Holly Furgason
CEO, Senior Instructor, & STOTT PILATES® Instructor Trainer
BDA in Dance, University of Michigan
MFA in Choreography and Performance, Mills College
STOTT PILATES® Instructor Trainer and Fully Certified on all Equipment Level 1 & Level 2
Certified Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist
Certified Pregnancy Fitness Specialist
Certified Postpartum Rehabilitation Specialist
Certified GYROTONIC® Level 1, Archway, and Gyrotoner
Certified TRX® Suspension Trainer®
A longtime dancer, Holly studied dance at the University of Michigan and then completed an MFA in dance at Mills College in Oakland, CA. The dance world was responsible for Holly’s first introduction to Pilates, and she became intrigued with Pilates as a system to train for dance and to prevent injuries. In 2001, Holly started studying STOTT PILATES® at Equilibrium in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 2011, Holly was thrilled to certify as one of less than fifteen STOTT PILATES® Instructor Trainer’s in the State of California. For full bio see Founder’s Story
holly@bluesparrowpilates.com
Alisa Dillon-Ogden
Senior Instructor
STOTT PILATES® Fully Certified on all Equipment Level 1 & Level 2
Injuries and Special Populations
Certified Pregnancy Fitness Specialist
Certified Postpartum Rehabilitation Specialist
Alisa first discovered Pilates while completing a 2-year Certificate in Dance program from the Alvin Ailey School in New York City. Alisa completed the full STOTT PILATES® Certification program, enhancing her training and knowledge through the study of anatomy, Pilates for rehabilitation and special populations, and Prenatal and Postpartum fitness. Alisa is currently dancing professionally with a variety of choreographers in the Bay Area.
alisa@bluesparrowpilates.com
Holly Fernandez
Instructor
STOTT PILATES® Fully Certified on all Equipment Level 1 & Level 2
BA in Dance and BA in Philosophy, University of Washington, Seattle
Certified GYROKINESIS® Level 1
Certified TRX Suspension Trainer®
Holly is a fully Certified STOTT PILATES® Instructor, has studied Gyrotonic®, Gyrokinesis®, and Orthobionomy as supplements to her dancing. In 1999, Holly earned a BA in Dance and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Washington in Seattle. Holly recently danced for Bay Area choreographers Robert Moses, Kat Galasso, and Todd Eckert and took a Pedagogy workshop with company director and teacher, Janice Garrett. To continue her STOTT PILATES® training she participated in a variety of workshops including Osteoporosis & Scoliosis, Essential BOSU, Intermediate BOSU, and Knee Stability.
hollyfernandez@bluesparrowpilates.com
Emily Jones
Instructor
Certified Instructor of STOTT PILATES® Matwork and Reformer
Emily has a STOTT PILATES® Level 1 certification for Mat and Reformer, in addition she has completed the STOTT PILATES® “Injuries and Special Populations” course. She is also a certified TRX® Suspension Trainer®. Emily has an Associates of Arts Transfer Degree from Portland Community College, which she completed on full scholarship. Emily is currently performing with multiple dance companies in San Francisco. She has found Pilates to be of great assistance to her dance training. She is happy to be constantly furthering her education of how the body functions. She is excited to be able to help clients gain strength and ease in movement, weather recovering from injury or just working toward more balance, power and flexibility in the body.
emily@bluesparrowpilates.com
Melissa Kennedy
Instructor
BA in Dance and a BA in Psychology, University of Minnesota
Certified Instructor of STOTT PILATES® Matwork and Reformer
Certified TRX Suspension Trainer®
In 2005, Melissa completed STOTT PILATES® teacher training in Reformer with Susan Scalf in Minneapolis and in 2008 became certified through STOTT PILATES® through Instructor Trainers, Kelly Dormady, Jill Winnegar, and Deborah Hunt. Melissa holds a BA in Dance and a BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, where she received the U of MN Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant 2000-2001. She danced professionally in Minneapolis with Catalyst, Insitu Dance, and Time Track Productions, and continues to dance and choreograph in the Bay Area. Melissa recently participated in workshops in Osteoporosis and Scoliosis Management, and is continuing her STOTT PILATES® training with the Chair and Barrels courses as well as training in Gyrotonic Expansion System®.
melissa@bluesparrowpilates.com
Michelle Kinny
Instructor
Certified Instructor of STOTT PILATES® Matwork and Reformer
BFA in Dance from Florida State University
Michelle is a dancer who has studied Pilates as a supplement to her dancing. Through the years, Pilates has helped her with a severe back condition, through pain management and creating balance in the body. She has a BFA in Dance from Florida State University, where she first started teaching Pilates and Yoga.
Upon graduation she moved to New York City where she studied different styles of the Pilates method. Michelle ultimately favored STOTT PILATES® because of its anatomical basis and injury-prevention component. Before relocating to San Francisco, Michelle had the opportunity to work in an orphanage in Huancayo, Peru, teaching dance and yoga. She has completed her STOTT PILATES® Matwork and Reformer Training and plans to continue her training to become fully certified. Michelle enjoys working with clients of all different ages and fitness levels, challenging them to reach their fitness goals.
michelle@bluesparrowpilates.com
Amie Price
Apprentice Instructor
Trained in STOTT PILATES® Reformer
Amie has been a fitness enthusiast throughout her life representing her school, university and even country in long distance running, netball, and swimming. She received her BSc Hons degree in Chemistry and Business at the University of Warwick UK and embarked on a career in Management Consulting in London.
Fitness continued to play a vital role in Amie’s life as she began her career in the corporate world. She spend much of her free time using her passion for fitness and her unlimited source of energy to coach her friends and colleagues to complete marathons and mountain climbing challenges. During her training for the London marathon in 2009, Amie was introduced to Pilates by her physical therapist to treat a hip injury. The experience completely transformed her outlook on her fitness regime and Pilates has been an integral part of it ever since.
Upon moving to San Francisco in 2011, Amie was given the opportunity to pursue one of her life long goals of obtaining STOTT PILATES® certification whilst maintaining a hand in the corporate world. She is STOTT PILATES® Reformer trained and is continuing towards her goal of being STOTT PILATES® fully certified.
Amie is dedicated to inspiring, motivating and developing realistic goals for her clients. She strives to make Pilates fun, yet challenging, for clients of all ages and fitness levels!
Amie also helps coordinate the STOTT PILATES® courses and workshops at Blue Sparrow Pilates.
education@bluesparrowpilates.com
