Meet YWCA’s Certified Fitness Instructors

Every fitness instructor at Charlotte’s YWCA is certified in CPR, First Aid and AED (using an external defibrillator) as well as the specific certifications required for their specialty. (A list of organizations referred to in the credentials of each instructor are at the bottom of the page for your easy reference.) 

Latrisha Barr

Certifications: IFTA Aqua Certification, AFFA Group Fitness Certification

Latrisha has been a part of the fitness community for 10 years. She loves group fitness and helping people reach their fitness goals while having a good time doing it. – Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. 

Mary Casey

Certifications: RYT 200

Mary Casey is a longstanding, devoted member of the YWCA, where she loves to swim laps. She is also a committed yoga practitioner. Mary is excited to guide you in an engaging yoga practice where she intends to impart her learnings on yoga philosophy, postures, breathing, and mindfulness.

Emily Ciccarella

Certifications: Les Mills BODYPUMP and BODYCOMBAT

Emily moved to Charlotte from Buffalo, NY in 2019 and is a proud Bills fan these last few years. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in National Parks, playing sports, going to sporting events, and finding new things to do around Charlotte. 

Brian Coffey

Certifications: Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor, Red Cross WSI Instructor

Brian has been working in the Aquatics Industry since 1992. He has been teaching swim lessons and/or coaching since 1995 and has been the Orange Crush Head Swim Coach since 2016. He also teaches CPR, First Aid, Lifeguard Training and Water Safety Instructor Training.

Sarah Cousar

Certifications: 200 RYT – Yoga One Charlotte
Level 1 – Optimal State Yoga Therapist

Sarah is a dedicated yoga instructor with a passion for guiding students on their journey to wellness. With 5 years of experience, she brings a blend of traditional yoga teachings and modern fitness principles to each class. She believes in the transformative power of yoga to not only enhance physical strength and flexibility but also to cultivate mental clarity and inner peace. Join Sarah on the mat at the YWCA and discover the profound benefits of yoga for your body, mind, and spirit.

Bryan Crouse

Certifications: NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Bryan has been a certified personal trainer and metabolic specialist for over 5 years.

His major focuses are core strengthening, balance, flexibility and range of motion to help prevent/limit pain. He is a certified metabolic technician and incorporate specific cardiovascular zone training with heart rate monitors. As a met tech, he strives to help maximize cardiovascular health and fat burning for any fitness level. Overall, he likes to help people push themselves past their “perceived” limits and improve mentally and physically…inside out!

Rose Epps

Certifications: IFTA  Interactive Fitness Trainer of America Water and Group Fitness, Yoga Alliance 200 hrs and 500 hrs, Laugha Yoga

Rose began her fitness journey 1999 with AFAA certification and started teaching at the Harris YMCA. She began teaching with Step, Strength, and Cardio.  As years passed, she got involved in yoga and pilates eventually getting her 500 hour certification in yoga. No matter what discipline you choose it’s all about getting up and moving!

Kay Fuller

Certifications: Physical Mind Institute of New York; Kripalu Yoga, (Cecchetti Council of America ballet instructor)

Kay began teaching Pilates in 1999 before moving to Kansas City where she was the Pilates trainer for the K.C. Ballet Company. Returning to Charlotte, she now enjoys sharing her broad knowledge of mindful movement specializing in correcting and avoiding movement disfunction.

Sam Gardner

Certifications: Red Cross Lifeguarding, AED/CPR/First Aid, YWCA Orange Method Swim Lesson Instructor

Sam has been working for YWCA since 2021 and teaching swim lessons since 2023. He wears many hats here at YWCA and can be found working as a Swim Instructor, Lifeguard, Childcare Representative, and Front Desk Specialist.  Sam specializes in beginner Swim Lessons and loves to teach those valuable water safety skills to children.

Giulia "GG" Grasso

Certifications: NASM Certified Personal Trainer, ATRI Aquatic Therapy and Rehab, Swimming Instructor, CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and First Aid, BLSD training, NSCA Sports Performance

Giulia, also known by many as just GG, has been a competitive swimmer for almost 2 decades; being a recent college graduate and a former collegiate athlete, she likes to share her passion for the water. When she is not teaching swim lessons and water aerobics or holding hydrotherapy sessions, she is a full-time rehab therapist and a functional movement trainer. She always loves getting involved in the aquatic environment! She’s especially passionate in involving children as a first approach with water, so that they can overcome fears and feel water as a familiar element.

Lindsey Lesh

Certifications: Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor, Red Cross WSI Instructor
 
Lindsay has been teaching swim lessons and coaching since 2006. She swam competitively throughout high school and college. She has had the pleasure to learn from some of the country’s elite coaches and swimmers, thus gaining a more in-depth understanding of the sport and its mechanics. Lindsay loves the water and enjoys helping swimmers of all ages and abilities reach their goals in the pool. She has been with YWCA since January 2019. 

Elizabeth Jones

Certifications: RYT 500

A 500-hour certified yoga teacher and an integrative health coach, Elizabeth holds a deep belief that mindful movement can be a tool for healing and growth in all areas of life. By integrating mindfulness, breath work and movement, Elizabeth hopes to create a welcoming space for students of all levels to cultivate balance, strength, and self-awareness while discovering the beautiful mind-body connection. She aims to foster in her classes the sense of community and support she herself has found at the YWCA over the many years of being a member. 

Valencia Nicholson

Certifications: ACE Group Exercise certification, Zumba Certification, Schwinn Cycling Certification

Valencia likes to teach it all. She has taught and still teaches a wide variety of classes, from HIIT, Boxing, Cardio Thai Box, Upper and Lower Body focused workouts using weights and bodyweight, Zumba and Cycling.
Valencia has ambitions to be a healthier person while helping others to be a healthier them!

Yael Powell

Certifications:  Certified yoga instructor, Certified spin instructor, and a certified Les Mills Body Pump instructor 

Yael uses her diverse background with various fitness modalities to help her practitioners and clients achieve their individual goals. In her opinion, physical movement is balm for the soul and the source of living well. She is always excited about finding creative and engaging exercises to help people feel healthy.

Christine Quigley

Certifications: ASFA – Group Ex and Boot Camp Certification
Les Mills – BODYPUMP Certification

Christine joined YWCA in 2020 and began teaching Group Fitness classes in 2022. She
teaches HIIT and Les Mills BODYPUMP. She prefers HIIT, BODYPUMP, Circuit and Pilates classes to build core and overall strength. She retired from her full time consulting engineering
career in 2023.

Kacy Rhyne

Certifications: Spin, Les Mills CORE

Kacy fell in love with group fitness classes quickly after she moved to Chicago in 2016. She was a collegiate swimmer and had always been passionate about everything related to sports and fitness! In 2018, Kacy began her instructor journey and has loved every minute of it. She’s seen the power that community has in reaching health and fitness goals, and having fun along the way! Kacy has taught many formats including Studio Cycle, HIIT, Les Mills CORE and Les Mills BODYPUMP, in addition to coaching swim practices and lessons.

Amber Skinner

Certifications: Les Mills BODYPUMP and Group Exercise

Amber has been teaching group fitness classes since 2021, but she has been taking them since her first class in 2015. As a former team athlete, she loves the value of working out in groups, particularly in choreographed settings. Amber’s experience lies in music-focused classes such as Dance Fitness and Les Mills BodyPump.

Hank Talmadge

YWCA’s Fitness Manager

Hank has had a passion for fitness over the last 10 years and serves as the Fitness Coordinator at the YWCA. HIs background is mainly in strength training and yoga, but believes any activity that gets you engaged and active is healthy! Hank especially loves water training for all of the wonderful benefits it provides. 

Hampton Thrower

Certifications: RYT 500; Kripalu Yoga

Hampton, a 500-hour Professional Kripalu Yoga Teacher, guides students with a detailed and fluid approach that has emerged from his own search for healing. He began teaching classes in 1997. Dedicated to supporting students with special needs, he became Yoga of the Heart certified.

Shelley Warren

Certifications: AEA Aquatic Fitness Professional Certification

Shelley’s number one passion is the water, and she combines that passion with her love of instructing each week at YWCA’s heated indoor pool. She has taught both shallow and deep water aerobics at YWCA since the 1990s.

Emily Woods

Certifications: Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor

Emily has been a certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor for 5 years. She started in college, where she developed a love for functional strength, group exercise, and indoor cycle. 
 
With an emphasis on “form first,” she makes her strength/HIIT classes as functional as possible to prepare people for everyday movements, and foster not just full-body strength, but mobility. In her cycle classes, she focuses on using music to elevate the experience and loves to bring the energy! 

Karen Dunn

Certifications: RYT 500 

Karen loves to help her students connect with their mind, body and heart. Through the practice of yoga, she feels you can nourish your body with breath and movement. The biggest gratitude for her is watching the difference students feel when they complete a practice and experience a greater sense of awareness in themselves.

The table below lists the organization represented by the initials found in the certification citations:

ACE American Council on Exercise Certification
ACSM American College of Sports Medicine Certification
AEA Aquatic Exercise Association
AFFA Aerobic and Fitness Association of America
AFWWE Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease
ASFA American Sports and Fitness Association
CPO Certified Pool/Spa Operator by National Swimming Pool Foundation
E-RYT Yoga Alliance Certification: Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher
IFTA Interactive Fitness Trainers of America Certification
NASM National Academy of Sports Medicine Certification
RYT 200 Yoga Alliance Certification: Registered Yoga Teacher with 200 hrs of training
RYT 500 Yoga Alliance Certification: Registered Yoga Teacher with 500 hrs of training
USAT USA Triathlon Certification
WSI Red Cross Water Safety Instruction Certification
YMCA Partnered with American Council on Exercise to create YMCA Foundation Certification Courses