Meet Our Instructors

Emily Nelson is an advocate of health and wellness. "I strongly believe in bettering quality of life through exercise, movement, mindfulness, and living a healthy lifestyle. I am a 200-hour certified yoga instructor.  I received my certificate in 2014 from the Yoga Garden in San Francisco, California. 

Chronic back pain and an emergency back surgery in 2010 played a huge part in bringing me to yoga. Yoga has helped me manage my back pain, it has increased my flexibility and range of motion, and given me a healthy perspective on life. I have a background in wellness through completing my degree in dietetics (study of food and nutrition) from UW Stevens Point in 2011."

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with my family. She loves playing golf, tennis, and taking walks with my husband, Nick, along with being a fun boy mom to Knox and Jax.

"I am so grateful to be in this position of Fitness Instructor and Coordinator at Generations. I am excited to be part of this incredible community and can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me here!"

Erika has a passion for healthy living and movement. She has a strong connection to her community and loves to inspire those around her to create healthy habits and lifestyles. In 2014 she began taking her fitness journey more seriously with a regular yoga practice. This led to a profound impact on her physical and mental wellbeing. She decided it was important to share such a meaningful life practice with her friends, family, and community. Erika obtained her 200hr yoga teaching certification at Yoga on The Lake in Kohler, WI shortly thereafter. 

Erika is trained and experienced in many different forms of fitness and yoga classes. She enjoys sharing the benefits of movement and mindfulness with her students, incorporating breathing exercises, modifications, proper body alignment and mechanics to create well rounded and accessible exercises for everybody!

Other than sharing her love of wellness, Erika enjoys cooking, gardening, and spending time outdoors with her husband and four sons.

“I am so excited to be a part of the Generations team and to share my passion and knowledge of healthy  living. I Strongly believe that creating healthy habits in our everyday lives leads to strong individuals, strong families and a strong community.” 

In her role as a Healthy Living Assistant with Generations, Elaine brings the same energy and enthusiasm she once applied to her earlier teaching careers in gymnastics, rock climbing, and flight instruction. Currently pursuing her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, she’s excited to support SilverSneakers’ programing by further integrating movement into her wellness work.

As the founder of Farsighted Foodie LLC, Elaine shares more than 25 years of personal plant-based experience, grounded in her firm belief that “food is medicine.” In addition to her work with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, she is a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and holds certifications from eCornell in Plant-Based Nutrition, Wellness Counseling, and Food & Sustainability.

Elaine earned her Cum Laude degree and was named a Dean’s Scholar in Radio, Television, and Film at San Jose State University in 1996. She is also an FAA-rated Airline Transport Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor.

When she’s not promoting healthy habits in the kitchen or community, Elaine can be found hiking with her beloved dog, Greta Garbo, practicing yoga, enjoying live comedy, or getting lost in a good novel by John Sandford, Lee Child, or Nick Petrie.

Katie is a lifelong mover and dedicated teacher. She began at age 12 as a ballet student and never stopped: adding in all forms of dance, yoga and upbeat fitness.

Katie believes there is much to gain from group exercise and community classes. Connections built with our peers in a fun, learning environment while taking care of our minds and bodies is a fundamental component to any class with Katie.

Outside of her time teaching, Katie has 2 sons who play soccer and hockey, nearly all year round. And all over the state! Katie also has a puppy Ozzy, who keeps her on her toes and sometimes, wakes her at extra special fun hours of the night. She travels often and happily looks forward to the warm seasons in Wisconsin.

Mike Heimbach is Generations' Tai Chi instructor. For the past 18 years, Heimbach has led Tai Chi classes for a wide variety of age groups from children in middle school through senior citizen.  Previously, Heimbach served in several as an educator and most recently as Director of Formation at Gesu Parish in Milwaukee until his retirement in June of this year. Tai Chi meets from 1:15 -2:00 p.m. at Generations on Tuesdays and Thursdays.