JANICE HUTTONJanice has a deep and diverse background in the health, fitness, wellness, sport and coaching industries. She has an honors Bachelor of Physical Education (McMaster U), a Master of Arts in Coaching (Western U) and a Bachelor of Education (Ottawa U) along with experience as a professor at the University Level (U of Manitoba, Western U) and the College Level (Humber and Mohawk College). She grew up as a nationally ranked swimmer and has experience coaching elite athletes and developing international sport performance programming used by coaches and athletes worldwide through her work with Twist Sport Performance. As the first certification director with canfitpro, Janice collaborated with multiple industry leaders to create 11 of Canada’s premium fitness industry certifications including the highly recognized Fitness Instructor Specialist and Personal Trainer Specialist foundational programs. She is a regular contributor to the canfitpro magazine. As a certified Life and Executive Coach, Janice is the owner of Vibrant Life Empowerment Coaching and has enjoyed many years of mentoring industry leaders in business and personal development. Working as a co-founder of the Active Recovery Management (ARM) system she had success integrating a high-performance recovery strategy for executives and leaders to develop resilience in high risk occupations. Recently, Janice joined forces with Leslee Bender and Blanche Hold of the Ageless Training Academy to co-author the innovative Essentials and Pilates Essentials programs that blend a myofascial release practice with integrated movement and an ageless mindset to support the development of resilience for individuals of all ages and abilities. As a member of Your Fitness Sisters, Janice is very excited to collaborate with these outstanding leaders and presenters to share fresh and creative new ways to develop health, wellness and fitness for all. |
MICHELLE KERRMichelle is excited to share her more than 3 decades of experience in both fitness and recreation with new and veteran Fit Pros. She has extensive knowledge in recreation programming, corporate wellness, fitness and education leadership within her roles at the City of Mississauga, City of London, Acadia University, Nova Scotia Community College and TJX Corporate wellness. She is a certified canfitpro Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, and Barre Above Master trainer. Over the years, Michelle has also completed many specialty certifications; including Indoor Cycling, Les Mills (Body Pump, Body Step, CX , Body Balance), Boxing, Step, Yoga Fit, Ageless Training Academy, and Aquafit. Throughout her fitness journey she has supervised group fitness programs, created diverse fitness formats and coached countless aspiring trainers and instructors. From training to teaching, she is passionate about enhancing the participant experience. She has presented at the national fitness conferences FOR canfitpro and ICAA, AND the provincial Recreation Ontario Educational Forum. Michelle is best known for her energy both on and off stage. Her goal is to share her expertise so that instructors and trainers can bring back innovative ideas to their participants and continue to make a difference through movement and help them understand the importance of building connection and community. |
LIBBY NORRISWith over 3 decades of experience, Libby’s scope in the fitness industry has covered wellness, education, media, and recreation. Libby graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with Bachelor Arts in Communication and Physical Education and throughout her career, has creatively combined those disciplines. For 20 years, Libby owned and operated Inspired Energy, a boutique corporate fitness and wellness company providing onsite facilities and programs at Fortune 500 companies including GE Canada, Purolator, Medtronic of Canada, TJX Canada and McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada. Much of her work focused on ergonomics, conducting workplace assessments, assisting in the evaluation of distribution centres, and designing pre-employment physical demands evaluations for organizations including Air Canada. Libby is proud to have contributed to fitness programming with several colleges. She was a program development team member at both George Brown and Humber Colleges and taught in the part time personal training program at George Brown College. Libby also co-wrote the group exercise course for the Sheridan College Fitness Certificate and Kinesiology and Health Sciences program with Ruth Parliament where they served together as part time faculty for 8 years. Starting her fitness presentation career combining fitness and boxing, Libby was a sponsored athlete by Everlast and the TKO. She then joined the Reebok University faculty as a Master Trainer and had opportunity to expand her scope of formats, presenting at conferences in Europe, Australia, and North and South America. She wrote the first boxing fitness certification in Canada and was the recipient of the canfitpro Specialty Presenter of the Year award. A sought-after expert, Libby spend 12 years as the Fitness Correspondent for CTV’s Canada AM morning show along with numerous appearances on Breakfast Television, Global News, and the Women’s Network. She has also written articles and appeared in features including the Globe & Mail, The Financial Post, MORE Magazine, and Chatelaine. Libby now serves as the Fitness Manager with the City of Mississauga overseeing fitness, therapeutic, and hospital partnerships programs across 13 community centre locations. Libby is also on the Advisory Panel for canfitpro. |
SHERRY OGASAWARASherry is a registered dietitian, the owner of SO Fit Company – Nutrition, Fitness and Lifestyle Consultants and specializes in population health and wellness promotion. She is an experienced broadcast journalist and has been regularly featured in television, radio and print media. Sherry was the creator of “To Your Health” a weekly CKPG news feature. She also co-authored the initial Can Fit Pro’s Nutrition and Wellness Specialist course manual. She is a certified Can Fit Pro Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor and holds several other specialty certifications including Yoga, Zumba, Strong Nation, Pound and Pound Unplugged. She has presented for BCRPA, Can Fit Pro and IDEA World. With over 30+ years of experience teaching, training and sharing she has connected with and impacted thousands by translating the often complex and confusing language of nutrition science into a practical mix anyone can sink their teeth into. Her dynamic approach, boundless energy and philosophy of learning through laughter contributes to the educational experience for her audiences. Her long-term vision is to live in a world where laundry folds itself, the sun never stops shining and the next generation never has to deal with the health issues the world is currently facing. When not out there trying to make a difference, Sherry can be found researching new recipes, listening to the latest true crime podcast or enjoying a lake day in mid-summer. |
BLANCHE HOLDBlanche is the Owner/Operator of Fitness Marketing Group Inc and has been involved in health and wellness since 1987 in many different capacities. She started out as a group fitness leader, facility coordinator and was instrumental in introducing customized fitness music to the Canadian marketplace. Blanche was always sourcing out cutting edge, results driven, economical and portable fitness equipment and was the Canadian distributor for all Savvier Fitness Products including the revolutionary Bender Ball ™, Gliding Discs™, and Ropeless Jump Ropes from 2008 - 2024.
Education has always been a big part of her mandate and she has provided the highest standard of training for certified health and wellness professionals and fitness enthusiasts and delivers numerous education programs across Canada. Blanche was the team leader for canfitpro Pro Trainers in Alberta and was honored to receive the 1st Can-Fit-Pro PRO Trainer of the Year award and was the 1st recipient of the Can-Fit-Pro Steve Brock Vendor of the Year Award.
Blanche has trained thousands of leaders in quality programs - the original Bender Method of Training, FITT workshop symposium Series, Barre Above®, Barre Above® With Pilates Focus, Tabata Bootcamp® and The Ageless Training Academy.
Now in semi-retirement, her passion continues and she is dedicated to developing new educational avenues that will help all health and wellness professionals become more successful. She is excited to be working with Your Fitness Sisters in this newest accredited educational series. |