Raina Fishbane is a Level 2 CIYT and has practiced Iyengar yoga for about 15 years. After trying many other types of yoga, Raina was hooked on Iyengar Yoga from her first class with Doerthe Braun. Doerthe eventually became Raina’s mentor. Raina has also studied extensively with Jarvis Chen and John Schumacher. Raina teaches at Sweetbay Yoga in Bethesda, MD, and for Path of Yoga.

Raina is a former math teacher and was also a public interest lawyer for 15 years, including at the Children's Defense Fund. Raina has served on non-profit Boards and has also volunteered extensively for her kids' teams and at their schools. Raina loves being part of the Iyengar community. She feels so grateful that she has had the chance to get to know so many of the wonderful people in our region, and she looks forward to meeting many more.

Contact Raina at president@iyase.org.

Jan LeFrancois is a Level 2 CIYT and Associate Professor of Psychology at Converse University in Spartanburg, SC. She enjoys teaching courses that blend psychology and yoga at Converse, for example, Yoga and Stress Management and Women’s Wellbeing and Yoga. Jan also regularly teaches out of her home studio and at the Gibbs Cancer Center in Spartanburg.

Wanting to be of service to the discipline of Iyengar Yoga which she loves, she has previously served on the IYASE board as the teacher training chair and as secretary.

Jan lives with her husband, Paul, and their dog, Yoshe, who is from Pune, their cats Shiva and Crimi, and parrots Double and Max.

Contact Jan at secretary@iyase.org.

Jill Frankel is a Level 2 CIYT and the owner of iYoga in Delray Beach, FL. She served on the IYASE board and chaired the scholarship committee from 2019-2021. She has held numerous volunteer positions over the years including: president of an arts organization, secretary, treasurer, and president of parent teacher organizations, president and treasurer of numerous athletic booster clubs, she served six years on the Texas Real Estate Commission Inspector Committee. She also has a small Texas-based law practice.

Contact Jill at treasurer@iyase.org.

Marian Bell is a dedicated Iyengar Yoga practitioner based in Winston-Salem, NC. Her current teachers include Lisa Waas, Marilyn Rubin and Jerry Farmer. She loves the all-encompassing aspect of her yoga practice and the richness it brings to her life.

Marian enjoyed working as a creative director in Madison Avenue advertising agencies. She founded and ran her own advertising and design agency in Winston Salem, NC, where she created and produced marketing materials for her clients.

She enjoys collaborating with passionate people on creative projects. She sees working with IYASE as a way to connect with other yoga practitioners and also, as a way to use her copywriting and design experience to give back to the yoga community.

Contact Marian at newsletter@iyase.org.

Juli Kagan has been in the mind-body space, collectively for over 40 years, as a master Pilates instructor, author of the book Mind Your Body, professor and national speaker on the topics of ergonomics and mindfulness in the dental profession, and Level 1 CIYT. Her primary teachers are Colleen Gallagher, Jarvis Chen, and Lisa Walford, and Juli has also traveled to India to study at the Bellur Iyengar Yoga Center in B.K.S. Iyengar’s birthplace. Juli holds a master’s degree in educational psychology, with an emphasis on life-long learning. Above all, her greatest joy is sharing what she learns with others. In addition to helping the IYASE Board as the Scholarship Chair, she volunteers at Hospice in Boca Raton, Florida.

Contact Juli at scholarship@iyase.org.

Weimao Lee was introduced to yoga at the county recreation center in 2011 when her cardio class got canceled. Soon after she discovered and started studying Iyengar Yoga. Weimao is fueled by the incredible discipline of the practice. She has traveled to the IYNAUS Conventions in 2016 and 2019 and has studied with many Senior teachers. She is a Level 1 CIYT and continues her studies with Senior teachers from the U.S. and RIMYI.

Contact Weimao at website@iyase.org.

Lauren began her yoga journey in the late 1990s at Unity Woods, studying initially with Mary Pappas-Sandonas then Doerthe Braun, whose instruction continues to guide her.  Over many years, her relationship to yoga has evolved (gradually) from primarily a form of exercise to an integral part of her life on many levels.  She looks forward to giving back to the Iyengar yoga world through support of IYASE, and to the opportunities it will provide for building community and further deepening her practice. 

Lauren’s background is in philosophy, specifically ethical theory, bioethics, and social and political philosophy, which she taught for a brief time.  Since her years in the classroom, she has given her extra hours to volunteering for the schools and teams to which her three sons belonged, and to governance work on their school’s board of trustees.  As her youngest has recently begun his college adventures, she is looking forward to expanding her work into new areas. 

Lauren and her husband, Bruce, live in Kensington, MD with their two pups (and, occasionally, one or more of their boys).  She grew up in Cooperstown, NY, where she and her family still enjoy spending time.  Off the mat, she is a lifelong baseball fan and enjoys the outdoors, fitness, and cooking, as well as time with a good book or her knitting.  

Contact Lauren at membership@iyase.org.

A long-time yoga practitioner, Jeanne happened upon Iyengar Yoga with Doerthe Braun more than a decade ago and hasn’t looked back. In January, 2024 she traveled to Pune, India, to study for a month at the Ramamami Iyengar Memorial Institute, learning and practicing yoga alongside descendents of B.K.S. Iyengar and senior teachers from around the world. This experience had a profound impact on her practice and deepened her appreciation of the dedication that is required to become a highly-skilled Iyengar Yoga practitioner and teacher. Meditation, Pilates, weight training and functional mobility have also been foundational complements to her yoga practice over the years.

She is currently pursuing a Level 1 certification and teaching online at Path of Yoga and in person at Sweetbay Yoga in Bethesda, MD.

Professionally, Jeanne’s decades-long career in public relations took her around the world for corporate, multilateral and nonprofit clients. She is honored and excited to contribute her time and skills to the membership of IYASE. Jeanne also serves as a volunteer on the board of MHP, a local nonprofit focused on affordable housing serving neighbors in the Washington, DC metro area.

Off the mat, Jeanne loves to cook, travel, hike and spend time with family and friends. Locally in Maryland, you can find her on the Cabin John Trail and in Rock Creek Park with her dog, Millie.

Contact Jeanne at communications@iyase.org.

Alixe Steinmetz is a Level 1 CIYT in Raleigh, North Carolina. A yoga practitioner for over 20 years, she loves being a CIYT and getting to share yoga with others. Alixe is continually amazed by the ability of yoga to transform both body and mind. While she began volunteering with IYASE and IYNAUS out of a desire to give back, Alixe feels has gained so much more than she’s given in the form of colleagues and friends throughout the Iyengar Yoga community.

Contact Alixe at regionalrep@iyase.org.

These positions are currently vacant. If you are interested in volunteering with IYASE - whether as a board member or to help with specific projects, please reach out to any member of our board. We’d love to hear from you!