We were lucky to catch up with Karen Perez, MPH, MCHES recently and have shared our conversation below.

Karen , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

I was volunteering at Kaiser Permanente and after completing all tasks in the OT/PT department I was allowed to offer my assistance to other departments. I got lucky to find my way to the Health Education Department. I stepped into the department and it just had such a unique feel compared to the rest of the hospital! I instantly felt that I needed to work there.

“Do you all need a ZUMBA instructor?!”, I asked the front desk staff without even thinking how random it sounds in a hospital setting. That’s all I knew to do after college. I felt crazy asking, but it ended up that they were looking for one! The department had just been given funds to provide fitness classes for all employees.

They gave me the number of the department administrator to get more information but I called multiple times and was having zero luck.

I shared the challenge I was having contacting the Health Education Manager with my mom and it ended up that my mom had known the manager for years and the manager, Louise already knew about me too!

My mom works for Kaiser and years back when I was in high school she worked cleaning the Health Education Department. Louise would stay after hours working and would run into my mom a lot. One day my mom shared with Louise that she was afraid to let me go to college away from the San Fernando Valley and thanks to Louise’s encouragement, my mom allowed me to go to UC Merced.

So here we were years later! Me in search of this person I had never met who had supported my path years before!

My mom personally goes and looks for her and says “You remember my daughter? She’s looking for a job and they told her to look for you!”

Soon after my ZUMBA audition with Louise and her staff I was hired and took on a variety of roles. I gained a lot of experience and wore many hats, which all helped me confirm that my passion was teaching Health Education classes.

I later went back to school, earned my Masters in Public Health, and became a Health Educator, which led to me to more career opportunities.

I now get to support folks through wellness coaching, healthy lifestyle classes, yoga, and ZUMBA! To me, that is such a lovely mixture of things. I feel so grateful.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Certified Health Education Specialist and a Group Exercise Instructor.

I am a Wellness Coach for Kaiser Permanente. I work with members one-on-one and support them in incorporating healthier habits into their lifestyle. The topics we cover are healthy eating, moving more, smoking cessation, and stress management.

I am also a Health Educator for LA Care where I facilitate healthy eating classes and lead ZUMBA and Yoga group exercise classes.

I have been a ZUMBA instructor for 14 years. I am so passionate about dancing and feel so lucky to be able to share my love for dance with all the folks that take my class.

I have been a Health Educator for 10 years and I never knew how much life it would give me to support folks the way I get to on a regular basis. It makes me extremely happy to see participants share that their sugar levels are now regulated, that they no longer need a cane or walker to walk, that their blood pressure is down, or that they simply just move in the world feeling happier and more confident!

I have been a Wellness Coach for 2 years and I really love getting to know folks more personally. Sometimes in classes, it’s hard to hear the story of the shy ones and I feel that in coaching folks open up more and you get to know a little more about their story and support them with an even bigger understanding of their barriers, which then leads to us being able to work together closer and navigate through things with a bigger picture of all that is going on with the patient.

I’m new in the Yoga teaching world but I’m so excited to now have an official class! I have led classes for friends and have been so grateful for their support. Leading classes for loved ones truly has helped me feel better prepared to work with my folks in LA Care.

Never in a million years did I think my little shy awkward younger self would grow up to be this high energy-loud being who loves to lead a variety of classes. Being part of all these components of wellness truly gives color to my life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For one of my birthdays, my friends and I went on a snowboarding trip. I had never tried snowboarding and like most first-timers, I had my fair share of falls, but one of the falls fully took my breath away! I ended with a herniated disc and major sciatic pain, which hindered my ability to dance and teach.

It all started with a tingle down my right leg that grew into full raging nerve pain. I could not walk many steps, or sit too long, nor could I sleep without feeling excruciating pain. I was put on steroids, and I went to see different acupuncturists, chiropractors, and physical therapists in hopes that my pain would subside, but nothing was working.

Times were tough and dancing had always been what helped me get through challenging moments,  and now I was in a place where movement was painful and could not help me power through this difficult time.

All this happened during my last semester of grad school. Sometimes the pain was so unbearable that it was hard to sit through my classes, but I did my best to attend as many as I could. To graduate I had to pass lengthy certification exams that were 4 hours long. To be able to sit through them I would bring my sciatica booster seat and a yoga mat in case the pain got out of hand.

Thanks to my supportive friends and parents I got rides to school and had a study crew that all helped me during my last months in grad school. I earned my Masters in Public Health with honors.

Even though going through that time was so painful, I am very grateful for it. I went back to teaching classes with a better understanding of my participants who struggle with chronic pain. Once I started the yoga program I saw myself being extra attentive to spine health. The best thing about this experience was I moved forward with so much gratitude that I could once again independently move on my own, dance again, and share my love for dance with my ZUMBA family.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

What is most helpful to succeed in my field and I think many fields is empathy, attentiveness, and connection.

At times I feel like I’m not helping enough when I cannot guide a person to the solution to their problems, but I think at times folks are not necessarily needing an answer, but rather a safe space to talk and feel heard.

Contact Info:

• Website: Energizewithkp.com
• Instagram: @kp.energy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-perez-7a47b117a

Image Credits
Matt Amendariz Angel Perez