pilates inspired workout designed for all students and athletes to help increase BALANCE, CORE STRENGTH and FLEXIBILITY.
When not teaching clients she is filming inventory for her online studio, Micki loves spending time with her husband Imari and two children Autumn and Miles.
Heather McCreight, creator of Barre Where You Are and Delaware native, moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2013 sight unseen after a decade of dancing professionally in New York City and on cruise ships. Here she not only met her amazing husband, but she also discovered her post-dance passion: Barre! She obtained her Barre Certification quickly thereafter, followed by her Group Fitness Instructor, Mind-Body Specialist and Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist certifications. Heather’s mission in starting Barre Where You Are was to create an affordable and convenient way for everyone to enjoy Barre, while empowering her clients to push past limiting beliefs, find their voice and become the best versions of themselves! She believes every workout should count with lots of shaking, sweating and smiling along the way! Heather hopes to “see” you at the barre soon!
Certified Consultant KK Hart is an expert in the health, fitness, beauty, wellness, and small business industries. By looking at the entire business needs holistically to create the foundation of each client strategy, KK helps industry owners with integrated, strategic sales and marketing along with operational, software and technology optimization. It’s about more than just buzz and hype!
The caliber of the education provided through rigorous consulting, advising and implementation support brings proven best practices to grow your boutique business in the most impactful way. KK’s 15+ years of strategic planning, execution and measurement methodology can help with channels of paid, earned, shared and owned media to help clients reach and convert more customers where they are, while utilizing tech and automation efficiency to share information, ads, content in a meaningful, compelling and targeted way.
Whether a boutique brick and mortar, indie brand, or virtual streaming business, KK coaches on strategies for revenue, retention, pricing, sales and marketing. Her passion is to help you to become as profitable and self sufficient as possible! With many options to help clients to achieve their goals, KK is known to be a game changer and secret weapon for business owners. Her clients consistently become the top earners in their industry!
As the CEO and lead consultant of a boutique sales & marketing agency specializing in the health, fitness, wellness and small business industries, KK believes it’s time to help you monetize your sweat, heart and fit… “Make your business stronger and start focusing on thriving instead of just surviving! Create a resilient business to help you effortlessly grow revenue, memberships and profit – both in person and virtually!
Snag a complimentary business analysis + plan for profitability: kkhart.com
Lisa Juliet is one of the founder’s of IBBFA’s Barre Certification and owner of StudioBFF, a boutique fitness studio specializing in in-person and virtual ballet and barre fitness classes. She is also the creator of the very first online instructor Barre training, Ballerobica™. Lisa has over 10 years of corporate business experience, including roles in site operations, training coordinator, safety officer, and strategic management for a third party, pre-clinical and clinical laboratory operating under the guidance of the CDC and FDA. She received her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from UC Santa Barbara and MBA, specializing in finance, from University of Nevada, Reno.
As a fitness professional, dancer and entrepreneur, Lisa believes that your best asset is YOU! Only YOU can create and love the business you want. Only YOU can come up with unique ideas to fill niches that are currently oversaturated with the Same Old Stuff! The key to any business is flexibility and the ability to look at your industry with fresh eyes and objectivity.
As a scientist and studio owner, Lisa will also be touching on specifics to keep you and your in-person clients safe during the current pandemic.
Vix Reitano is the solution you need to help your brand succeed. She is an expert in omnichannel marketing campaigns that convert. She is a Creator, a Director, Producer, Media Buyer and has the ability to plan large-scale campaigns quickly with the necessary pivots for uncertain times.
Reitano is the Founder and CEO of Agency 6B, a boutique Advertising Agency that provides bespoke plans for brands and businesses of all sizes.
For 15 years, Vix has worked in-house and as a consultant for some of the largest brands in the world including Cohen’s Fashion Optical, SheFinds, Masterclass, Harry Winston, Out Leadership, Fempower Beauty, Angel Energy, The United Nations, Elite World Group, ABC, NBC, Telepictures, Masterclass, LinkAKC, AOL, Time, Inc., This Old House, Christine Hassler, CKO Kickboxing, ad:tech and dozens of others across every vertical and niche.