About > Our Team

  • Liz Michalkiewicz, Executive Director

    Liz Michalkiewicz is a CPA, RYT-200 yoga teacher, and the interim Executive Director of Rise Above Yoga (RAY). She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and spent over a decade in external audit and corporate finance, specializing in compensation strategy and financial management. Raised by parents who immigrated from Poland to pursue their careers in science, Liz brings a perspective shaped by both diversity and evidence-based thinking. She has also built a strong track record in recruiting and mentoring, from leading intern programs to advancing more diverse hiring practices — a passion for inclusion and relationship-building that she continues to carry into her nonprofit leadership.

    In 2024, following a loved one’s incarceration, Liz pivoted from finance to yoga service, recognizing the urgent need for healing practices in justice-impacted communities. As a Prison Yoga Project–trained facilitator and yoga teacher, she now leads classes in jails and community spaces while guiding RAY’s strategic growth and partnerships. Liz combines her organizational expertise with her personal experience of yoga as a tool for healing. Grounded in both lived experience and evidence-based practices, she is committed to expanding access to trauma-informed yoga across Wisconsin.

    Contact Liz at: lizjmichalk@gmail.com

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    Jo Temte, Director of Dane County Programming

    Jo Temte is a certified yoga instructor and experienced fitness professional with over 15 years in health, wellness, and education. She holds a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has worked as an environmental educator, fitness instructor, and studio manager. As RAY’s lead volunteer and facility coordinator, Jo plays a pivotal role in program delivery and growth. She facilitates multiple in-facility classes each week and, in 2025, brought the first yoga program to Oakhill men’s prison. Jo also teaches regularly in the Dane County Jail, the Juvenile Detention Center, and Grow Academy, while helping coordinate RAY’s community partnerships such as the Urban League, FREE Movement, and ARC Wisconsin. Her leadership, dedication, and ability to build relationships across systems have been critical to RAY’s expansion and impact.

    Contact Jo at: jotemte@mac.com

  • Iris Mickey, Founding Partner - YAFA

    Iris has built a loving, tight yoga community in Madison and, through a passion for life-long learning, has built a national network of yoga and therapeutic yoga experts. Iris holds a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and worked in the area of Traumatic Brain Injury rehabilitation for over 10 years. It was here that she observed the benefits of group classes that focus on real life problems and solutions to them. Early in her career, Iris worked in the Occupational Therapy field in a variety of settings, and later became a licensed bodyworker.

    It was a natural extension to pursue training in yoga therapy, and study the myofascial system of the body. She is a celebrated teacher in the Madison area and is passionate about sharing the benefits of yoga with everyone, and to build a sustainable and nurturing practice. She began her business Synergy Bodyworks, LLC in 1998, providing therapeutic massage and beginning yoga classes.

    She has taught regular classes and private sessions since the year 2000 in the Madison area and has a devout following as a teacher's trainer and within the healing community.

    Iris is currently studying and practicing Nada Yoga through Vocal Meditation in her studies with Silvia Nakaash/Vox Mundi and her in person training in Sound Healing through the Sound Healing Academy and Sonic Theology with 9Ways Academy.

    Contact Iris at: yogamickey@gmail.com

  • Frances Colbert, Women’s Facility Coordinator

    Frances Reynolds Colbert is an Assistant Attorney General with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and a certified yoga instructor. A founding member of Rise Above Yoga and Prison Yoga Project–trained facilitator, Frances brings over a decade of legal experience advocating for indigent clients alongside her commitment to making trauma-informed yoga accessible for justice-impacted communities.Today, Frances serves as RAY’s Women’s Facility Coordinator and actively facilitates yoga in the Dane County Jail for both the Women and Men’s Programs.

    Contact Frances at: francescolbert@gmail.com

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    Kelsey A. Dalrymple, Director of Research & Learning

    Kelsey A. Dalrymple is Teaching Faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an educational anthropologist. With nearly 15 years of experience in education and humanitarian response, Kelsey’s research explores experiences of refugees learners & other marginalized groups, knowledge co-production, and systemic inequities. A certified yoga instructor and Prison Yoga Project–trained facilitator, Kelsey has been facilitating yoga for over 5 years and practicing yoga since the age of 16. She has played a key role in RAY’s growth by curating our six-week curriculum, establishing our Urban League partnership, and designing RAY’s website and logo. Kelsey teaches two regular classes at the Goodman Community Center and the weekly class for men at the Dane County jail. Her blend of academic expertise, professional experience, and creative leadership strengthens RAY’s mission to expand access to trauma-informed yoga for justice-impacted communities.

    Contact Kelsey at: kelsey.a.dalrymple@gmail.com

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    Katie Pereira, Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator

    Katie is a Studio Manager at a hot yoga studio in Madison, Wisconsin and has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With a passion for conducting research to increase mental health care access and treatment for justice-impacted individuals, she expanded her training and received her RYT-200 certification through Prison Yoga Project, graduating in the June 2025 cohort. Katie combines her management skills, mental healthcare background, expertise in grant writing, data collection and synthesis, and knowledge of mind-body wellness to bring trauma-informed yoga to RAY’s community class offerings.

    Contact Katie at: katie.keola@gmail.com

  • Julia Gahr, Strategic Planning Lead & Milwaukee Ambassador

    Julia Gahr is a registered yoga teacher and organizational leader dedicated to expanding access to healing and resilience practices. As Strategic Planning Lead and Milwaukee Ambassador for Rise Above Yoga, she drives growth and builds community partnerships in the region. With a background in corporate change management and equity-focused program design, Julia blends strategic planning and trauma-informed yoga to create inclusive, community-centered wellness opportunities that amplify Rise Above Yoga’s mission of healing and empowerment.

    Contact Julia at: juliagahr13@gmail.com

  • Jodi Klagos, Financial Coordinator

    Jodi Klagos is an Estate Planning Attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., with an educational and professional background spanning healthcare, leadership, and law. A 500-hour trained yoga teacher with additional training in meditation, Ayurveda, she is also an active teacher in her community and PYP-trained facilitator. Jodi’s experience in the Restorative Justice Clinic, where she worked with incarcerated clients deepened her conviction in yoga as a practice that supports healing, resilience, and more successful re-entry. Leveraging her vast network and professional experience, she serves as an advisor to RAY and our Liaison to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and UW-Madison’s Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic.

    Contact Jodi at : jaklagos@gmail.com

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    Jessica Flowers, Teacher & Board Member

    Jessica loves to share gentle and accessible yoga practices with individuals in the Madison area. She teaches weekly YAFA classes at Bayview Foundation Community Center and Middleton Senior Center, and can also be found teaching at Princeton Club and Perennial Yoga. She is excited to expand these practices online and truly believes in making yoga accessible for all.

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    Sarah Dimick, Teacher & Board Member, Child and Family Connector

    Sarah has been leading yoga classes for preschoolers through senior citizens for almost 20 years. Initially certified through Breathe 4 Change, she has continued her yoga education through YogaEd, Indra Yoga Institute, Silver Sneakers Yoga, and Rhythmic Movement Training, and is currently completing her certification as a YogaMedicine Therapeutic Specialist.

Additional Teachers

Susan Martin, Mary Hall, and Leora Weitzman

Additional Board Members

Paul Mross, Susan Martin, and Dawn Berney

About YAFA Teachers

All of our teachers are YTT certified by Yoga Alliance, meaning they’ve been trained in anatomy, physiology, and proper asana alignment. They understand that no two bodies are alike and will work with you to adapt poses to support your practice.

YAFA teachers do not assess or diagnose students, and do not give medical advice. They are trained to provide accommodations for physical and intellectual challenges through props and language, understand safety precautions related to range-of-motion restrictions, create a trauma-sensitive environment, use inclusive language, and refer students to professional medical practitioners when questions arise outside the scope of yoga teaching.

Join our team.

If you are interested in teaching in incarceration facilities, you must complete PYP’s 34-hour Foundational Training. We can support you in completing this training for free, at a reduced fee, or possibly waive the training if you can demonstrate previous commensurate training & experience. Finally, you must complete an incarceration facility clearance application and successfully meet all facility clearance requirements.

We are always in need of great yoga facilitators and offer a range of opportunities to facilitate yoga in incarceration facilities with adults and or youth and in the Madison community.

    • Have completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training from an accredited yoga school; be prepared to provide proof of certification. If you haven’t completed a training yet, check out PYP’s Yoga, Social Justice, and Leadership: a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Training.

    • Have personal liability insurance to ensure protection against participant injury or other harm; be prepared to provide proof of insurance. For information and guidance on this, feel free to contact us.

    • To be a lead facilitator, you must have facilitated yoga consistently for at least 1 year. If you have just completed your teacher training and would still like to be involved, we offer opportunities to shadow and team teach with more experienced facilitators until you are ready to lead sessions.

    • If you would specifically like to work with youth, we prefer individuals to have had some experience working with youth in yoga, education, social work, community-based, or other related contexts. You may need to meet specific youth incarceration facility requirements.

Apply to facilitate → 
CURRENT FACILITATION OPPORTUNITIES

  • We regularly facilitate 6-week sessions to groups of 10-15 male residents of the Dane County Jail (near downtown Madison). We use a 6-week curriculum to introduce participants to basic asanas, breath work, and meditations. These classes are from 3:15pm - 4:15pm every Sunday. For more information contact Jo Temte (jotemte@mac.com).

  • We regularly facilitate yoga sessions to female residents of the Dane County Jail (near downtown Madison). As these sessions are ongoing, asanas, breath work, and meditations are up to the facilitators. These classes are from 10:00am - 11:00am every Saturday. For more information contact Frances Colbert (francescolbert@gmail.com).

  • We regularly facilitate yoga sessions to groups of 10-20 male residents of the Dane County Jail (near downtown Madison) who are present members or alumni of the parenting class there. As these sessions are ongoing, asanas, breath work, and meditations are up to the facilitator. These classes are from 3:30pm - 4:30pm every Wednesday. For more information contact Jo Temte (jotemte@mac.com).

  • We regularly facilitate sessions to groups of 10-15 male residents of the Oakhill Prison (near Oregon, WI). As these sessions are ongoing, asanas, breath work, and meditations are up to the facilitators. These classes are from 6:15pm - 7:15pm every Tuesday and Thursday. For more information contact Jo Temte (jotemte@mac.com).

  • Time: Mondays 9:30- 10:30 am
    Location: Women’s Correctional Center (north side of Milwaukee).

    These sessions are ongoing; asanas, breathwork and meditations are up to the discretion of the facilitator. For more information, contact Liz Michalkiewicz (lizjmichalk@gmail.com).

  • We are currently offering yoga for parenting class participants at the Urban League center at 1233 McKenna Blvd. every Thursday from 1:-00pm - 2:00pm. We run these classes in 6-week shifts and draw from a 6-week curriculum to introduce participants to basic asanas, breah work, and meditations. For more information, contact Kelsey Dalrymple (kelsey.a.dalrymple@gmail.com).

  • Time: Wednesdays 1:00 - 1:45 pm
    Location: Dane County Juvenile Detention Center

    We regularly facilitate sessions to groups of 2-10 male and female residents (ages 10-17 years). As these sessions are ongoing, asanas, breath work, and age appropriate guided meditations are up to the facilitator. Playful movement, games, and discussions are included in these sessions.

    For more information contact Jo Temte (jotemte@mac.com).

  • We facilitate yoga for groups of up to 6 male residents (ages 13-17 years) of the Grow Academy (near Oregon, WI). Since these sessions are ongoing, asanas, breath work, and age appropriate guided meditations are up to the facilitator. Playful movement, games, and discussions are included in these sessions. They are offered 3 evenings weekly through Main Street Yoga & Wellness-Oregon. For more information contact Jo Temte (jotemte@mac.com).

  • We are exploring setting up regular yoga classes as part of substance abuse and mental health treatment in partnership with Tellurian and ARC. If you are a trained yoga therapist with experience in these areas and/or are interested in supporting this work, contact Alisa Magennis (alisa@sukhasomatics.com).