Stroller Strides: Wilmington Area

Contact: Jody Smith
Phone: (800) 691-6154
Email: jodysmith@strollerstrides.net

Jody Smith, Owner and Instructor

Originally from West Des Moines, Iowa, Jody moved to Wilmington in 1996 to attend UNCW where she got her degree in marine biology. Jody worked in that field for about 7 years including interning at EPCOT at the Living Seas Aquarium as well as at UNCW's Center for Marine Science conducting harmful algal bloom reasearch. Jody remained active by running marathons, as a triathlete as well as attending her favorite class at the gym - Interval. After the birth of her son, Roman, in May 2007 Jody began to look for a way to be able to stay home with him. She saw Lisa Druxman, founder of Stroller Strides, on the Today Show when Roman was only a few weeks old and she immediately began figuring out a way to offer this wonderful program to the moms and children of Wilmington. Jody is a certified Stroller Strides, Fit4Baby and Body Back instructor as well as infant, child and adult CPR certified. She has found more pleasure in being a mom than she ever dreamed and even more reward from seeing the moms of Stroller Strides make strides in fitness, motherhood and life!

Joanna Grooms, Stroller Strides & Fit4Baby Instructor
Joanna Grooms joined the Stroller Strides instructor team in April 2011. Joanna was raised a Navy brat growing up all over the Eastern seaboard, California and a few years in Australia. She considers herself a Wilmington local who grew up visiting her grandparents for summers at Wrightsville Beach. Her own family settled in Wilmington when her Dad retired from the Navy and she became a New Hanover High School graduate. Joanna went on to obtain a degree in Business Administration from UNCW. Before becoming a Mommy to Eliza, Joanna was an accountant. Since becoming a Mommy, Joanna has stepped away from accounting to focus on spending as much time as possible with the greatest gift she could possibly imagine. In the spring of 2010 Joanna joined Stroller Strides with the hope of losing some baby weight, meeting other Moms and socializing Eliza. Joanna quickly realized she was hooked on fitness when she found herself attending 4-5 classes each week, training for a half marathon and feeling an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and a belief that anything is possible. In December of 2010 Joanna made the decision that she wanted to share her new found love of fitness with other moms. She started assisting in organizing LUNA Moms Club activities and started training to teach Stroller Strides classes. In January of 2011 Joanna attended Stroller Strides and Fit4Baby instructor training in Jacksonville, Florida and is now a certified instructor teaching regularly with the Wilmington Area Stroller Strides franchise.