Instructor Trainers

In 2014, Holly combined her career as a professional dancer with teaching Pilates when she became a Merrithew^® Instructor Trainer in STOTT PILATES^®. In addition to teaching private and group classes at Pacific NW Pilates, she currently performs with the contemporary ballet company ‘push/FOLD’ in Portland, Oregon. She’s also the company’s managing director! To this day she continues to use Pilates as a form of cross training for her dance career. Holly also specializes in training athletes and dancers, and enjoys guiding older adults and clients with special needs to use effective and efficient movement in all areas of life.

Prior to her certification, Holly danced professionally with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BodyVox, Éowyn Emerald and Dancers, and skinner|kirk DANCE ENSEMBLE—performing internationally in Japan, South Korea, Germany and India. Along with her pre-physical therapy studies, Holly graduated in 2010 from the University of Utah with a BFA in Ballet, with an emphasis in performance and teaching.

Karyn stumbled upon STOTT PILATES^® after suffering a serious knee injury that caused her a lot of pain. Being amazed by the therapeutic benefits the STOTT PILATES method offered, she decided to learn more and subsequently became a STOTT PILATES Certified Instructor in 2015 and is now a Merrithew^® Instructor Trainer.

After making the decision to leave her corporate career to further pursue a career in Pilates, she focused her attention towards post-rehabilitation. In 2017 she earned her specialist designation in STOTT PILATES Post-Rehabilitation Conditioning and a year later she became a Fully Certified STOTT PILATES Instructor. Karyn has also studied Release Technique and CranioSacral Therapy and hopes to help clients find their inner balance to facilitate better movement and enjoy a pain-free life.

As a modern dance major, Hanna has studied the movements of the body since childhood.

After years of examining and scrutinizing her own body, she realized how unsound movements and poor posture could negatively affect one’s life. She started Pilates to rediscover her body's balance, eventually progressing to become a STOTT PILATES^® Certified Instructor.

She has endeavored to inform and educate others about the needs and benefits of Pilates, which culminated in her becoming a Merrithew^® Instructor Trainer.

Currently, as an instructor at PILATES THE FIT in Seoul, South Korea, Hanna not only guides clients to lead healthier lives through Pilates, but she also serves as an Instructor Trainer, teaching many students about the STOTT PILATES method. She looks forward to continuing to share her passion and enthusiasm for Pilates with many more clients and students to come.

Merrithew^® Lead Instructor Trainer Ineke Rush Madsen began her training in Pilates at the age of 12 in New York City with Carola Trier, a colleague and student of Joseph Pilates, with whom she trained extensively. She simultaneously trained at the Dance Theatre of Harlem School where the syllabus was influenced by Kathy Grant.

After a 10-year career as a professional ballet and modern dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Ballethnic Dance Company and Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, Ineke pursued STOTT PILATES^® Certification with Merrithew. She is fully certified to work with all levels, as well as those with post-rehab injuries and other special conditions. She has been an Instructor Trainer since 2004, and was designated Lead Instructor Trainer in 2016. She has taught STOTT PILATES Certification courses and workshops throughout the Bay Area, Northern California, and in Reno, Nevada.

Ineke is a Certified Personal Trainer with the American Council on Exercise and is licensed by the State Medical Board of Ohio in Massage Therapy. She is a Total Barre^® and Halo^® Training Instructor Trainer for Merrithew. She is also a certified yoga instructor (200 RYT).

In 2006 Ineke opened Mindful Movement Collective in Newark, California, a movement and wellness center which became a Merrithew Licensed Training Center in 2008. She opened a second location in Pleasant Hill, California, in 2017. She teaches at both locations and is also on faculty at Ohlone College in Fremont and Newark, California, in both the Athletics and Theatre and Dance Departments.

Originally from Russia, Irina started her ballet training in early childhood. She discovered Pilates while rehabilitating after a knee injury and since then has used Pilates as a part of her training regime. Pilates helped her prolong her dancing career and avoid injury.

Retiring from dance in 2012, Irina obtained her STOTT PILATES^® Certification, and in 2016 she became an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES. Currently Irina teaches in Tokyo, Japan.

Irma earned her Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine in 2001. While studying for her MFA in 1998, she took her first Pilates certification. In 2002 she earned full certification in STOTT PILATES^®. Irma is now an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES. Her passion for correcting form and healing the body motivated her to add her certifications in Active Isolated Stretching in 2010 and in 2011 she became certified in TRX^® Suspension Training. Irma is also a certified instructor for GYROKINESIS^® and GYROTONIC^®.

Ishbel started practicing yoga with her mom when she was five years old and has practiced and studied yoga ever since. After a serious back injury, Ishbel began studying Pilates as a means of stabilizing her spine. She fell in love with the way Pilates transformed her body and has been teaching yoga and Pilates for the past 10 years. Ishbel is the owner of Nomad Yoga & Pilates, LLC, a business that brings yoga and Pilates classes to people in their homes and offices. She is an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES^® and has also earned a variety of Yoga certifications. Ishbel works extensively with individuals who are recovering from injuries, and loves watching the progression from instability and pain to stability and ease-of-movement and easily relates to the relief that Pilates brings to people’s lives!

Jaada has been professionally committed to fitness for over 20 years. Her passion for health allows her to encourage people to attain a better quality of life. Excited to be part of IPTC, she is a Fully Certified STOTT PILATES^® Instructor and an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES Matwork & Reformer, Cadillac, Chair & Barrels and CORE^™. Discovering Pilates has been fulfilling and she loves sharing this amazing fitness approach with others. Jaada loves the Utah summers, enjoys hiking, boating and sitting by the pool, while actively pursuing many other avenues of fitness. Whether it is traditional step aerobics or kickboxing, core training to Zumba, Spinning^® or yoga, she continually strives to educates herself and teach others.

Jackie has always been involved in sports, fitness and physical health, which led her to a Physical Therapy degree from Université de Montréal in 1993 and she continues to add post-graduate courses to help improve her practice. In 2005, she tried a STOTT PILATES^® Mat course and saw the potential of incorporating it for her patients to help restore function and ability. She started using her anatomy background along with her new skills in Pilates and saw great results with everyone - from rehabilitation patients to group and private clients. An active teacher in Pilates for over nine years, she earned her Full STOTT PILATES Instructor Certification in 2012, and became a Lead Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES. Jackie specializes in acute and chronic general orthopedic conditions, sports medicine, post-surgery rehabilitation, breast cancer and postural dysfunction in kids and teenagers. Jackie is fluent in both French and English.

Despite dedicating over 12 years to competitive dancing and volleyball, Jacqui discovered her true passion when she stepped into her first Pilates class. Captivated by the deep-strengthening, functional workout, she became a passionate advocate for Pilates — an exercise that left her feeling challenged, energized and grounded, both physically and mentally.

After graduating from Regis University with a degree in Public Relations & Marketing and beginning a career as a Marketing Director, Jacqui left it all behind when she realized it was time for her to share her passion for Pilates with others. She became a STOTT PILATES^® Certified Instructor in April 2019 and founded her studio, REFORM Pilates & Barre, in June of the same year. She went on to obtain her STOTT PILATES Full Certification in April 2021 and STOTT PILATES Matwork and Reformer Instructor Trainer in March 2023.

With a passion for form and attention to detail, Jacqui tailors each workout to meet her client’s needs and challenges them to build endurance and strength. She is dedicated to enhancing the well-being of everyone who walks through the door.