MEET THE TEAM
Thoughtful teaching starts with paying attention.
Different teachers. Shared approach.
At EmJ Pilates, teaching is personal. We listen. We observe. We ask questions. And we meet each person where they are—while helping them discover where they can go.
Emily
Movement has always been a part of Emily's life.
Studio Owner & Instructor
Emily grew up in gymnastics and sports, playing varsity tennis and soccer through high school and college. Years later, after trying just about every group fitness class she could find, she discovered Pilates—and something clicked.
Pilates brought together the strength, flexibility, and movement she had always loved. But what kept her interested was something bigger: Pilates wasn’t just about what happened during an hour in the studio. It changed the way she understood and experienced movement in everyday life.
That curiosity eventually became a career. Emily began teaching Pilates in 2010 and opened EmJ Pilates in 2015. Her own education has continued ever since, including mentorship with Kerry DeVivo of Excel Pilates Annapolis and intensive teacher training with Chris Robinson of Pilates and Sports in San Diego.
Today, Emily’s teaching is grounded in a simple belief: movement is a skill. With thoughtful teaching, curiosity, practice, and attention, every body can continue learning.
She wants clients to understand what they’re doing—not simply follow directions—so they can become stronger, more aware, more confident, and more capable in their own bodies.
And yes, when she isn’t thinking about Pilates, there’s a very good chance she’s thinking about tennis.
TRAINING + EDUCATION
Balanced Body Mat Certification · DK Body Balancing Apparatus Certification · Mentorship with Kerry DeVivo · Intensive Teacher Training with Chris Robinson · PTR Level I Tennis Coaching Certification
Curiosity
creates
change
Kristen
Instructor
For Kristen, movement and education naturally belong together.
Kristen began practicing Pilates in 2020 and quickly connected with the way the method builds strength while also creating length, mobility, and awareness.
As a Registered Nurse, she already had a strong knowledge of the body. The more Pilates she learned, the more the system—and the way its lessons carry into everyday movement—made sense to her. Her love of education and movement ultimately led her from practicing Pilates to learning how to teach it.
Kristen began instructor training at EmJ Pilates with Emily in 2022. She brings the same curiosity to teaching that first drew her to the method: paying attention, continuing to learn, and helping clients make connections they can carry with them beyond the studio.
Outside EmJ, Kristen is a wife, mom of two, community volunteer, dog lover, and enthusiastic reader—especially when she can find a quiet moment with a good novel.
WHAT SHE BRINGS TO EmJ:
Curiosity, care, and a love of learning.
People
fascinate
me!
Laura
Instructor
Laura has spent a lifetime learning through movement.
Her movement background began in the performing arts and eventually led to a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her professional performance career took her from the Philadelphia Eagles to stages in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, New York City, and abroad.
But teaching introduced Laura to a different side of movement.
After becoming a Pure Barre instructor, she loved the energy of group classes but found herself increasingly interested in the individual: how different people moved, what they needed, and how teaching could help each person more effectively. That desire to work with the person in front of her ultimately led Laura to classical Pilates.
She earned her Beginner and Intermediate Mat certification in 2015 and completed a 600-hour comprehensive Power Pilates certification in 2017. She has apprenticed with Aubrey Johnson and Gina Heysek and continues to study with respected teachers throughout the Pilates community.
For Laura, Pilates offers something powerful: the opportunity to use movement thoughtfully—and to help each client discover what movement can make possible for them.
WHAT SHE BRINGS TO EmJ:
Deep movement experience and an eye for the individual.
Everybody
can
learn
Instructor
Lexi
Lexi knows EmJ from both sides of the lesson.
Her Pilates story began in 2013, when she first came to Emily as a client. Soon afterward, Lexi became pregnant and began to experience firsthand how Pilates could help her adapt to a changing body—building strength while bringing greater awareness to her posture and balance.
That awareness didn't stop with pregnancy. As Lexi continued practicing over the years, her understanding of her body—and her appreciation for the method—continued to grow.
She loved not only how Pilates made her feel physically, but what it gave her mentally. Eventually, being a student led to another kind of curiosity: she wanted to learn how to share the method with someone else. In 2022, Lexi entered the EmJ Pilates teacher-training program.
Her journey from client to instructor embodies something we believe deeply at EmJ:
Pilates is something you learn. And there is always more to learn.
Outside the studio, Lexi enjoys spending time with her husband, Tyler, their son, Dutch, and their dogs.
Always
more to
learn
WHAT SHE BRINGS TO EmJ:
A student's perspective, a teacher's curiosity, and a genuine love of Pilates.
