President
Marianela Martin
My name is Marianela Martin. I am a mother of 9-year-old daughter. I was born in a small town called Gualaceo in Ecuador's southern Anden's. I moved to Toronto, Ontario Canada when I was almost two years of age. I spent most of my life growing up in Toronto Canada, but did have the opportunity to visit my homeland often. Before arriving here in Germany, I lived in London UK from 1998-2000 on a Canadian Commonwealth student visa. Before moving to London, I had already worked and studied Dance, Music, Fashion and the ARTS in Toronto. But once of my luckiest break through was to have been part of ACTRA ( the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, Radio Artist) union. As well having my Fitness certification from CKW YMCA which kept me fit and healthy. All of this background and experience gave me the opportunity to venture even more so and discover London's Art, Music, and Dance scene from all different levels. Wait... there is one more thing about my time in the mid-late 90's in Toronto was living and being part of the Toronto's elite 'underground dance & fashion scene. This is beyond words to explain but I did have a stage name ' Nyna Dove' which I took to London. So during my time in London UK, I worked as a Performing Dance Artist in Multi- Media events and co-produced events in the Club and Art scene but I did still kept teaching fitness classes in order to keep my balance in life. During this time in London, in 1999 I decided to escape for 5 months to South India to study Yoga & Meditation to get away from the big crazy city and experience another country, like India. While there, I met my future husband. He is German, and this why in 2000 I moved to Nuernberg, Germany. During my first years in Germany, I studied German in Nuernberg and Contemporary Dance and Pilates in Munich's Tanzwerkstatt from 'Joint Adventures for there 10-day workshop session for 3 summers.
In 2005 at the LSI Berlin ( Language Specialists International), I completed my TEFL exam and got certified to teach English a as Foreign language. I worked as a freelancer for companies like, Telecom, Siemens, independent 'Fremdsprachenschule' schools in Nuernberg, and BZ -Bildungszentrum (Stadt Nürnberg). In 2009, I took the Helen Doron Teacher Certification (teaching Children as a second language), and I taught for about 1.5 years. However, slowly I felt I had to go back to my passion and original occupation. I decided to go back and teach Dance but I wanted to teach something new. In 2011, I got certified to teach Zumba Fitness.This brought me back to my Latin roots and the feel for the love of dance and latin rhythm. Through 6 years of teaching Zumba, organizing amazing events, and meeting fantastic people, this enhanced and gave me the endurance to upgrade my education even further with Pilates, other types of dance, and fitness. I didn't want to stop there though. After 15 years of studying and practicing Yoga with respectful Yoga teachers. I finally got certified with a '200 -Hour Teacher Training in 2014 from a highly recommended Yoga Teacher Training called 'YogaWorks'. Now I am based as a part-time freelancer teaching people of all ages and levels. I am currently teaching classes and workshops at Adidas Gym (Company Sports), Bildungszentrum BZ ( Südpunkt), Fitness at Business Companies and Fitness & dance Studios in the region. Mind you, I also had the opportunity teach Refugee Women the last 3 years with Zumba Gold ( Dance Fitness for beginners) in cooperation once again with Stadt Nuernberg Südpunkt BZ.
Present; this April 2017, I had the great chance to teach English to 5th and 6th graders as a second language for 'Mr. Higgins' English Camp for kids in Nuernberg during the Easter break.
The International Women's Group was introduced to me by some of my clients from Erlangen about a year ago. I find this group to be a breakthrough and a fantastic way for women of all races, languages, and religious faiths to come together, make new friendships, and to establish connections as well as empower the local Franconian community.
Finally, I am honestly believe that your never to old to change your occupation, go back and study some thing new or find your passion within your work or hobbies.
'The World needs people who love what they do'
'El mundo necesita gente que ame lo que hace'
Secretary
Elise Rivera
My name is Elise Rivera, and I am the IWG Secretary. I am an American girl, from the Washington D.C. area, and am now living and studying in Erlangen. I completed my Bachelor's degree at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. During my Bachelor, I studied abroad in Italy and traveled to nearby countries, one of which was Germany. This marked the beginning of my global exposure and was my first taste of Europe. During this time, felt a particular pull to Germany. I returned to finish my studies, but I could not shake this need to return as that chapter of my life remained unfinished. After graduating, it became a matter of turning this dream into a reality. I always knew that I wanted to continue my education as well, so when I discovered my current Master's program, I knew that this was my way back and the next step in my life that I needed to pursue.
Upon admission into the International Master of Physical Activity and Health at Friedrich-Alexander University, I left my job, family, friends, and belongings behind and moved to Germany at the end of 2015. I have not looked back since! I saw this as an opportunity to grow personally and further my education through an international optic. With how global our world has become, I saw this as a unique chance to gain firsthand insight into culture, travel, history, knowledge, and connections internationally. I chose to pursue my particular degree because of my passion for health but also because I felt that it would equip me with the ability to overcome health inequities, build communities, give voice to marginalized populations, create co-operation between governments and organizations worldwide to promote trust and a mutual social benefit.
I was excited to discover the IWG because it presented an opportunity to extend beyond my studies and empower the local Franconican community. I love that this organization fosters bonds and interactions with women from an array of cultural background all over the world. Being part of the IWG has been an amazing experience, which has afforded me the chance to learn from women of this community as well as build connections, friendships, and a sense of belonging to an organization of inspirational and like-minded women.
Email Elise: secretary@womensgroup.de
Brittany Swelam
Sangeeta Kumar
The International Women's Group (IWG) was founded in 1995 by 8 women of different nationalities. Because their husbands worked at Adidas, the company supported the group in getting started and has remained committed.