Qualifications: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA: M.Ed Sport Psychology, Human Movement; B.S.Human Movement, Exercise Science. NETA, AAAI and IDEA certified.

Personal History: Exercise helped me transform myself from a depressed, 300+ pound woman to a confident, successful fitness professional. Over 20 years ago I began to work out as a means to lose weight. I had been taking classes and one day the instructor did not show up and the class elected me the leader. I had no idea about what I was doing but I knew the routine by heart. I was scared to death, but in the end, I was hooked. I love it now more than ever. The industry is so exciting these days. With all of the different kinds of workouts available, anyone can find something that will change their life.

Workout Philosophy: I tell my clients: "Fitness comes in many sizes. Move, breathe and transform your life". I also think that working out should be safe, very fun and motivating, as it is important to make people realize that results happen over time, not in days. It is a journey.

Success Story: Twelve years ago, Lisa from Philadelphia, weighed 270lbs. and was squeezing into a size 24. She felt disgusted and hopeless. She joined the local woman's gym with a friend and began to take my ShapelyGirl classes. After one month, she lost 7lbs and became motivated to lose more. She continued to take my classes and incorporated other classes as well. Soon, the weight began falling off. She began to realize that while she may never be a size 6 or 8, she could like herself at a size 14. I became her personal trainer and soon, she was down to a size 12, losing about 100 lbs.--it was very exciting. She was able to keep this weight off for about 5 years. Then, when she suddenly lost her sister, she began to fall back into unhealthy habits and gained 50lbs. After about a year of this weight gain, she began to slowly incorporate exercise again and was able to lose 15lbs, but still struggled with emotional eating so once again turned to me for help. Through nutrition counseling, personal training and inspiring strategies to deal with the emotional eating, I lost another 15lbs.—now she is only 20lbs away from her goal. Deb tells me that what she likes most about my program is the fact that I can understand the struggles of overweight women and she appreciates my sincere efforts in motivating people to become healthy. Helping her realize that she can have power over her eating and exercise is a huge factor in feeling good about herself. A positive spirit plays an important part in keeping motivated. Most importantly, she learned that she can feel good, confident and sexy at a size 14.