Meet our leaders
We are home to expert trainers with many years of experience. Each trainer is an independent contractor who curates their schedule, pricing and philosophy all while creating a harmonious studio. We are a collective that shares space, information, inspiration and the gratitude for what we do.
Elizabeth Donahue
Owner, Co-Founder and Certified Trainer
Liz is an original owner of The Corner Studio, (est. 2004), and has been living in SF and training clients for over 20 years. Her vision of creating a welcoming, relaxed space for clients AND trainers has been seen and experienced by many over the years. TCS is proud to house expert trainers driven by mastery level work and a commitment to inspire their clients towards health and wellbeing.
As a certified trainer in The Gyrotonic Method® and Pilates, Liz masterfully designs workout programs for a wide range of clientele and executes sessions with care, energy and professionalism. Her passion for people and movement are continuously seen in her sessions and in her clients of 15 years. She is an educator of movement & works to connect clients deeply to their bodies. She has completed master level workshops and movement exploration courses making her an expert in her field.
JESSICA ADAMS
Certified Pilates Instructor; Certified in Yamuna Body Rolling
Certified GYROTONIC® Instructor including Archway equipment
Jessica is fascinated by the functionality and mechanics of the human body. From this inspired place, she devotes her practice to educating people about their own bodies and how to live healthfully and functionally. She imbues her teaching style with her own experiences as a professional modern dancer and yoga practitioner. Certified in pilates in 2000 through Madeline Black, she trained primarily with Carrie Field, Mercy Sidbury, Elizabeth Larkham, and Jean Sullivan. She earned her GYROTONIC® certification in 2002 at White Cloud West under the tutelage of Debra Rose, Elizabeth Dawson, Tamara Yoneda, and Mike Luque. Jessica loves seeing GYROTONIC® help clients surpass their perceived movement range. She is also certified in Yamuna Body Rolling, a muscle releasing massage technique using small balls. Jessica is the founder of Enchanted Ridge Dance Retreat, which focuses on bringing dance artists in touch with nature. To learn more about Jessica or to contact her directly for training, visit www.healthybodyclearmind.com
FRANCES W. WHITE
Certified Pilates & Rehab Specialist
Somatic Experience Trainer
Frances, a former professional dancer in the Bay Area, is a certified Pilates instructor. Knowledgeable and gentle, she specializes in injury rehabilitation with an emphasis on pelvic/spinal support and gait pattern. She has worked successfully with clients suffering a variety of injuries and surgeries, including knee and hip replacement, arthroscopic knee surgery, cervical and lumbar bulging discs, TOS, pre- and postpartum conditioning, and nerve degeneration. Frances also comes highly skilled in Swedish, Deep Tissue/Sports and Cranial-Sacral massage, and in 2004 became a Trainer of Somatic Experiencing.
FRAN SHOLLY
Certified Pilates and GYROTONIC® Instructor, LMT
Fran embarked on her 30-year exploration of fitness and movement therapies seeking to ease the musculoskeletal pain and imbalances in her own body resulting from scoliosis. And as an actress and singer she wished to cultivate a strong, supple, and balanced body. Fran specializes in treating musculoskeletal issues, such as scoliosis, and is skilled at restoring optimal balance in musculature and minimizing patterns of compensation. She can tailor and modify exercises for those recovering from accidents, injuries, and surgeries. A fascination with movement has led her to delve deeply into many movements systems, including Iyengar Yoga, Feldendrais, Alexander Technique, and Trager Bodywork, and she draws upon these in her practice. At the heart of Fran’s teaching is a profound respect and appreciation for the intelligence and resilience of the human body. She views her work with each client as a unique, exciting, and collaborative process of discovery. Fran currently holds certifications in Pilates, GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM®, and Hendrickson Method of Orthopedic Massage and Manual Therapy.
RAVI MACHADO
Certified Pilates Instructor; NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Ravi became interested in personal training when he moved to the Bay Area from Brazil. Coming from his fitness background, his approach is to combine functional training with the Pilates practice. Ravi experienced how Pilates helped improve his own conditioning to surf better and prevent injuries. He finds that Pilates’s precise movements requires a lot of mental focus while being physically challenging just like in any sport, yet is gentle on the body. Ravi’s passion is teaching mind-body awareness through movement and believes Pilates is a practice that can help anyone, whether they hold a desk job or a professional athlete. He has been a certified Personal Trainer since 2008, a certified Balance Body Pilates trainer and teaches group classes and individual clients. He has also taught kettlebell, TRX, indoor cycling, weight training and sport performance training. He is a NASM certified specialist in corrective exercise, performance enhancement, and fitness nutrition.
CHRISTINE GERMAIN- (ONLINE AND PART TIME ONLY)
Certified Personal Trainer MFA, ACSM; Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner; Certified in FMS, TRX, Pilates, Yoga
Christine Germain is a movement specialist who wants to share with the world the therapies that have helped her recover from injury and improve her fitness.To improve her clients’ quality of motion, she observes carefully and analyzes. She is persistently learning new approaches and methods in order to help clients perform better, recover, and achieve their wellness goals. All her life, Christine has been an active mover: figure skating, synchronized swimming, gymnastics, circus arts, martial arts, and various dance styles from around the world. She received her BFA (Concordia University, Montreal) and MFA (UC Davis) in Dance and Choreography using somatic education as part of the curriculum. In 2007, she became a personal trainer certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. Christine is now a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner since beginning her training in Feldenkrais in 2003. Other certifications include: Yoga, by the Sivananda Vedanta Center; Pilates, through Balance Body University; TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise), from Fitness Anywhere; and FMS (Functional Movement Screen), by Functional Movement Systems.
ABBY CRAIN
Certified Pilates Instructor
Abby Crain has been teaching Pilates since 1999 in the Bay Area, New York City and Austin Texas. She was certified by Master teacher Madeline Black. She continued her studies with Mercy Sidbury of St. Frances Dance Medicine in San Francisco, who helped her recover from a back injury, and Carrie Field (now of Taos, New Mexico) who taught her the fundamentals of the technique and how to teach. In New York, Abby was fortunate enough to be whipped into shape after her first child by first generation teacher Kathy Grant, at New York University.
She has also studied Body Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Prenatal Yoga with Mia Borgatta, Pilates for Pregnancy with Debbie Goodman, Axis Syllabus with Kira Kirsch, and anatomy with Irene Dowd. Abby has studied extensively with Stephanie Skura in Seattle Washington and was certified to teach Open Source Forms, an imaginative mind body practice.
Interested in becoming a Corner Studio Trainer? Get in touch.