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meet team pivot
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Lauren Kawa Funk
she/her/they, founder
Lauren's life blood is music + dance. She conceptualized Pivot during the pandemic when life forced us all to "pivot" in unexpected ways. Lauren and her Woodlawn besties made outdoor family dance parties a regular practice for instant smiles, connection, and stress relief. From there, Pivot was born.
Raised in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, Lauren was spoonfed MJ, Whitney, Madonna, and Janet as a babe, and came of age when hip hop was exploding. She started performing at eight, and quickly discovered that her petite Japanese stature was no barrier to her shining presence on the stage. She loves all types of dance, but is partial to hip hop and street dance.
Lauren believes that everybody is a dancer and all of us need community, so she created Pivot to grow a circle of togetherness (ensō) rooted in dance + music, acceptance + joy. A long-time yogi, Lauren is a RYT-200 certified yoga instructor.
Heather Craig she/her
booty luv® founder
Heather is the founder of Booty Luv® Fitness, a high energy, low impact class that is guaranteed to get your heart pumping and booty bumping.
She is an experienced trainer, instructor, retreat leader, and raver with a passion for helping people FEEL GREAT in their bodies and DO BETTER in the world.
In addition to being an ACE certified/ Fit4Mom prenatal/postpartum trainer, she holds certifications in yoga, Pilates, barre, Balletone®, meditation, TRX, Senior Fitness and kettlebells.
When she's not training clients or teaching, you can find her leading Booty Luv® Beach Retreats and filming CyberBooty™ OnDemand videos so people can open their hips and hearts anytime, anywhere! She's thrilled to join the Pivot Team on Tuesday evenings. Learn more about Heather at www.bootyluvfitness.com.
ashley sider she/her
operations & events
Ashley is the head of Operations and Events at Pivot. As a tween in the 90s, she grew up wanting to be SJP in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Her passion for dance started with ballet and grew to include a variety of styles, especially merengue and bachata during her time in the Dominican Republic.
As the Events Manager for the Portland Rose Festival for nearly a decade, Ashley’s an expert in creating high-energy, memorable experiences for the people of Portland.
Ashley was instantly hooked by Pivot’s killer playlists and club-like vibe. What keeps her coming back is the electric energy and the powerful sense of community that comes from dancing together. She’s thrilled to combine her operational prowess with her passion for uniting people through the pure joy of dance!
Rachel alford she/her
yoga instructor
Rachel met Pivot’s founder, Lauren, during yoga teacher training where they bonded over their love for movement. From her very first class at Pivot, Rachel knew she’d found a home - a place where dance, joy and community were at the core.
Rachel’s been dancing since childhood and practicing Yoga for 9 years. In 2023, she became an RYT 200 certified instructor. To Rachel, Yoga is so much more than something that we “do,” it is how we move through the world and how we approach each day and situation. It is breath, it is movement, it is mindset. Ultimately, it is love. Love for self and love for others. She is excited to share this light with everyone in the Pivot community!
amanda morse she/her
dance instructor
Amanda fell in love with Pivot from the very first old school hip-hop class, when she got to unleash her cabbage patch. She is over the moon excited to be teaching Mixtape Mondays- and to continue to spread the unbridled joy that is this Pivot.
Amanda has been dancing since a young age– ballet, tap, and jazz (think MC Hammer, Paula Abdul)– and in college moved on to modern and received a minor in dance. Amanda has danced with various modern, contemporary and compositional improv groups in Tucson and Portland, and stopped dancing not long after her marvelous daughter was born. But she is back dancing and loving it so much!
chris myers he/him
summer camp director
Pivot is thrilled to have Chris Myers guiding our outdoor summer camps. A well-known and beloved Soccer Shots coach, Chris is known for his fun and easy way with kids as they engage in sports and play. He has achieved legendary status with the kids for high jumping over a line of children and taking a plate of whip cream to the face when his students achieve their set goals.
"My passion for working with children started from working at the zoo and has since evolved to physical education through coaching children’s soccer! I love to watch kids have fun as they develop as leaders. Let's go summer!"
Coach Chris guides our Fun in the Sun afternoon park camp and our new Athletic Fitness and Leadership camp!