Julie Carda holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from St. John’s University Collegeville, MN, a Geriatric Wellness Instructor certification from Western Oregon University Northwest Rehabilitation Associates, several specialty fitness certifications and a BA in Dance /Liberal Arts from Creighton University Omaha, NE. She began ballet in 1969. As a young adult, she studied ballet in New York and Paris then settled in the Midwest where she taught and performed. Here she began researching cognitive fitness techniques and integrating the techniques into movement and dance.

After raising two children, she moved to Bend, Oregon with the express purpose of serving the needs of the aging population. In 2011, she created the company Everyday Brain Fitness. Her company offers fall prevention programs such as Tai Chi as well as private and group brain fitness classes for the senior community. Through purposeful interactions, she has been quite successful in helping clients maintain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual independence with dignity while maximizing their functional independence and morale through community connection. Currently, she is collaborating with the First Presbyterian church of Bend Center for Well-being and Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon. Within this collaboration, she provides Tai Chi for people with PD and, with the educational support provided by the Stanley J. Wertheimer fellowship, will be developing a Dance for PD program.