Instructors & Bios
Shannon Willits - Program Director
My passion for fitness began when fitness and nutrition changed my life. Sick and tired of being sick and tired, I began studying and exercising – and lost 40 pounds over the course of two years. In 1993, I received my certification as a personal trainer and as a Spinning instructor and began sharing that passion with others. In 1999, I took my first Mat Pilates class and was blown away. My low back was always my weakness and after just one class, I knew that this workout was different than anything I had ever done. I began studying Pilates immediately. I received my certification from Stott Pilates in South Beach, Florida and hold Intensive and Advanced Level certifications and I'm also certified to work with injuries and special populations. I have completed the Pilates for Golf and Racquet Sports certification from Stott Pilates, which the Jim McClean School of Golf contributed and am also certified by The Pilates for Golf program, which was co-developed by master golf teacher Butch Harmon. I am certified by BOSU Balance Trainer and integrate balance training with my Pilates work. My clientele ranges from women of all ages to businessmen and professional athletes. I have a BS in Business, am a student of Ballroom Dance and the mother of two sons, Jesse and Dylan.
Susan Kimmell - Pilates Instructor
Susan Kimmell is a Stott certified pilates instructor who earned her certification in New York City. She was a pilates trainer at Every Woman Spirit in Ridgefield, Connecticut until she moved to Sarasota with her family in 2005. Susan joined Pilates Sarasota in August 2007. She trains and teaches women and men of all ages and levels. She has a Bachelor of Arts in finance from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and an MBA from Columbia University. Susan's first career was in investment banking for Solomon Brothers in New York City.
Darcie Allen - Pilates Instructor
Darcie is a Stott Pilates trained instructor. Darcie has worked in the fitness industry for over 17 years. She has received numerous certifications through AFAA, ACE, BOSU, IFTA, SCW Pilates Mat Work Fundamentals. She is also a National Certification Examiner with AFFA. Darcie has owned a personal training business, as well as taught her own instructor training course which prepared students to pass AFFA certification exams and has been a CEU provider. Darcie is a vocalist and lyricist. She has been involved in music since she was a child - it is one of her great loves, along with her husband, whom she met in college, and her three children.
Debbie Leslie - Pilates Instructor
I have been in sports all my life and really enjoy endurance
sports. Some highlights on my accomplishments
have been competing in the Ironman Triathlon World
Championship in 1999 and the Paris-Brest-Paris
1200 Kilometer event in France in 2003. I received 1st Age
Group Triathlon in 1999 and Tri-Fed South Midwest
1st Overall Duathlon in 2000. I received the 5000K Audax Parisien (cycling) Award in 2004. I have coached individuals in swimming, cycling, running, strengthening, flexibility, and biomechanics of sport through video camera for over 15 years. I have worked with athletes who have never competed in an athletic event to athletes who are World Ranked
Triathletes, Swimmers, Cyclists and Runners.
My qualifications are:
· Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from Ball State University
· Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from University of Nebraska at Omaha
· Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist American College of Sports Medicine(ACSM)
· Exercise Specialist, Health/Fitness Instructor, Advanced Personal Trainer - ACSM
· Advanced Cardiac Life Support and AED CPR Certified
· Stott Pilates Instructor
· Registered Massage Therapist with additional training in: Pain Management and Orthopedic Massage-Chronic
Pain and Common Athletic Injuries, Pregnancy Massage, Trigger Point Therapy
Steve Abbe - PGA Golf Professional and Pilates for Golf Consultant
As a Golf Professional for almost 20 years, I have taught thousands of people of all ages and abilities. My students have ranged from world class athletes coming from other sports such as tennis, soccer, hockey, and baseball to 80 year old retirees starting golf as their first sport ever. The evolution of all these players was always the same. They would get better, level off for a while and then maybe get a little better. The problem was that all seemed to hit a ceiling and could never move up from there. For years I mistakenly thought that when they hit this ceiling they had reached the pinnacle of their individual ability. It was not until I began taking Pilates that I realized that these students had not reached the top of their game, only the top of their game with their current physical ability. It was not that they didn't understand the moves I wanted them to make, it was that they could not physically do them (including the pro athletes). Once I introduced some students to Pilates, and they increased their core strength and flexibility, I found that these students could break through the ceiling and take their golf game to new levels. I was so astonished by the changes that Pilates made to players games, that I became formally trained in Pilates so that I could consult with each player's individual instructor to program their Pilates training.
Maureen S. Hirst - Pilates Instructor
Maureen is a Stott Pilates trained instructor. She is also a certified teacher in physical education, science, and gifted education in the State of Florida. She formerly instructed at CCFit Pilates Studio in Sarasota, Florida. Maureen is married, she has two sons, Ron and Don and three grandsons Ryan, Jordan and Clayton. Maureen believes that the Stott Pilates method is intelligent exercise as it is anatomically correct and provides people of all ages a lifetime of fitness and well-being.
Jolane Rutherford - Pilates Instructor
Following a very painful lower back injury my doctor instructed me to find a lower impact workout. This was a difficult transition for me as someone who trained rigorously in a gym most of my life. After researching a variety of training options, I learned about the benefits of Stott Pilates. Skeptically, I gave it a try and found the strengthening, lengthening and stability made my pain go away. And since then, I've never looked back. Stott Pilates improved my core strength, flexibility and balance. I am always amazed by the "internal intensity" of doing Stott Pilates and have learned that the more you learn about Pilates, the more you can apply the techniques. This workout is as easy or as hard as YOU make it! Now I happily advise clients who love the gym workout to consider adding Stott Pilates to their routine. Most will experience greater stability and strength with improved body awareness in their workouts. My personal success and passion for Stott Pilates propelled me to become an instructor. Prior to graduating with a bachelors degree in dental hygiene from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, I studied exercise physiology at the University of Kansas. With Stott Pilates, I've come full-circle and back to my first love - fitness!
Nicole Phillips - Pole Fitness Instructor & Pilates Instructor
Nicole is the resident Pole Diva at Pilates Sarasota, and is a certified Pole Fitness Instructor through Vertical Dance, Ltd. in the UK. Her love of pole fitness was born during a trip to an Exotic Dance Club in Tampa for a friend's bachelorette party. She purchased a pole for her home the very next day and was on her way to an exciting new discovery. After poling for about a month, she began to notice how much of a physically demanding exercise pole dancing was! Nicole was beginning to see the benefits of increased muscle strength, more muscle definition, weight loss, and a boost in self confidence. After finally having fun working out, the decision was made to pursue her certification in Pole Fitness in order to be able to share it with other women. Nicole not only loves to pole, but lives to pole! She finds a certain freedom and outlet for stress once she is able to just let loose with a pole in hand.
Seeing how Pilates and Pole Fitness were so compatible and interchangable, Nicole decided to pursue the Stott Pilates certification. Through the study of Stott Pilates, Nicole has improved her own pole fitness technique as well as integrating the Stott Pilates priciples for her pole fitness students, which improves their strength, stability and mobility.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Nicole was an All-Star Competitive Cheerleader for 10 years, over which time she has won many Local and National awards with her teams. Moving to Sarasota in 2000 to pursue a degree in Art and Illustration, she continues her interest in Figure Drawing in her spare time.
Richa Kelly - Project Manager
Cinde Carroll - Pilates Instructor
Cinde Carroll began her fitness career in the city of Chicago. She has extensive experience in group and individual fitness training, Stott Pilates training, post-rehabilitation, the martial arts, and sports training. She is also a featured speaker at fitness workshops and seminars. Cinde was a body-building champion in competitions in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Before she established her Sarasota business in 1997 and joined Pilates Sarasota in 2008, Cinde was Fitness Director of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat Key for ten years. Prior to that, she was a trainer at a sports rehabilation clinic as well as a health and group fitness instructor and personal trainer at Christies City Spa and Heartland Health Spa in Chicago.
Cinde trains athletes and able-bodied adults of all ages, as well as persons with various disabilities acquired from illnesses or normal activities. In all instances she designs programs to meet the specific needs of each individual. Over the years, she has formulated hundreds of fitness, corrective exercise, and post-rehab programs for her clients. Cinde is certified by STOTT Pilates, American Council of Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Academy of Health and Fitness Professionals
Nina DesLoge - Pilates Apprentice
Nina Desloge discovered the benefits of Pilates in 2001. Having been a life long fitness enthusiast and athlete, Pilates was the perfect compliment to her training for triathlons. After an over-use injury from endurance training which caused pain in her back, Nina was introduced to the Stott Pilates method and Pilates Sarasota. Within one month of doing Stott Pilates, Nina was free of the chronic pain that had plagued her for many months. Because of this amazing transformation, Nina decided to study the Stott Pilates method and is in the process of becoming fully certified as a Stott Pilates instructor.
Nina holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Fontbonne University in St. Louis Missouri. She worked as a market consultant for the multi-sport industry and prior to that, built and over saw Pro-Fit Apparel, a specialty boutique that sold cycling, triathlon and fitness clothing in Sarasota Florida.