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Board of Directors
The board meets as needed, usually once a month.
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Consultants
Alison Brant: Administrative/Financial Consultant Ellie Beeler: Administrative/Program Consultant and Website Administrator |
Board Officer Bios:
Anna Sorensen
Anna Sorensen, board president, moved to the North Country in 2013 with her wife and family. An Assistant Professor of Sociology at SUNY Potsdam, Anna feels lucky to have found a wonderful community with many opportunities to be involved. She has practiced yoga on and off for over 20 years. Even in the "off" times, she knows that it is there when she is ready to return. Anna sees her participation on the Yoga Loft's Board of Directors, as a Member, Vice-President, and now President, as an off-the-mat way to stay connected to her yoga practice through service to a community-based and community-serving organization.
Sarah Oakley
Sarah Oakley, board vice-president, is owner of MamaBirth YOGA, a small business supporting families in the childbearing and parenting years since 2011. She and her family moved to the North Country in 2016, following a dream to live in a small community near the mountains and rivers. She teaches from the heart, with a reverence for the wisdom within. Her two sweet, strong and spirited daughters are the most incredible teachers of her life and have been the muse for much of her work. In addition to serving on the BOD at the Yoga Loft, she is active in the community with reproductive justice, cultivates her own daily yoga practice and tries to find time to become immersed in the natural world daily.
Word: Visionary
Word: Visionary
Erica Norton
Erica Norton, board secretary, is a native of Northern New York and current lives in Potsdam with her husband, Josh. Erica has been a student of yoga for over 10 years, and has practiced at the Yoga Loft for the majority of those years. In addition to volunteering on the Yoga Loft Board, she has also been a teacher at the Yoga Loft since the fall of 2019. Erica works at Frazer Computing in Canton. In her free time she enjoys reading and spending time outside: gardening in the summer, skiing in the winter, and walking her dogs.
Robin Gagliardi
Robin Gagliardi, board treasurer, is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice in Canton, NY. She and her husband, Dan, moved here in 2002 with their three children, Zach, Michael and Eric. Robin started experimenting with yoga as a form of stress reduction while working in foreign investment banking in NYC. Recently, she has become interested in developing a more holistic approach to healthy living which brings together physical and mental health. For Robin, Yoga is central to this effort. She is an avid participant and regularly attends classes offered through the Yoga Loft.
Kara McLuckie
Kara McLuckie, circa 2008, came to Canton by way of Astoria, New York carrying with her a blue Giant W3 road bike, a sky azure Aurora Flex fountain pen, and four 10-gallon bins of books. So far in life, Kara has collected up educations that have appointed her to teach writing at SUNY Canton, tutor for her own business, FreshEyes Consulting, and occasionally solve 7th grade math equations. On a whim, Kara joined The Yoga Loft’s Board of Directors in early 2019. The move has proven a test of her experiences as a member of the board for Deep Root Center for Self-Directed Learning. She’s thankful for that.
Jen Pfotenhauer
Jennifer Pfotenhauer is a Canadian transplant to the North Country. She and her husband live with their 2 teenage children in Canton, NY. Jen is a registered dietitian and loves that yoga fits perfectly with her focus in community health and wellness. She started practicing yoga while pregnant with her daughter 18 years ago and has continued doing yoga with her children as they have grown. Her practice now keeps her mind well and body moving as she moves into a new phase of life. Gardening, teaching, reading, and cooking also keep Jen busy. So happy to be a part of the Yoga Loft!
Word: Enthusiastic
Word: Enthusiastic
Sarah Scafidi-McGuire
Sarah Scafidi-McGuire, began teaching at the Yoga Loft in 2005. She currently teaches a variety of classes, including Vinyasa, Power Yoga, Kids Yoga classes, and she organizes the annual FREE outdoorYoga in the Park. She likes the way practicing yoga leaves her feeling completely content. She lives with her family in an off-the-grid, energy efficient home in Canton NY and spends most days with her two sons. Sarah enjoys the outdoors, especially running, going to the beach, and rock and ice climbing.
Consultants
Alison Brant
Alison Brant is the financial consultant for the Yoga Loft. She takes care of the annual budget, of paying the bills, and also does much of the shopping for supplies. She also has a great sense of design and volunteers help with many Yoga Loft publications. In addition to her consulting work, Alison is a highly qualified yoga teacher and occasionally offers yoga and ayurveda workshops at the Yoga Loft.
Ellie Beeler is the administrative/program consultant for the Yoga Loft. She is responsible scheduling classes and workshops, for the monthly newsletter, for the website, and for keeping the day-to-day operations of the studio running smoothly. In addition to her consulting duties, Ellie teaches Chair Yoga and 50+ Yoga at the Yoga Loft.