Board
Meet the board
Barbara Tabaksblat
President
OWNER STUDIO GINGER PILATES IN AMSTERDAM
Barbara is a former singer whose career brought her to Istanbul, where she discovered Pilates as a new professional path. She is certified in both Mat and Comprehensive training with Polestar Pilates and is also a Polestar Mat Educator. In addition, she works as a somatic bodyworker, with a background encompassing movement, embodiment, and the mind–body connection.
Patricia Velasquez
Treasurer
Treasurer PPN and certified STOTT PILATES®, Barre Concept® and Pilates Fascia teacher. Mexican by origin and living in the Netherlands. In addition to her background, education and involvement, she is now associated with the PPN as treasurer.
Lorena Zevedei
Secretary
Lorena is working part time at the University of Amsterdam. She is a fully certified Pilates instructor, having completed her comprehensive program with BASI International between 2019 and 2023. Although teaching Pilates is more in the background at the moment she still values the opportunity to support individuals in their physical education journeys. She is a professional with a passion for education, personal development, and community service, always striving to make a positive impact in both her professional environment and the broader social context.
Cheryl Franks
Board member
FOUNDER OF PURE PILATES, AMSTERDAM.
Cheryl is a former professional dancer and the founder of Pure Pilates Amsterdam. She is a Power Pilates® certified instructor who worked with master trainers in NYC for 7 years before opening this studio in 2009. In addition to teaching, she runs a mentorship program in order to pass on her classical Pilates expertise to a new generation of instructors.
Monica Bhagwandin
Board member
Monica’s journey to becoming a movement professional was anything but conventional. She began her career in law, a field she gradually left behind to pursue a path dedicated to holistic health and well-being. Inspired by the intelligence and effectiveness of the Pilates method, Monica completed the Polestar Pilates Studio Comprehensive training, renowned for its rehabilitation-focused approach. She began teaching in Singapore, where she also worked as a yoga instructor. After more than a decade of living and working internationally in Shanghai and Singapore, Monica has returned to her hometown of Amsterdam, where she now teaches Pilates.
Oana Ungureanu
Board member
After her physiotherapy bachelor degree, Oana became a fully certified Pilates teacher with LifePilates school. During her internship in Pilates, she continued her physio education with a master in Physiotherapy applied in Sport Traumatology. She worked as a physiotherapist and Pilates teacher for 5 years in Romania and, after that, she took her passion to the Netherlands, where she continued her Pilates journey. Her drive comes from the desire of improving the life of people and she wants to bring Pilates at the highest standards.
Advisory Board
Jolanda Hoefnagel
Advisor
OWNER OF K'DANS, STUDIO 'IN MOVEMENT, THE HAGUE.
Jolanda is a Physical Education teacher with a background in biomechanics and anatomy. She uses the principles of the Pilates Method to teach people to move as efficiently, freely, and functionally as possible, whatever their level is. Jolanda is a mentor for the STOTT PILATES® community in The Netherlands. Jolanda is also a TOTAL BARRE Instructor Trainer, certified in Fascial Movement, Movnat® and MELT.
Amy Cox
Advisor
FOUNDER of THE MOVEMENT PRACTICE / DIRECTOR of BASI PILATES ACADEMY AMSTERDAM
Originally a dancer and choreographer, Amy began teaching Pilates in 1994 under Cori Doetzer (whose teachers were Kathy Grant and Romana Kryzanowska). Amy certified in the BASI Pilates method (2015) and completed Rael Isakowitz's mentor and master programs (2018). She runs the licensee for BASI Pilates Benelux and works as a Pilates Instructor & Structural Bodyworker.
Anna E. Mora Carrillo de Albornoz
Advisor
OWNER STUDIO ANNAMORA IN AMSTERDAM
Anna Mora, of Mexican origin, danced in several dance companies all around Europe, including "Het National Ballet" in Amsterdam. In 1998 she found her second passion, the Pilates method. Next to being fully certified by Polestar, she has been a Gyrokinesis® trainer since 2004. Her motto 'The Joy of Moving’ is her inspiration to train her students at Studio AnnaMora in Amsterdam since 2004