Staff List
Richie Roche
With some background in related arts, it was in the late 1990’s that Richie was first exposed to qigong and started a journey pursuing both qigong and tai chi that continues to this day. After studying with several different teachers, it was around 2001 that he had the great good fortune to encounter Master William Ting and become his student, which he remained until his passing in December of 2023. Ritchie was honored to be selected by Master Ting as one of a small group of students that he chose to train as teachers and spent many years in his teacher's class, becoming one of the people that he featured on his website as certified to teach his style of wujijinggong tai chi and qigong.
Ritchie's teaching career started around the time he first met Master Tin.
Ritchie's teaching career started around the time he first met Master Tin.
For 20 years he was the head of the qigong and tai chi program at Deerfield Spa, as well as teaching some classes at other local locations throughout the area including ESU and lecturing and teaching at the library and at PEEC. His favorite place to teach has been at The Yoga House in Stroudsburg, and after some health challenges, he is just delighted to return there to teach in 2024.
Peace and blessings.
Dina Kallinteris
Dina Kallinteris, 200 CYT, first found yoga in 2003 in the basement of an old art shop on South Street in Philadelphia. What began as curiosity quickly became a lifelong practice—one that helped her navigate, heal, and grow through the changing seasons of life.
As a licensed psychotherapist, Dina witnessed the profound impact yoga can have on emotional health and mental well-being. This led her to pursue a specialized certification in Yoga Therapy, where she learned to weave therapeutic principles into movement and breath.
Alongside teaching yoga, Dina runs a private psychotherapy practice devoted to holistic mental health and healing. In both settings, she holds space for compassion, curiosity, and connection—inviting others to slow down, listen inward, and rediscover their innate capacity to heal.
Mary Ellen Valenti
Mary Ellen began her Yoga practice as a way to restore balance to her body and mind after vigorous exercise and sports. It became clear how yoga was beneficial in this process. Her yoga journey continued as a personal practice, until her fitness and personal training clients asked her if she would teach them yoga.
Mary Ellen’s initial certification was through Yogafit (YogaFit is the largest yoga school in North America. Best known for our safe and inclusive approach). She then went on to obtain her 250 hours certification from Boundless Yoga Studio.
Her favorite type of class is any yoga class! Mary Ellen is certified as a Personal Trainer and has worked throughout the Tristate area. When you attend her class you are welcome no matter what your level. She will always encourage students to have fun, while keeping your health and well being at the top of your priorities.
Andrea Loguidice
Andrea D. Loguidice JD, LLM, 500 RYT
Andrea's journey to becoming a yoga teacher is a testament to the transformative power of this ancient practice. Seeking holistic treatment for mental illness, she discovered yoga—a practice that would become her refuge. Andrea’s mind, body, and spirit found harmony on the mat, and the light of joy illuminated her path to become a yoga teacher. After deepening her understanding through over 500 hours of classroom training, she now serves our community by offering yoga classes which promote self-discovery, soul exploration, healing, and connection. Beyond her role as a yoga teacher, Andrea is a hiking guide on The Appalachian Trail, a small business consultant and a volunteer Ombudsman. When she’s not bringing the community together, you can find her playing in the great outdoors with her black labs.
Rita Martin
Rita’s lifelong love for fitness led her to the yoga practice in 2010. After practicing more regularly and being intrigued by the ancient practices of yoga and mediation, she earned her 200 RYT from Boundless Yoga School in 2023. Even though it was the physical practice that drew her in, it’s the feeling of inner peace that draws her back to the mat daily and encourages her to share the joy of yoga with others.
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” - The Bhagavad Gita
Lauren Pilgermayer
Lauren Pilgermayer discovered her passion for power vinyasa yoga in 2013 and began her training in 2015. Since then, she has led both power vinyasa classes as well as guided meditations and has also led and facilitated multiple teacher trainings in Philadelphia. She loves the power of connecting and the joy that can be re-discovered on the mat wherever you are in your practice.
Tracy Gross
Tracy Gross, ERYT 500, YACEP.
Tracy has been teaching yoga since 2015 when she completed her 200-hour training at Asheville Yoga Center in North Carolina. She then completed specialized certifications in Restorative Yoga (2017), Yin Yoga and Chair Yoga (2018), and a 300-hour advanced training in 2019. Since then, she’s logged enough teaching hours to hold both ERYT 500 and YACEP credentials through Yoga Alliance.
Tracy continues to study yoga philosophy with her teacher, Michael Johnson, and has recently started learning to read and write Sanskrit. Although she loves a heated flow class, her favorite practices, both to teach and to do herself, are the quieter ones: restorative, yin, and meditation. Her classes have a lighthearted, welcoming feel, often woven with philosophy, storytelling, and reflection.
Though she has traveled the world and settled in many places over the years, Tracy is happiest back home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where she was born. When she’s not teaching or on the mat, you’ll find her hiking, mountain biking, paddle boarding, or silversmithing in her home art studio creating beautiful jewelry.
Sierra Lopez
Hello! My name is Sierra Lopez, and I’m a Poconos native with a deep passion for wellness and community. Having lived in the Poconos my entire life, I feel a strong connection to this area and the people in it. After graduating from Bloomsburg University, I’ve focused on blending my love for movement with my creative interests. I hold a 250-hour Classical Yoga Certification received in 2018 with YogaLife Institute.
You can usually find me staying active with Yoga, Spin, and Zumba which are my go-to's for staying energized and balanced. When I’m not in the studio, I’m likely leaning into my creative side through reading and writing poetry.
You can usually find me staying active with Yoga, Spin, and Zumba which are my go-to's for staying energized and balanced. When I’m not in the studio, I’m likely leaning into my creative side through reading and writing poetry.
To me, life is all about the perfect balance of high-energy movement and quiet, meaningful moments spent with my friends, family, and my beloved fur babies.
I am dedicated to making every member feel welcome and empowered. I look forward to meeting you in class!
Emily Smith
Hello, my name is Emily, and I've been teaching yoga since 2011, when I lived, worked, and practiced at the Himalayan Institute for four years. Since then, I've been teaching and working to share yoga teaching and training online (Yogaversity.com). As a teacher, I have a passion for the simple, immediate, and transformative powers of yoga, breathwork, and meditation. My classes are accessible to all levels, focusing on building strength and mobility and cultivating a sense of joy and calm.
Cynthia Miller
Cynthia Miller aka Wildflower Joy, desires for every woman to come home to their most alive, true Self. She has devoted her life to honing skills as a holistic practitioner for over 30 years to aid women in navigating life’s challenges and as a freedom and joy wayshower, she loves working with women guiding them to rewire their subconscious to neutralize painful memories, dissolve limiting beliefs and blocks so they can create a life they love and flourish. As a Priestess of Sacred Sound, she supports women to unlock their voice and express their soul’s truth. She loves creating transformational spaces for women to come together in sisterhood. Having been to Avalon three years in a row and experiencing Her deep magic Cynthia feels called to bring other women to this sacred land so they too can immerse themselves in the Divine Feminine and experience their unlimited potential.
Nikoleta Kallinteris began her yogic journey in 2006 through the practice of Ashtanga Yoga — a doorway that opened her to the deeper wisdom of yoga and its timeless teachings. Since 2010, she has shared this path with others, inviting students to cultivate body awareness, mindful reflection, and self-embodiment. Her offerings arise from a lived understanding of yoga, nurtured through the depth of her own practice.
Driven by a deep curiosity for life’s quiet mysteries, Nikol independently continues her study of sound therapy, physical vitality, spiritual discernment, and the enduring wisdom of contemplative traditions, such as the philosophy of Yoga, Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, and more.
Formal Training: 500 E-RYT Certification in Hatha Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers (ASFYT 1–3), Essential Yoga Anatomy (Glo), YogaRenew Anatomy & Physiology; Third Degree Usui Reiki Attuned; Received the Tao through ceremony by Holy Master Hsu (2018).
Nikol has studied with many esteemed teachers, including Jennifer Allen, Chris Loebsack, Swamini Ramananda, Glenda Dawson, Manju Jois, Paulie Zink; Doug Swensen, Tao Porchon, Jason Ray Brown, Seane Corn; Kino MacGregor, Jason Crandell, Paul B. Roache, MD, and Joe Miller.
Additional Studies: B.A. in Communications/Psychology, A.A. in Fashion Design, Certified Graphic Designer, Certified Beauty & Special Effects Cosmetic Artist.
“If you are a pattern for the world, there will be nothing you can’t do.” — Lao Tzu