Meet the Team
AMY O'CONNELL
Owner & Instructor
A competitive runner, certified barre instructor, and Colorado native, Amy O’Connell has run everything from 10k’s to 100 mile races in the Rocky Mountains and the Alps. She loves pushing past her limits, but found that she was held back by overtraining injuries from a lack of cross-training. She discovered barre as a way to build strength, prevent injury and improve her running performance. After opening her own Barre Forte studios in Denver and joining the Barre Forte corporate team, Amy moved to Steamboat Springs with her family. As the new owner of Steamboat Fitness, she is excited to bring running and barre classes back to the studio, and help others achieve their personal fitness goals. She believes that with hard work, anything is possible!
Wendy Puckett
Founder & Instructor
Wendy is a certified Pilates instructor through the PhysicalMind Institute and Yoga Instructor through CorePower Yoga and has been teaching for 20 years. She is a former NCAA captain for the University of Colorado cross-country/track teams. She passionately credits Pilates for her strength and flexibility needed to enjoy a wide range of activities, especially running and marathons, including 6 Boston Marathons and a Marine Corps marathon, mt.and road biking, and skiing. She has 2 sons in college, 1 skiing for DU and the other skiing for the US Ski Team and Dartmouth. She loves working with athletes in the physical and mental arena to help them go after their goals. Her extensive understanding of the body and its mechanics will help you leave her class feeling stronger and re-inspired to go after what you want in life!
Kristin Stevenson
A fully certified instructor through the PhysicalMind Institute, she has been teaching for over 20 years with a background emphasizing rehabilitation. She is the owner of the Pilates Training Institute which certifies people nationally and internationally to teach Pilates. Her Bachelor of Science/Kinesiology degree, former job as a Univ. of Colorado athletic trainer, injury prevention educator for Italian cycling and dance teams, and six years in a physical therapy clinic brings a well-rounded knowledge to the studio to challenge and assist clients of all levels. As a former competitive ski racer she realizes the importance of a strong core. You will “enjoy” finding muscles you didn’t know you had in her classes.
Pam Pieknik
Pam is fully certified through the Pilates Training Institute and has completed TRX, Spin & Barre certifications. She grew up participating in numerous sports in Denver, CO from soccer & competitive swimming to skiing & triathlon at CU Boulder. Pam enjoys hiking, biking, camping, boating, and everything the Colorado mountains have to offer. As a passionate athlete for life, Pam is aware of the need to have a strong connection between the body and mind. She discovered Pilates while recovering from a knee injury in 2005 & fell in love with it immediately. Pam was impressed by the recognizable changes in her body during everyday life; increased flexibility, balance, and overall core strength, that she was inspired to share it with others. She will challenge you to find your own balance & core strength through creative movement patterns…and you’ll have fun doing it!
Lora Labaree
Lora is a fully certified classically trained Pilates instructor through the internationally renowned BASI (Body Arts and Science International) Pilates® Certification program founded by Master Teacher, Rael Isacowitz. Lora was first introduced to Pilates during her professional dance career, as a way to enhance her dancing and help keep her body flexible but strong. She grew up in Northern California and was involved with the Greentree Ballet Company for 14 years. She then went on to major in Dance and Education at the University of California, Irvine. After college she danced professionally for Disney in California and Japan. Lora is extremely passionate about teaching Pilates and educating people about their bodies. She always brings a smile to class and incorporates her training, experience, and years of dance to help clients find grace, coordination, flow, and core strength.
Pam Eppard
Anna Hall
Anna is a fully certified Mat Instructor through the Pilates Training Institute. She started practicing Pilates seriously in 2010 and was so inspired by the benefit, that she knew a career was in the making! The core strength, flexibility and alignment she gained from Pilates helped her biking, skiing, paddle boarding, not to mention improvements in her her overall health. Anna discovered a new found love for all the sports and activities that bring her so much joy. Her chronic back pain began to disappear and her desire to help others find a similar passion for Pilates began to blossom. With her love of exercise and her knowledge and awareness of the human body, she will challenge you and give you the confidence and tools to push yourself to the next level! She is a loving person with a great sense of humor, and she will always make you feel welcome in her class, no matter what! Hop on a paddle board or groove in a mat class and find your new strength balance and fitness with Anna.
Jess Ryan
Jess Ryan has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and it has truly changed her life both mentally and physically. She uses yoga to manage stress, stay fit and keep her mindful and focused. With a desire to share yoga with others, in 2015, she earned her 200 Hour Certification from Bhakti Barn Yoga in Millburn, NJ. Knowing that being a good teacher comes from being a good student, Jess is open to new experiences and loves to share those with her students. Her Vinyasa style classes are challenging and fun.
SARA PETERSON
Sara discovered her love for barre when she was rehabilitating from a knee surgery in 2015. She quickly became an addict for the isolated strengthening techniques. Teasing out areas of weakness and learning how to truly work muscles to fatigue helped her get back to her favorite sports, including skiing and mountain biking. Sara excitedly expanded her role on the Steamboat Fitness team as a Pilates reformer teacher after completing her intensive training in 2022. She has found a new depth to core retraining using the reformer. Sara also has a background in yoga, with completion of a 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2018. She is passionate about her work as a pelvic health physical therapist. Her goal is to create a fun, safe and effective workout for clients of all levels.
ASH KEMPTON
NARISA WILD
Narisa Wild is originally from the UK where she was a dedicated student of vinyasa yoga. In 2007, Narisa moved to NY with her family and fell in love with hot power yoga and yoga sculpt. After the arrival of her third child, she took the plunge to complete her YogaWorks 200RYT Teacher Training in 2013 in NYC and hasn’t looked back. In 2014, she moved to Colorado and was drawn to SUP yoga (water is her happy place) and Barre.
She has also completed Yoga Alliance certified Teacher Trainings in Yoga Sculpt, Hot Yoga (26 poses) and restorative yoga. She has also completed her Barre Forte training in December 2021.
Narisa focuses on health, wellness, self-improvement, and education. She believes in curiosity, the never-ending journey of learning, and the process of improving the self through helping others. Working full time in a demanding corporate job, Narisa seeks balance and rejuvenation through community practice as she explores new ways to shape and develop her mind, body, and breath.
Narisa is committed to a well rounded approach to fitness and well-being and spends a lot of her free time either honing in on her barre skills or teaching or practicing yoga. She believes in the importance of complementary exercises to support your “main sport” and knows that barre and yoga are her secrets to being able to run injury-free! She’s looking forward to working with you to help you fulfill your goals both at and away from the barre!
MORGAN COX
Born and raised in Steamboat, Morgan began her pilates journey in her teens years when she began rehabbing from hip surgeries. Little did she know that those would only be the first of many grueling injuries she faced, and Pilates would be the constant to help aid her through each of those recoveries. It wasn’t long before she fell in love with Pilates and all the incredible benefits it offered. She believes not only in the incredible physical benefits but the mental component as well, using Pilates as a way to “escape” both the stresses of day to day life, and physical pain of injuries, while strengthening her body and mind along the way.
KEZIA GRAHAM
Kezia brings her passion for functional movement, and her deep history teaching Pilates to all her clients and classes. With a full certification from PhysicalMind Institute, she has been teaching for over 20 years. A personal back injury brought Kezia to Pilates through physical therapy. After being told she would never ski or run again, and coming back stronger to all the activities she loves, Kezia has a better understanding of the power of the body to heal and what is possible with core strength. Kezia grew up horseback riding, skiing and competitively bike racing. She has over 700 hours of Yoga certification, is fully certified through PSIA teaching both Alpine and Telemark skiing, and passionately enjoys mountain biking, gravel riding, river time, camping and trail running. Teaching from a broad perspective of activities,
Kezia brings her love of movement, human alignment and anatomy to her teaching. She is passionate about guiding people to discover their strongest potential in the studio to better live doing all the activities that bring them joy.