Campus Recreation & Wellness Staff
Director of Campus Recreation & Wellness
Certifications: Mad Dogg: Certified Spinning Instructor, CPR
Andrea came to San Francisco by way of the East Coast: Western New York to be exact. She had lived in a number of places before making it cross country to San Francisco in 1999 where she fell in love with the ocean, the vibe and the biking. She has been involved in indoor spin classes for five years and recently found a passion for endurance outdoor road biking having participated in three Century (100 miles) events this past year. She holds an instructor certificate from the Mad Dogg Athletics and Spinning Program and passionately believes in the importance of wellness for both the mind and body. Her goal is to provide students with a fun and challenging workout along with some inspirational words to get them over the rough spots. She believes everyone can benefit from this cardio activity and is especially interested in helping those beginning the journey to finding a healthy lifestyle. She received her Masters from the University of South Carolina in Higher Education and is an instructor at the Academy teaching Basic Spanish for the Liberal Arts Department. She is extremely excited to be a part of the Recreation program here at Academy of Art University and extends an open invitation to everyone to check out her class.
"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can." – Robert Cushing
Campus Recreation and Wellness Coordinator
Certifications: Swimming 101, Lifeguard, CPR & First Aid Instructor
Ann was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and developed a love for the water at a young age. She took that love of aquatics and became certified in Professional Rescuer CPR/First Aid/AED, Lifeguarding, a Water Safety Instructor and a Lifeguard Instructor. In addition to teaching aquatics classes, Ann was an active member on numerous swim teams and coached age group, summer league and Masters swim teams. She was an event record holder on her high school, college, masters, and summer league teams. In her professional life, Ann earned her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from John Carroll University and her Masters in Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. Ann gained essential recreation experience from a graduate assistantship in aquatics and got the opportunity to work high level swimming & diving meets. She also assisted on large scale endurance triathlons by working for the World Triathlon Corporation; Ironman. Inspired from being surrounded by athletes, Ann has became a three time National Champion in Masters Swimming and successfully completed an Ironman triathlon.
While on campus at the Academy of Art University, Ann can often be found around the pool teaching swimming classes, lifeguarding or working with the swim club. She also enjoys teaching CPR classes and educating individuals on the importance of learning life saving skills.
Pool Staff
Pool Coordinator
Steven comes to Academy of Art University carrying a plethora of knowledge about pools and swimming. Having grown up in the East Bay, Steven was surrounded by pools at a young age and was swimming before he could walk. He began to swim competitively at the age of 9. By 13 he was playing water polo on a local club team. Spending so much time in and around pools, it was only natural for him to start lifeguarding. At the age of 15 he started lifeguarding at his neighborhood pool, where he helped manage the pool in his last year working there. He has since moved on to work at numerous pools in the East Bay and San Francisco.
He graduated San Francisco State University with a BA in Political Science and International Relations. While at SFSU he worked as a lifeguard at the campus pool. He is one of the founding members of the San Francisco State University Water Polo Club. He was elected Vice-President and President and after he graduated was asked to return to coach the team.
Currently, Steven is also working at The Olympic Club as an assistant coach for the Junior Swim Team and Junior Water Polo Team. He is currently swimming on the master’s team at The Olympic Club as well. At the Academy, he is currently teaching the Fitness Swim class and welcomes anyone who is looking to become comfortable in the water to join Fitness Swim. He also welcomes questions about swimming from basic how-to to anyone desiring a swim workout structured for their needs.
Lifeguard
Certifications: Water Safety, First Aid, Lifeguard Training and Community First Aid
Mako is a well seasoned lifeguard, who has been guarding at multiple pools since the age of 15. Raised in Vallejo, and graduated from Vallejo High School. He swam four years for his alma mater and returned the following year to assist in coaching his old team. He is looking to study Chemistry at SF state next semester in hopes of getting a BS. He has recently moved back to the bay area after living in Southern California for a few years, and is extremely excited to be working for Academy of Art University.
Recreation Class Instructors
Belly Dancing
Certifications: American Sports & Fitness Association: Group Fitness/ Bootcamp Instructor, CPR, First Aid
Andrea has been dancing Egyptian belly dance since 1995. She has had the privilege of traveling to Cairo many times to learn from some of the best instructors including Mona Said, Mahmoud Reda, Freiz Said, Nagwa Sultan, and Raqia Hassan. She has performed at many notable venues such as the De Young Museum, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, Holy Names University, the Ritz Carlton, and Ledson Winery.
Through her classes she shares her enthusiasm for Arabic dance and music with people of all levels of experience or fitness. She especially enjoys bringing out the best of each individual dancer!
Andrea's goal as a teacher is to get the student to move and have a great time while learning authentic Egyptian belly dance! Andrea directs her troupe The RakStars, and produces the monthly event Raq the House, a belly dance dinner party which features some of the best talent in the U.S.
She enjoys creating both traditional and modern Egyptian choreographies which reflect her diverse knowledge of belly dance as well as her passion for other dance forms.
Yoga For Beginners
Certifications: ITT Pilates: Integrated Mat, CPR
Karen yoga practice started in the 1990, when she moved to California from Italy. Over the years she has been lucky and met some great teachers, mostly of the Iyengar tradition. She is still practicing with them, as learning never ends. Besides studying and teaching yoga, Karen has taught Pilates and loves to study other movement disciplines like Feldenkrais and when she has the time Gyrotonic. Karen is very exited to teach yoga at the Academy and she hopes that through her classes the students will learn the fundamentals of body alignment.
Zumba
Certifications: Zumba Fitness: Basic Steps, Level 1, Stott Pilates: Work Shop- Advanced Mat, CPR/AED
Angela, a San Francisco native, began her career in Exercise Science through her experience in and love for dance. Angela’s talent for leading and instructing was quickly recognized and she became the lead choreographer for many dance groups all the way through her college years at USF.
A professional personal trainer since 2000, Angela has been certified by the ACSM and holds a degree in Exercise and Sports Science with an emphasis in Occupational Therapy from the University of San Francisco. Her motto is to “teach people how to make realistic and healthy changes to their life by creating fitness goals that incorporate fun activities, positive motivation and overcoming mental hurdles.” She believes that leading a healthy life can begin at any age or fitness level and has taught members of the senior community as well as helped individuals in rehabilitation through physical therapy.
In addition to personal training, Angela has taught Zumba, Stott Pilates Mat, Hip Hop and Reebok Core Board classes at 24 Hour Fitness, Extreme Fitness, Body Mechanix and Academy of Art University. Her infectious enthusiasm and smile creates a fun and lively environment making a challenging workout fun.
As a jack of all trades, Angela has worked in many different industries, from Hotel Management, Bartending, Catering and Event Planning to Hospital Administration. She loves to travel and still seeks more fun and adventure experiencing different cultures from around the globe.
She is excited to bring her love and knowledgeof dance and fitness to Academy of Art University!
Power Yoga
Certifications: 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program for R.Y.T, Yoga Fit: Teacher Training Program Level 1, 2, 3, 4, PreNatal, Seniors, Anatomy and Alignment, NSCA Certification: Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, CPR/AED, First Aid
Chantelle Ferguson has been physically active since she was a child. She has been lifting weights, running, and walking for more than 20 years and practicing yoga and martial arts for more than 15 years.
She is a Registered Yoga Teacher and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She also has a black belt in Aikido and advanced training in Krav Maga.
In 2001 she moved to Colombia where she was as an assistant Krav Maga instructor at the university where she also taught English. She currently teaches a modern style of yoga designed specifically for creative professionals.
Aikido
Certifications: United States Aikido Federation: AAU Aikidokai, CPR/AED
Philippe Gendrault is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in San Francisco. He studied Judo as a child growing up in Cannes, France. After he moved from Paris to San Francisco via Atlanta, his interest in Japanese martial arts led him to study Aikido. Philippe has been studying for over 16 years, following the late M. Kanai Shihan (Cambridge, MA) and Y. Yamada Shihan (New York, NY) who awarded him all his black belt rankings. Presently, he holds a fourth degree black belt (Yondan, Fukushidoin) and continues taking seminars throughout North America with Y. Yamada Shihan, C. Berthiaume Shihan (Montreal, Canada) and other instructors of the United States Aikido Federation.
Philippe, both through his professional as well as Aikido experiences has reached the conclusion that this martial art will benefit anybody who wishes to take on the remarkable challenge Aikido offers.
Dance Series: Ballet, Pilates
Certifications: Certified ITT Pilates Mat Trainer, CPR in progress
An alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Julia currently dances with Alyce Finwall Dance Theater, Project Thrust, and Dandelion Dancetheater. During her 20 years of ballet training, she studied with many teachers of diverse backgrounds and pedagogies, including those of the Royal Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, and the Vagonova School, as well as ballet from a modern dancer’s perspective. Also an ITT certified Pilates instructor, Julia believes that the benefits physical activity are as rich and varied as the methodologies. Through her teaching, Julia seeks to convey to students how the physical and intellectual study of technique can better inform and strengthen the body and mind—leaving the individual with more options for movement, thought, and expression.
Julia grew up in New Mexico, where she trained with Moving People Dance Theatre, the Santa Fe Dance Foundation (School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet), and Dance Arts Los Alamos. While earning her BA in Mass Communications at the University of Utah, Julia also studied with the Ballet Department and Department of Modern Dance. Always a component of her dance training, Pilates became especially important to her as a tool to rehab from a major knee injury she received shortly after moving to San Francisco in 2006. Julia partially credits the Pilates methodologies to her ability to sustain a professional dancing career ever since, and is eager to spread the benefits of physical training to her students.
Hatha Flow Yoga
Jacqueline Moore is a native California artist, who thrives with paintbrush in hand, the road under her feet, and breath inside her lungs. Jacqueline teaches Hatha based Yoga incorporating pranayama, bandhas, and traditional Hindu philosophy into dynamic power sequences. Starting with the flow of prana, the breath, into the physical body, Jacqueline focuses her classes on the alignment of our physical bodies to our energetic bodies in order to achieve a higher vibrational unity with the rhythms of the cosmos. Her journey as a Yoga Instructor is to heal, open, and awaken the true essence of the individual. Jacqueline heals through art and yoga from a psychosomatic standpoint. She has also been a distance runner for the past 8 years and a road cyclist in the last 4. Jacqueline is registered with the National Yoga Alliance with her RYT-200 from San Francisco's very own Yoga Tree.
Running & Conditioning
Anne Ricketts has been teaching at Academy of Art since January 2007. She teaches full- time in the ESL department, but has also been involved in athletics at AAU since 2008. She was the distance coach for the AAU Intercollegiate men's and women's cross country and track teams from 2008-2010. After that, she transitioned to help the recreation department start the first ever Running Club. Though still in the beginning stages, the Running Club is growing and has participated in the Bay to Breakers, the SF Marathon 5k and the Bridge to Bridge race. Anne has been running competitively since the age of 10, and was a scholarship distance runner for UC Davis. She enjoys working with both competitive athletes, as well as recreational runners who have never run before.
Flow Yoga
Certifications: Lotus College of Yoga: 200 Hour Lotus Yoga School Teacher Training Program, Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training Program, CPR/AED
Taniya Sen has been practicing yoga for 10 years and is so thrilled to be sharing what she loves at Academy of Art University. After receiving her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Taniya worked as an actress in film, TV and theater in New York City. It was there that she discovered her yoga practice which became a great supplement to the active and sometimes stressful lifestyle of a working actor.
Taniya moved to San Francisco last year and along with teaching yoga all over the city, she also teaches English as a Second Language in schools in San Francisco. She is constantly amazed at the healing and inspiring aspects of yoga that continue to allow her to express herself creatively as an artist and live life as truthfully as she can.
She teaches a Vinyasa class that links movement with breathe and encourages students to try new things, have fun and take care of themselves.
Dance Series: Modern Dance, CandleKnight Yoga, Power Yoga, RejuveKnight Yoga, Stretch & Strength Yoga
Certifications: 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification, RYT, CPR
Leila loves that yoga is an empowering physical, mental, and spiritual practice, that helps students tap into their intuition and personal flow. Cultivating body and breath awareness, the stillness that lies in the body, and the transformational properties of the practice, are her chief interests when it comes to teaching yoga.
Leila encourages her students to move internally and focus on their breath so that they may find a deeper connection to their body, which will result in a deeper connection to their life outside the yoga room. She emphasizes that although it’s a very simple concept, most of us forget that before we live anywhere else, we live in our bodies first! She is committed to sharing her love, joy, and passion for the practice with her students of all levels.
Leila has her 200 hour certification in accordance with Yoga Alliance from Yoga to the People, a donation based Power Vinyasa studio she discovered while living in the East Village, NYC. She is currently working towards her 500 hours certification with Rusty Wells and has her Adult CPR Certification through the Red Cross.
Leila also has BA degrees in Spanish and History, extensive dance training in Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Modern, & Rhythm Tap, and 300 hours of theater training from American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She loves to travel and has lived in Los Angeles, New York City, Belfast, and Madrid.
For more, please visit: yogaleila.com
Facebook: Leila Swenson Yoga
Capoeira
Johnatan holds a A.A. in Graphic Design from City College of San Francisco and he is currently working on his BFA in Web Design New Media at the Academy of Art University.
Johnatan has a passion for Capoeira and, as a result, he's been actively training the past 12 years. Before discovering Capoeira in 2000, Johnatan spent two years training Tae-kwon-do. In addition, he has other experiences with movement and art including: competitive soccer for five years, folk dance, and music. This varied background fuels his passion for Capoeira.
Upon finding Capoeira, Johnatan trained in Colombia with Coroinha, Professor Tabatinga, Mestre Macaco-Aranha. His 4 years of Jiu-Jitsu training was under the direction of Contra-Mestre Furaçao. After moving to the United States, Johnatan trained with different Capoeria groups before finding Mestre Urubu-Malandro.
Johnatan has travelled to numerous Capoeira events and Batizados in the United States, learning from many of the great masters from Brasil as well as those residing in the U.S.
Johnatan has worked with children and adults, teaching gymnastics, tumbling, and Capoeira. He intends to expand Capoeira to the community and assist Mestre Urubu-Malandro in teaching for Capoeira Ijexa and spreading the art of Capoeira while raising awareness to many people and communities.
