Tamera Clifton: Wellness Manager, Terwilliger Plaza

Jul 13

What is your role as the Wellness Manager?

I lead and oversee the Wellness Center and the Aquatic Center, which is our gym and pool, as well as all the programming we provide outside of these spaces, such as group fitness, educational events and seminars, special events, and off-campus activities. My team consists of a full-time staff of two wellness coaches, which is what we call our personal trainers. We offer personal training or small group training, and program 15 group exercise classes on land and nine in the water every week. I have also two aquatic specialists that work in the pool as a contractor, and we contract with other group exercise instructors to bring in dance, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong.

What is your background? How did you become involved in this field of health and wellness?

I have been involved professionally in health and wellness, and exercise for the past 30 years. I first began to study dance at Texas A&M University. I had a childhood notion that I was going to grow up to be a Rockette! I soon realized, that while I was a pretty good dancer, I didn’t have the talent to pursue a career.

During this time in college, I began to teach an aerobics class which influenced me to change my major to education. As I continued to teach fitness classes and offer personal training while going to school, I made the decision to transfer to University of Texas, Austin, and switch my major to graduate with a degree in Kinesiology and Health Promotion. Staying true to my original roots though, I will say that my practice and methodology has always been very dance influenced.

What is Kinesiology?

Kinesiology is the science of human movement. The program, which was dynamic and engaging incorporated exercise science, biomechanics, physiology, anatomy, program creation and a comprehensive history of sports, including Title IX. I was enrolled in the program from 1989 – 1992, which is also when the US was involved with the first Gulf War. Several of my professors were engaged in active research testing the desert camouflage uniforms, doing muscle biopsies and hydration checks. They wrote the textbooks that many programs still use in these classes today..

Soon after graduating you relocated to San Francisco.

Six days after graduating from college I moved to San Francisco and lived there 1992 – 2006. I had a great time. Good to get out of Texas. Of all the cliches that you want to subscribe to - starting over again in San Francisco and truly finding out who you are is a beautiful one. I first began working at a health club in the Financial District called Club One. A great company that was very intentional in their beginning about carving out their niche to be high end and quality service oriented.

You reference your time working in corporate fitness.

I always had a lot of peripheral experience working in corporate fitness, even as far back as Texas where I did some work for Texas Instruments at the dawn of corporate fitness. In San Francisco I taught classes at Pacific Bell, the Federal Reserve Bank and smaller gyms offering workplace wellness. When I left Club One I began working as the Director of the Federal Fitness Center in the Federal Building in San Francisco offering programming and personal training. Here I taught classes for the employees within three agencies: the Environmental Protection Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as ICE), and the Internal Revenue Service. For a time, I also ran the fitness facility at the GAP Headquarters.

What was behind your decision to move to Portland?

It was 2006 and I had two young girls who were six and three at the time and I wanted to own property in a good school district and raise them in Portland.

You continued in the field of health and wellness and found a path to Terwilliger Plaza?

It was important with the girls to have flexibility in my day, so I held various jobs teaching at clubs throughout the city. I also taught fitness at Nike and Pilates at The Standard. Eventually I worked as a Nike contractor, as a trainer for eleven and a half years; full-time for the last eight years.

I wanted to secure a full-time, salaried position, although I was being selective because finding the right culture and environment was important to me. A colleague was working at Terwilliger, and they called me about an opening for a Wellness Manager. I came in and interviewed and was offered the job in October of 2018.

What was it about Terwilliger Plaza?

I instantly loved it. The people, the community, my team. It’s very fulfilling to use my skills to improve a person’s quality of life.

Can you talk about the concept of Wellness here at Terwilliger Plaza?

Anything that helps you live a healthier more vital, fulfilled, and happy life can be categorized under wellness. This perspective is infused throughout the community here at Terwilliger. We program to engage the seven dimensions of wellness, which includes physical, mental, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and vocational.

We provide exercise opportunities for all levels, as well as opportunities to engage in mind body exercises such as yoga and sound bath and meditative experiences. We have yoga therapists on staff. We program for health information. We also do extensive balance programming and fall prevention and organize many hikes and walks from the trails to the waterfront.

Events are programmed throughout the year, including our biggest event, Active Aging Week, in October. This is when we get to talk about all seven dimensions of wellness in extreme detail, through classes, speakers, programs, and events that specifically target every single one of our seven dimensions of wellness.

Can you talk about your experience as a marathoner?

Even though I’ve had my career in the fitness industry, I never considered myself to be an athlete. When I was the manager of the fitness center at GAP headquarters in San Francisco, one of my clients invited me to train with a group for a half marathon. My first response was, “I’m not a runner.” To which he replied, “you don’t have to be. But if I know you at all, I think you will really enjoy the structure of the training cycle.” That was such a beautiful and casual insight into me. It was spot on.

He challenged me and I accepted. I loved it.

What was it about being a marathoner that kept you involved?

At the time, as a working mother with two children who spent my life telling people what to do, the passive nature of following a plan was so Zen like. Going out and running was extremely centering for me. I was able to finish my thoughts!

I am also a bit competitive, and so I wanted to apply what I was learning to get better. I ran my first half marathon in 2004. I ran a few more when I got to Portland, although all half marathons. The full marathon had to this point eluded me. That was the next challenge.

Self-challenge accepted?

Yes. I chose to train and run a full marathon for my 40th birthday in Vancouver B.C. I made a lot of rookie mistakes, such as going out too fast. It was brutal. Once I understood the mistakes I made, I wanted to fix them. For my first five marathons I kept telling my family, this is it, I just want to do it right and then, I’ll stop. My fifth marathon was Boston in 2013, which is the year of the bombing. After I ran that marathon, I realized, I am a marathon runner.

Intellectually I prefer the full marathon because every marathon cycle I must build back up to 20-miles. Since 2009, I have run at least one marathon a year. In total, I’ve run 22 marathons now, including Boston four times and Portland, six times. I love creating my training plan, and I enjoy the process.

Explain the structure of the training plan.

There are different ways to approach a training plan. For me, I have four different types of runs over a 16-week training plan, which is a nice, slow buildup in preparation for the race. I choose the long run distance that I want to achieve and then just zig zag that out, 13-miles one run, 14-another, then 15-miles, eventually getting myself up to 20-miles. I complete five 20-mile runs over my cycle.

There also needs to be a long-run, and speed work. There are tempo runs where you are going faster than you are used to but trying to maintain that speed for a few miles. Then there is hill running. I run about three to four times a week in addition to my yoga, strength training and cross training. By gradually building up the distance, so that 20-miles is tolerable, when you get to race day you are only faced with the last 6.2 miles.

You are also a trail runner.

Yes, although mostly recreational, I have run six trail 50K races. It’s a different form than road running because it requires more balance and agility, and sometimes navigation. There is a sweetness in running through the forest. It’s playful and the air and lichen smells so good.

It’s interesting to learn about your career, and how decisive moments and opportunities have influenced your expertise.

Here at Terwilliger, I am here to help our resident Members embrace health and wellness from a broad and comprehensive perspective. I’m very proud of the path that brought me here and my status as an educated lifer and master trainer in health and fitness. From my experiences at college, throughout my career and in my personal life as a marathoner, I’ve always enjoyed physicality and movement. In addition to my work here at Terwilliger Plaza, I am also a writer for Healthline and a master trainer for the American Council on Exercise, providing Continuing Education workshops for physical trainers and group fitness instructors.

Exercise shouldn’t be stressful. My philosophy is do what you like, and exercising won’t be a struggle. You may even begin to look forward to it.

Think Joule