I am excited to announce and introduce three incredible new additions to the growing Yoga Bear volunteer team!


As some of you already know, I will be moving to Boston in August to pursue a graduate degree in Management. I will still be heavily involved with Yoga Bear, but I have been on a six-month hunt for a replacement for the San Francisco Chapter Director Position. I am excited to announce that Cemile Armas will be taking over this position! Cemile a recent MBA graduate from Golden Gate University in San Francisco and has 7 years of experience in variety of business functions. Furthermore, she has been a student of yoga for the past 6 years and received her 200hr RYT teaching certificate in Ashtanga Vinyasa style from “It’s Yoga” in San Francisco in 2007. As a health and wellness conscious individual who is passionate about working for a cause and giving back to our communities, her goal as the Chapter Director for the San Francisco Chapter is to enhance our programs, reach out to as many participants as possible, and bring our community together more actively. Cemile speaks three languages; English, Turkish and French (conversational), likes the beach and has a three year old shih-tzu named “Parsley”. She is very excited and passionate about being a member of the Yoga Bear family and expects to develop great ideas, relationships and successes in the future for Yoga Bear and all its supporters.

Catherine Gordon will be spending her year between undergraduate and medical school working with Yoga Bear in San Diego. After her experience with severe illness three years ago, she developed a yoga practice and completed the Om yoga instructor certification. "As a result of my own life experience, I profoundly believe in the healing benefits of yoga on a number of different levels. I am excited to be a part of Yoga Bear and to spearhead the Healing Yoga Project in San Diego! I will be working over the next year to bring healing yoga into San Diego hospitals, working with the hospital administrations, working with the survivors, and expanding our volunteer base in San Diego."

As Nicole expands her dynasty in the South West,Sherrill Prideaux Smith has joined the team as Outreach Coordinator. After successfully completing cancer treatment, she is now pursuing yoga teacher training with specific aspirations of teaching and sharing the healing benefits of yoga with other cancer patients and survivors. In addition to her professional work in the legal field, she has also served as a crisis counselor in various cities in Arizona. Sherrill is anxious to begin working with patients, survivors, and volunteers in Arizona to develop an active Yoga Bear community.

I'd also like to give a shout-out to these incredible Chapter Directors who have been serving Yoga Bear for over a year:
-Kelly Hollis
-Tracy Klein
-Nicole Reed
-Michelle Robbins