About Coach Moana

I am lucky to have taken my very first steps on the sunny beaches of San Diego, where I was born and grew up. I have been an avid walker ever since! When I arrived in San Francisco in 1983 to attend college, I began exploring and hiking through “The City” driven by my curiosity and desire to explore. I roamed from one neighborhood to the next, observing the architecture in the Haight Ashbury and the views from the hills of Mount Davidson by walking around San Francisco, I got to know the city and made it feel like my home.

While I didn't think of it this way at the time, these were my first Urban Hikes! My fitness journey began when I started exercising to battle stress while attending graduate school at SFSU. After graduating with a degree in counseling, I worked in the mental health field and continued to practice yoga, boxing, weight training, and Pilates. I completed the Pilates Teacher Training Program in 2007 and transitioned my profession full-time to fitness. With my background in behavioral health as well as fitness, I truly believe in the healing properties of exercise. I am now an ACE certified Personal Trainer, and an EHS Certified Pilates Instructor with a focus on foot and gait within my practice.

I love walking to get my creative juices flowing, stay in shape, and continue exploring the neighborhoods of the city that I love. Throughout this time, hiking has remained a large part of my life. I’ve gone on to hike many trails around the world, including the Swiss Alps, the La Tigra Rainforest in Honduras, the Cinque Terre in Italy, and Nevis Peak in the West Indies. Unfortunately, however, my passion for walking was limited in recent years by osteoarthritis in my hip, which made walking very painful. SF Urban Hikes was born out of my walks during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was finally able to have hip surgery in May of 2020, in the midst of San Francisco's strict "shelter-in-place" policies. On my road to recovery, I started walking frequently to regain my strength and also to break up the isolating days of lockdown. In my own journey of rehabilitating my hip through walking, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of walking and mobility to physical and mental health. I started SF Urban Hikes so that I could share my love and enthusiasm for walking with my friends, family, and clients.

I currently lead hikes through my beautiful city, and partner with EHS Pilates to teach walking classes that help clients to build strength and confidence so that they too can experience the joy of walking and hiking. After a difficult couple of years, I am back and ready to hit the urban trails - and I want you to come along!