Sharon Wentz, Lead Trainer

E-RYT 500

Sharon discovered her love of yoga from her parents’ basement in the apple orchards of Washington as a teen. A competitive tennis player at the time, she was drawn to its challenging yet tranquil nature, and has had a regular practice ever since. In addition to her love of yoga and meditation, Sharon’s studies in neuropsychology, medical anthropology and anatomy, inspire her to teach from a holistic lens. Sharon graduated from Chicago’s Eight Limbs Yoga Center in 2004 (200 hrs), and The Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2006 (500 hrs). She has been teaching yoga at Bloom since 2005, and co-created Bloom’s Yoga Teacher Training with Kerry Maiorca in 2010. A Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher, Sharon’s style gathers intelligence from many schools of yoga and is non-dogmatic, accessible, and delightfully challenging.

Jessie Novak, Lead Trainer and Anatomy & Physiology Instructor - E-RYT 200, RPYT

Jessie Novak received her teaching certification from Bloom Yoga Studio in 2013 and 2014 respectively after performing, teaching dance and Pilates, choreographing, and practicing yoga in Chicago since 2002. While rehabilitating several common and not-so-common dancers' injuries, Jessie discovered the benefits of integrating yoga and Pilates into an overall strength and conditioning program. After retiring from the professional dance world, she obtained Pilates certification in 2009 from the Pilates Method Alliance. She loves observing the human body in motion from an analytical and postural perspective. She continues to seek out teachers and opportunities to further her knowledge of anatomy, bio-mechanics, and healthy, functional movement for people of all ages. Whether working with groups or individuals, Jessie is a passionate, engaged teacher, applying a holistic and functional approach, while using creative imagery with a love for anatomy and physiology. She believes movement, music, and breath benefit every body, every age, in every stage.

Kerry Maiorca, Lead Trainer

E-RYT 500, RPYT, Advanced Relax & Renew Trainer

Kerry founded Bloom back in 2004 to make yoga more welcoming and accessible to all. She co-created Bloom's 200hr Teacher Training program to help dedicated students explore the beauty of yoga beyond the poses so they could learn to share the practice they love. Kerry enjoys exploring the individual nature of yoga and encourages students to make the practice their own. Her down-to-earth teaching style emphasizes healthy alignment, gentle strengthening, mindfulness, and an exploration of conscious breath and movement. Whether teaching an active or gentle practice, Kerry prioritizes time for reflection, stillness, and rest. As a recovering past- and future-thinking junkie, she loves the way consistent yoga practice teaches us to live in the now so we may enjoy all of life's richness. Kerry has been teaching since 1998 and considers it an honor to mentor and support budding instructors in their own journeys towards teaching.

Francine Kelley, Yoga for Trauma Sensitivity module Instructor - LPC, SEP, and Yoga teacher

Francine was introduced to yoga as a pre-teen growing up in Jamaica (a most unusual occurrence in the early 1980s) and has been in love with yoga ever since. She was certified to teach yoga through the Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2004, and feels blessed to have studied with many wonderful teachers since then. In addition to teaching yoga, Francine also support clients and students in recovering from trauma and having a richer experience of life through the use of yoga, Somatic Experiencing® (body-centered psychotherapy), Reconnective Healing® and the Akashic Records. Francine’s classes encourage mindful, yet relaxed, self-awareness. It is her hope that while developing flexibility, strength and body awareness, students will also find the self-acceptance, peace and well-being that yoga can help us uncover. In addition to working with students and clients, Francine also enjoys reading, blogging, butterfly gardening and spending time with her most cherished spiritual teachers - her husband and two energetic children.

DuShaun Branch Pollard, Cultural Competency, Kids' Yoga, and Social Media Marketing Instructor - RYT 200, RCYT

DuShaun has been practicing for almost 13 years and fell in love with yoga because it allowed her to find peace of mind while moving her body. As a yoga student, DuShaun noticed that in the majority of her classes she was the only black and plus sized person in the room. This inspired her to become a practitioner to bring yoga to more people who looked like her.

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DuShaun previously worked in higher education, and is currently a community organizer in North Lawndale, a community on the west side of Chicago. Because of her former and current work, DuShaun is focused on bringing yoga to historically marginalized communities, with a focus on black and brown youth, women, activists and organizers.. DuShaun is the Co-founder of a Black Brown and Breathing; an activation that happens monthly for Black and Brown women to come together, breathe, meditate and feel.

She believes people not only need rest and relaxation, but resistance; yoga is a powerful way to tap into the balance of ease and positive effort. DuShaun teaches through the lens of equity and trauma-informed, hosting classes in “non-traditional” settings all over the city. DuShaun is the founder of Sage Gawd Collective LLC, where she currently teaches classes via Zoom and also leads cultural competency workshops to Yoga students and studios.

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