Fitness Instructors

Our Fitness Team

Our fitness staff is the heart of our community. More than just instructors, they are mentors, motivators, and role models who are dedicated to helping people of all ages and abilities move, grow, and feel confident in a supportive environment.

Each member of our team brings their own experience, passion, and teaching style, creating a wide range of classes and programs that meet the needs of our community. From beginners taking their first steps into fitness to experienced members working toward new goals, our instructors are here to encourage progress at every level.

Beyond the gym or studio, our staff is committed to building connections, promoting healthy habits, and creating a positive space where everyone feels welcome. They believe fitness is not just about physical strength, but also about mental well-being, teamwork, and showing up for one another.

Get to know our instructors below and learn more about the people who make our fitness community strong.

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Meet Our Instructors

 

Esther Brunette has been teaching cycling at the Y for eleven years.  She is passionate about healthy approaches to fitness and a balanced lifestyle. She enjoys many outdoor activities and time with her family. If you attend one of her classes, be prepared for silly jokes and lots of encouragement!

 

Crystal Cardenas  is passionate about building community through movement, music, and positive energy. She has been leading group fitness classes since 2009, beginning with Zumba Fitness and expanding into high-energy formats such as R.I.P.P.E.D, Insanity, and Strong Nation™. Crystal is licensed in multiple Zumba specialties, including Zumba Gold®, Sentao®, Toning, Zumba Kids, and Zumba Circuit, and was previously AFAA certified.

Crystal's classes focus on variety, empowerment, and fun, helping participants feel strong, confident, and energized—no dance experience required. Just show up, move to the beat, and let the rhythm do the rest.

 

 

Carrie Garcia is a certified group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and health coach. She began her career in fitness 11 years ago and has taught a wide variety of classes and is certified in numerous formats including yoga. She spends much of her time as a personal trainer. She specializes in working with beginners who are just starting their fitness journey. She loves helping people discover that exercise can be fun, rewarding, achievable, empowering, and life changing. Carrie is currently teaching strength training classes, stretching classes, and cycling classes. Carrie is a mother of three and is a native New Mexican who moved to Los Alamos with her husband 33 years ago. When she isn't in the gym, you can find her at a rock concert or watching her favorite NASCAR driver.

 

 

Ali Hansel is a NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness enthusiast. She is a former elementary teacher who brings her passion for education into every session, helping keep fitness fun, engaging, and approachable for her participants and clients. Ali is dedicated to helping clients find joy in movement and understand that fitness is for everyone. Her main goal is to help clients build gym confidence and develop a lifelong, positive relationship with exercise. As a mom of three young children, Ali believes exercise is essential to showing up as her best self—both in and out of the gym.  

 

Melissa Hassaoui is a highly qualified fitness professional and manual therapist with a Master’s in Mathematics from the University of Paris 7 (2009), bringing an analytical approach to training and movement. She earned her Diploma in Wellness and Fitness from the Canberra Institute of Technology in 2017, expanding her expertise in exercise science and coaching.

With years of experience as a personal trainer and group instructor, Melissa helps clients improve strength, mobility, and overall well-being. Her work at Musculoskeletal Specialists in Los Alamos has further strengthened her knowledge of anatomy, injury prevention, and integrated body function. She combines science, hands-on therapy, and a passion for fitness to deliver personalized programs for performance and long-term health.

 

Deniece Korzekwa  has been teaching fitness classes since 1985, when she began leading aerobic dance at the Los Alamos YMCA. In 1986, she was part of the first group to earn ACE certification for fitness instructors. Over the years, she has taught aerobic dance, step, and strength classes at a variety of
locations, including the Los Alamos YMCA, the Ithaca, NY YMCA, and the LANL Wellness Center. After retiring, Deniece returned to the Los Alamos YMCA to teach cycling classes and has since expanded her offerings to include TRX and SilverSneakers. In addition to fitness instruction, she is an
experienced square dance caller who teaches classes and calls dances throughout northern New Mexico. Deniece has a deep love of music. She plays upright bass and tuba in several performing groups in Los Alamos and enjoys weaving music into her exercise classes. Her goal is to make every class fun,
welcoming, and rewarding.

 

Ashley O'Malley is passionate about health and fitness and bringing people together to have fun working out! Ashley started her fitness journey in Santa Fe attending Zumba and MIXXEDFIT classes and fell in love with the idea of teaching others what she loved to do. She became certified in MIXXEDFIT, a high energy dance fitness format, in 2018 and began teaching in both Santa Fe and Los Alamos. She then fell in love with HIGH Fitness after attending a class during Sciencefest and became certified in 2020 and didn't stop there. Ashley began teaching HIGH Fitness at the Family YMCA in 2022 and has continued to add to her class offerings over the last few years (Strength & Conditioning, Core Basics). She currently holds multiple certifications under the HIGH Fitness umbrella including: LOW, TONE and YO. She also holds Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Training Certifications from ISSA.  

 

 

Jamie Radenbaugh is a Yoga Alliance RYT 200; RPYT (Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher) who has been teaching yoga to all ages since 2018 throughout New Mexico and California.  Her teaching focuses on helping students find comfort and ease in their practice, and expanding from that place of safety. She believes in the importance of releasing tension and finding joy through the practice. Jamie skillfully guides her students through an intuitive exploration of movement, helping to build comfort and confidence. Her offerings include yoga for all levels and ages, including expecting moms and even babies! 

 

Corinn Simpkins is a certified personal trainer (NCSF) in Los Alamos who helps clients build strength, mobility, and lasting healthy habits. With 20+ years of experience in group exercise and strength training, she turned to personal training in 2020 as a way to reconnect with people and make fitness accessible for all. Her credentials include specialist training in Senior Fitness (balance, mobility, strength), Adaptive Fitness for clients with special needs, Biomechanics/Corrective Exercise, and Sports Nutrition, plus certifications in group fitness, strength training, kettlebell fundamentals, TRX, and cycling. Friendly and client-focused, she tailors programs to individual goals and life stages to support sustainable, confident movement.  

 

 

Natalie Smith is passionate about teaching and dancing Zumba! She has been teaching Zumba since winter of 2010. The sense of community is one of the main reasons she loves teaching Zumba. Zumba with friends is more fun! Zumba is for everyone and everyBODY and she enjoys sharing this passion with others. Natalie has taught Zumba at many local fitnesses facilities as well as in the surrounding areas. Natalie taught Zumba at The Family YMCA from Winter 2011 to Fall 2020 and she is beyond grateful for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the YMCA community/family once again! 

 

 

Christa Tyson  is an experienced yoga instructor with over two decades of training and teaching. She began her journey in 2003 with a 200-hour Hatha Yoga certification through Yoga Yoga in Austin, TX, later advancing to a 500-hour certification in Vinyasa Flow in 2005. In 2006, she expanded her expertise with prenatal and postpartum yoga certification, and in 2007, she deepened her practice through a 15,000-mile cross-country journey studying with leading instructors across the United States. Christa has been teaching in Los Alamos since 2013.

Her teaching blends an “East meets West” philosophy, integrating her academic background in biology, psychology, anatomy, and physiology with traditional yogic practices. Known for her dynamic, vinyasa-based classes, Christa creates sessions that are at once challenging, rhythmic, and introspective. She is passionate about making yoga accessible, offering fun, inspiring classes that support students of all ages, sizes, and abilities in discovering greater connection, balance, and well-being.

 

Raj Vaidya has been a part of the fitness industry for over 35 years. He is an ACE-certified personal trainer, health coach, and group fitness instructor. Raj has taught step aerobics and other fitness classes at the Y since 1992 and begins his personal training career in 2024 following his retirement from Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is passionate about enhancing the overall fitness and well-being of the community through an integrated approach that combines awareness, knowledge, and a strong foundation in exercise science and technology.