Meet the Instructors

Mary Kay Connerton w/ Family Style Yoga

Mary Kay Connerton is the brainchild behind A-High's Annual ReNew YOU event! She has recently entered her 12th year in education and her 11th with AACPS-9th within the Annapolis Cluster. She has been pioneering the wellness movement within AACPS since 2010 and has created the first P.E. Yoga and Mindfulness Elective at the high school level for the county and the county’s first well-defined, full scale Wellness Program at Annapolis High School, where she serves as the Wellness Coordinator. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 17 years and is a Registered Yoga Teacher through the Sivananda Vedanta Center and has specific certifications in Trauma Informed Yoga and Mindfulness. Mary Kay's work with AACPS is her proudest accomplishment, next to building a family with A-High’s Mr. Connerton and being a mom to Patrick (2 y/o), Tessa (7 mths), and pup: Hooley (7 y/o)!

Kristin Bowser w/ Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Kristin Bowser has been a teacher in AACPS for 11 years, currently she teaches Yoga and Health Education at Arundel High and Annapolis Evening High School. Kristin received her 200 Hour Yoga certification in 2019 from YogaVibez Edgewater, in addition to earning certifications in Children's Yoga and Prenatal Yoga from University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine. She teaches vinyasa and gentle classes at her local studio, Soul Society, where she developed a Children's Yoga program that is currently in its second 8-week session. When Kristin is off her mat, she enjoys being active with her family and spreading the One Love Foundation's message about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors.

Jenn Sweeney w/ Yoga for Beginners

Jenn received her 200 Hour Yoga Certification in 2018 from University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine. She has also completed a course in Mindfulness. She has been teaching Yoga at Broadneck High School for 4 years and has been a Physical Education Teacher for 24 years. She is married with three sons and loves teaching Yoga to her students, family, and friends.

Cindy Borges-Suarez with Bilingual Meditative Flow

Cindy Borges-Suarez is an AACPS teacher at Annapolis High School and bilingual (Spanish) yoga teacher. She holds two 200 RYT certifications, with focuses in trauma informed yoga, mindfulness & meditation, and a specialization with military populations. She holds a mindfulness certification with Mindful Schools, a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences, and a Master of Science in Psychology. She has been practicing yoga for well over 15 years to help her ease her own stress and anxiety. Her passion for sharing wellness with diverse populations has driven her to outreach as a volunteer with the Red Cross and other non-profits. Her academic background and personal yoga journey combined with teaching experience ranging from restorative yoga and meditation to vinyasa allows her to bring mindfulness and sustainable wellness to students from all walks of life.

Brooke Streit w/ Yoga II

Brooke Streit is a 200hr registered yoga teacher, in addition to being a part of the AACPS community as a first-grade teacher at Germantown Elementary. She has been practicing yoga for 13 years and currently works at Blue Lotus Yoga Studio in Annapolis, MD. Brooke sees yoga as a beautiful unification of the mind, body, and spirit; a practice capable of generating peace within. She brings energy and passion into her teaching and provides students space for freedom and growth. Outside of teaching yoga, Brooke loves traveling, teaching first grade, cooking, crafting, and sending time outdoors.

Kate Grove with Yoga Vibez

Kate, co-owner of YogaVibez Edgewater, has been leading fitness classes throughout Annapolis for the last eighteen years and is the owner of sunriseSUP–a Stand Up Paddleboarding business providing SUP Yoga, fitness, lessons, rentals, kid’s camps and group events since 2013. She is a 500 RYT, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga Master Trainer, and PaddleFit Level 2 Instructor certified by the World Paddle Association for Water Safety.

Sebastian Serrano w/ Nature Journaling

Sebastian Serrano is a physics teacher at Annapolis High School who has incorporated mindfulness practices into science class. As a co-advisor of the Environmental Action Club, he looks for ways to put science understanding into practice in a way that makes a positive impact on the community and the environment. With the continuous search to find meaning through science, the balance between physics and environment is the perfect combination to engage with wellness!

Sophia Phillips with Nature Journaling

Sophia is a junior at Annapolis High School. She has been in the school’s Environmental Action Club on and off since she was a freshman, and has fully committed this year. Since before she could speak she has been creating art with nature, and has finally had the opportunity to take advanced (IB) art and environmental science classes as of this year. She is excited to share the art of Nature Journaling with you!

Kathy Cochran w/ Forest Bathing

Kathy Cochran is the science department chair at Annapolis High School and has served as the Green School Committe chair at A-high as well as two other schools in AACPS. She currently teaches IB Environmental Systems and Societies during the school year and works with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as an Environmental Literacy Leader during the summers. Kathy first learned about forest bathing during a seminar she took a few years ago and is now a fan of forest bathing, marsh yoga and nature journaling as mindful practices and believes they re-connect people with nature in ways that positively affect health and well-being.

Catalina Gibney with Forest Bathing

Catalina Gibney is a student attending Annapolis High and a member of the Environmental Action Club. She has taken multiple environmental science classes and a yoga class, so she is very excited to help out in the Forest Bathing offering of the event. Forest bathing combines two of her favorite hobbies: self care and spending time outdoors. Getting outside and moving is a great way to connect with nature and have fun. She looks forward to seeing you there!

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