Originally from Upstate New York, our Director of Fitness, Recreation, and Wellness Karen Cataldo, moved to Jacksonville in 2017 after her husband retired from the military. Karen says since her first day at the JCA she has always felt welcomed and embraced by our JCA community. 

Along with her bachelor’s degree in physical education from SUNY Cortland and her master’s in exercise science from Old Dominion University, Karen is a Certified Exercise Physiologist. Additionally, Karen is certified as an aquatics group exercise and kickboxing instructor as well as in recreational sports specialties, First Aid, CPR, and AED instruction. 

Karen says her favorite part of the job is sharing her passion for fitness and wellness with our JCA community because seeing her clients accomplish their goals is extremely rewarding. When Karen is not at the JCA, chances are she is working with Dogs on Deployment, Karen is the Jacksonville Coordinator for the organization which helps the military community care for their pets when they travel for training or deployment.