Meet Our Staff
Traci Criswell
Founding President & Owner
Traci started The Children’s Gym because of her passion for teaching children in a positive environment. She felt there was a need to provide a place for a diverse group of students to gather and learn gymnastics non-competitively. She grew The Children’s Gym from a small preschool gymnastics program, to a facility that caters to now over 1,000 students!
Andrea Lawrence
Chief Operating Officer
Andrea grew up here at The Children’s Gym and is now running the company. She is passionate about creating a positive and welcoming space for everyone who comes through TCG’s doors. The gym feels like part of her family and she wants that feeling to translate to students, parents, and staff alike. In her free time, she loves living an active lifestyle, whether she’s hiking, camping or running. She enjoys traveling, has lived in Italy, and has done volunteer work in Ethiopia, Africa.
Kelsey Alderman
Operations Lead
Kelsey has been involved in sports all of her life and started coaching at The Children’s Gym in 2013. Kelsey received her Bachelors Degree in Child Psychology and is passionate about creating positive relationships and environments that help kids to thrive. In her free time, she loves hiking with her dog Charlie, being outdoors, watching soccer, and spending time with family and friends.
Tami Fitzgerald
TCG Squad Leader & Gymnastics Coach
Tami has been involved with gymnastics since the age of five, both recreationally and competitively. She has been coaching for over 30 years! Outside the world of gymnastics, Tami enjoys biking, hiking, rafting, hunting, camping and almost anything outdoors you can think of!
Brittany Gentry
Education Program Leader & Gymnastics Coach
Brittany joined The Children’s Gym in the summer of 2012, and hopes to work here many more years. She loves the family feel of The Children’s Gym, for the students, coaches, and for the families. Brittany loves to read, swim, take road trips, listen to music, and enjoys going dancing.
Joey Ochoa
Performance Group Program Leader & Gymnastics Coach
Joey has a background in gymnastics and dance and has performed in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and even on the Las Vegas strip in the world famous Folies Bergere. He has coached gymnastics, tumbling, dance, and cheer in various gymnasiums and dance studios and is happy to be a part of The Children’s Gym family since the spring of 2014. In his free time, he likes to write lyrics and hopes one day to write professionally for big named stars!
Zoe Donnell
Gymnastics Coach & Staff Development Team Lead
Zoe started gymnastics at the age of three and fell in love. At thirteen, she continued on to practice Arial Dance and partner acrobatics. She is also an avid yogi and is a 200hr RYT certified instructor and working on the completion of her 500hr teacher training here in Portland. Off of her mat and outside of the gym, Zoe loves to sing, dance and laugh. She has a passion for movement and the joy it brings to her students.
Austin Marshall
Gymnastics Coach & Birthday Party Leader
Austin has been a Coach with TCG since spring of 2016. Austin Played college football in Southern California and later coached some younger football and volleyball teams. Coming from a family of 4 brothers, all activities growing up involved some sort of movement and sport. Austin thoroughly enjoys working with kids to see them overcome obstacles and celebrate with them in their successes in every aspect of life, especially in an athletic environment.
Hannah Pilant
Gymnastics Coach & Staff Development Team
Hannah was a gymnast for seven years, and then did competitive cheerleading where she competed at the Cheerleading World Championship in Orlando. She currently competes in the Miss America Organization, paints, and loves reading. Hannah is in school for secondary education, and wants to be a middle school math teacher. Hannah is fluent in Spanish and loves working with kids from different backgrounds. She hopes to someday teach in Ecuador.
Nik Boyd
Gymnastics Coach
Nik started taking gymnastics when he was three and eventually spent seven years competing for the Multnomah Athletic Club through level 10, where he placed 2nd at Nationals! Some of Nik’s hobbies include making music, painting, and traveling. He has traveled through Canada, the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru, and he plans to go to Africa next!
Christine Baird
Gymnastics Coach
Christine started competitive gymnastics in Germany, where she was recruited to an elite training program at the age of six. She competed at the National Championships twice, winning once, before she moved to the United States at twelve. She has coached for thirteen years, specializing in coaching and managing recreational and competitive mens and womens gymnastics programs. Outside of the gymnastics world, Christine loves to travel, read, road trip and dance her way through life!
Katelyn Crouch
Gymnastics Coach
Katelyn started coaching at TCG in 2017. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Portland State University focused on elementary school education. Her passion is working with children and currently works in an after-school program teaching kids as well. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones and listening to live music.
McKinley Hughes
Gymnastics Coach & Education Department
McKinley is passionate about empowering young children to creatively move their bodies without inhibition. She holds a BFA in musical theatre and has a background in theatrical movement. When not helping kiddos learn gymnastics she can be found working as a professional actor or playing her ukulele. In every class that she teaches, McKinley hopes to inspire all of her students to toss kindness at each other like confetti.
Justin Scott
Gymnastics Coach
Bio coming soon.
Peyton Still
Gymnastics Coach & Education Department
Peyton has been working with children for over five years. Besides working with children, Peyton also has a passion for singing, art, and cooking. Briefly, Peyton attended the “Le Cordon Bleu” French school of the culinary arts. While fairly new to the world of gymnastics, Peyton has found another passion to add to the ever-growing list. She looks forward to working with your children and learning along side them every day.
Megan Tramp
Gymnastics Coach
Megan was a competitive cheerleader and later coached her former high school cheerleading team, as well as All Star competitive teams. She is also an avid musician and has toured nationally for several years. Megan attended Portland State for Spanish education and has worked with children in a classroom setting. Megan thoroughly enjoys teaching children’s gymnastics and the many positive life lessons that emerge in the under current of her classes. She plans to be with The Children’s Gym for many years to come!
Emma Mathewson
Gymnastics Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Brooklyn Wease
Gymnastics Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Jenna Amundson
Hospitality Team Leader
A bonafide original Oregonian, born-and-raised, Jenna comes to us with several years of working experience in a variety of settings. She volunteered for SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) and then went on to administer the SMART program at Ardenwald Elementary School in Milwaukie from 2007-2010. An avid reader, writer and traveler, Jenna is working on completing her first novel, with a few more in the works. She has been to Norway, Sicily, England, and spent an entire month in Ireland, and has taken road trips around the entire Western portion of the US. She is aunt to two nephews, a niece and great-aunt to one little darling redhead.
MJ Monemi
Hospitality Team
MJ grew up in California where she played tennis competitively from the age of 5 before joining the rowing team in high school. She currently has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and hopes to one day pursue a Master’s in Counseling to become a counselor for kids. In her free time, she enjoys decorating cakes, reading, writing and playing games of all kinds.
Brooklyn Detherage
Hospitality Team
Brooklyn attends Mt. Hood Community College and is majoring in Special Education. She played a variety of different sports and enjoys trying new things that are challenging to her. She’s a lover of animals and enjoys being in nature and exploring new places within it. Brooklyn one day wants to join the Peace Corps and volunteer in the Youth and Development sector.
The Children's Gym
1625 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232
503-249-5867
Email Us
MON – THU: 9:00am – 7:30pm
FRI: 9:00am – 6:30pm
SAT: 8:30am – 4:00pm
SUN: CLOSED
Tax ID Number: 93-1138293
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