CARRIE WILLIAMSON
Carrie grew up in Chapel Hill and has always been described as "energetic"! To help burn some of that energy, Carrie participated in many activities, from swimming to cheerleading to dancing.
Carrie's parents knew she needed to stay busy - and active! After graduating from ECHHS, Carrie attended Elon University, where she followed her love of teaching and majored in Middle Grades Education. She took her degree to Atlanta, where she taught 8th grade for two years before returning to NC to teach 8th grade in Winston-Salem. She returned to Chapel Hill when she got married and taught 6th grade at Durham Academy. Carrie found the trick to keeping middle schoolers' attention was to bring her energy into the classroom daily. No longer in the classroom, Carrie stays busy with her family: husband Eddie, two energetic boys, Cal and Andy, and pup Hank. Carrie enjoys working out and knows how important a healthy lifestyle is.
The teacher in her is excited to share her love and knowledge of exercise and enthusiasm with others.
KATHERINE ALVAREZ
Katherine grew up in South Carolina, where she was active in team sports from a young age. In high school, she began attending exercise classes and quickly fell in love with the enthusiasm and camaraderie of group fitness.
While attending Clemson University, Katherine became AFAA certified and taught a variety of formats, including kickboxing and boot camp. After graduating with a degree in Psychology, she attended culinary school in Houston, TX. Following several years working in the restaurant industry across the country, she settled in NYC to teach children’s cooking classes. It was there that she met her husband, and in 2010, they moved to Chapel Hill in search of a simpler life.
Katherine now spends her time teaching preschool, caring for her husband and two children, and maintaining a dedicated daily fitness routine. A professed cardio junkie, she has completed numerous half and full marathons. Katherine is excited to share her passion for fitness with the PopUp community and looks forward to helping every member reach their full potential.
Exercise is an important part of Katie’s life. With a family and another "full-time work gig", she enjoys both the physical and mental benefits that she gets from a great workout. Sharing this love of exercise and the numerous positive benefits it can provide is one of the main factors that led Katie to create PopUp Workout. Her goal is to make each class a challenging, unique workout that leaves you energized, motivated, and stronger to tackle the rest of your day. PopUp Workout started in driveways, basements, and parking lots and has grown through the support of great clients who have spread the word. Bringing PopUp Workout to unique and accessible locations in order to make it easy and cost-effective for people to get a great workout is the goal of her business. Katie became an ACE Certified instructor in her hometown of Kansas City, where she had the opportunity to teach at an innovative fitness studio, Fusion Fitness. In 2011, her family relocated to Chapel Hill, where she taught at Pure Barre for 3 years as a Level 111 instructor. PopUp Workout was founded in the spring of 2013. “I love my job and our clients. Experiencing firsthand the life-changing effects that a healthy lifestyle has on a person is truly a gift.”