Our Advisory Board

D A N C E S P O R T   E D U C A T I O N

Our Advisory Board

Carrie Biggs Schnepf

Carrie Biggs Schnepf is an Arizona native and a well-known personality in the Valley of the Sun. She is known for the famous Schnepf Farms, for her work as an Anchor/Reporter at KPHO TV5, and for her passion and involvement in various charitable causes, including: Chairwoman special event Arizona Special Olympics, Phoenix, since 1991; Member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, Phoenix, since 1993 and Chairwoman special event, since 1993; Member fundraising committee PreHab of Arizona, Mesa, since 1991; Founding Member and Chairwoman Project B.E.S.T., Queen Creek, Member Desert Club and its publicity committee since 1992. Carrie is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Chairman's Award of the Arizona Special Olympics, 1993 and many others. Carrie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications at Brigham Young University, 1985. She is the co-owner and operator of Creekside Entertainment, DBA Schnepf Farms, Arizona State's largest agri-tourist farm and peach grower.

Mary Murphy

Mary Murphy is a ballroom dance champion, accredited dance judge, and a judge and choreographer on the Fox dance competition-reality show So You Think You Can Dance. Mary has a college degree in physical education and a minor in modern dance from Ohio University. Mary is a 1990 and 1991 Austrian National Champion. In 1996 she won the U.S. Open American Nine Dance. She appeared in the 2010 movie Degrassi Takes Manhattan. Mary participated as a choreographer and judge in the world acclaimed show So You Think You Can Dance, where she quickly became a favorite to the audience. She owns a dance studio and organizes a Los Angeles dance competition, the Hollywood Dancesport Championships. In 2006 Mary partnered with a San Diego-area school district to offer dancing as a regular part of their curriculum.

Iskra Balchev (Velinova)

Iskra Balchev (Velinova)is a Bulgarian world-class, Olympic athlete in Rowing- 4 Olympic Games (silver medalist in Moscow 1980, silver in 1984 (alternative games in Moscow), 4th in Montreal 1976 and Seoul 1988. Seven World Championships - 1975 Nottingham, England and 1977 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - 2nd places; 1981 in Munich, Germany – 3rd. 

Iskra moved to the USA in 1990 and still rows in the Masters Program World Games - Champion in single in Edmonton ,Canada 2005 and in Sydney, Australia 2009 . Champion in many World and US National competitions. Right now, she is training for her next World Masters competition in Sarasota, Florida.

Iskra was born in the town of Kyustendil, the cherry capital of Bulgaria and Europe.She started rowing as a freshman studying radio electronics in Samokov, a famous downhill ski resort in Bulgaria that has produced some of the biggest names in Bulgarian sports. After a few months practice, she won a silver medal in the junior nationals, which put her in the spotlight, and she was asked to join several sports clubs at the capital city Sofia. After finishing her high school in 1972, Iskra Velinova joined Levski Spartak Sofia, one of the most prestigious sports clubs in Bulgaria, and rowing became her passion and drive. In her second year she also started college, studying physical education, where she developed her coaching skills. Less than a year later, she was asked to join the national team, setting the starting point of her Olympic and World champion journey. Today, she continues her sports career in the World Masters Games (which are the equivalent of the Olympic Games for Masters, held every 2 years), World Championship Games and US Championships. She is 9-time US Masters champion. 

Besides that, she is an avid lover of ballroom dance, competing Pro/Am in American Rhythm and loves the Argentine Tango. In fact, we met Iskra at the Argentine Tango Night at Imperial Ballroom Dance Center, our partner studio. She is very passionate about sports and achieving in sports. She is a sought-out instructor and coach in rowing in the US. Additionally, she was the co-founder of ” Bulgarian Horizons- Arizona", a newspaper for the Bulgarians living in the US and served on the editorial board Iskra currently lives, works and trains in Phoenix, Arizona. Iskra was very excited to learn and get to know DanceSport Education and support our mission and endeavors! 

Wesley Leasy

Wesley Leasy is a former NFL player, who played for the Arizona Cardinals. Now his mission in life is to inspire and motivate young people with making optimal choices in their life and excelling in their choices. He has spoken at American Airlines on the Power of Leadership and the Importance of Diversity. Mr. Leasy also speaks to university students inspiring them to achieve their goals. He also discusses how to overcome obstacles in a speech titled “My Hands Broken, But not My Spirit.” His mission is to motivate young individuals to achieve their dreams, by providing them with tools via the seminars and recommended readings. When not involved with speaking engagements, Mr. Leasy is active in various charities, and programs and organizations that involve human development, diversity, education and financial growth. Physical Fitness was and remains a cornerstone in Wesley's success - he helps others have a better quality of life, through physical activity and diet education. He is a fitness professional who helps his clients fight obesity through active lifestyle. He works closely with a number of doctors and non-profit organizations to help bring attention to their causes.

Karina Smirnoff

Karina Smirnoff is a dancer, activist, animal rights activist and television personality. Originally from Ukraine, she was 14 years of age when her family relocated to the United States. At age 9 her parents signed her up for ballroom dance classes. Karina quickly discovered her passion and talent for ballroom dance and dropped her other activities to concentrate exclusively on dancing. In New York, she attended Christopher Columbus High School and the Bronx High School of Science. After graduating from high school, Karina enrolled at Fordham University where she double-majored in economics and information systems programming. She was also looking at law school. 

But dancing prevailed. In 2001, Karina Smirnoff paired with fellow Ukrainian dancer Slavik Kryklyvyy, and the couple would go on to dominate ballroom dance competitions for the next four years. Karina's many accomplishments during this period include five U.S. Latin Ballroom Championships, the World Trophy Championship and the Asian Open Championship. Karina and Slavik also made a joint cameo in the 2004 film Shall We Dance starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. Already well established as one of the world's premiere ballroom dancers and a television celebrity, in 2009 Karina took her talents to a new venue: Broadway. She performed for two months in the Broadway production of Burn the Floor, a ballroom dance show that received rave reviews.

Karina is one of the world's premiere ballroom dancers and a television celebrity. In the US, she is best known to the general public in the US as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. She is also one of the most sought after ballroom coaches worldwide, a ballroom judge and adjudicator for any major national and international competitions. Her passion is to work with kids and discover their many ballroom talents! 

Devla Mahler

(Bio coming soon)


Katya Borisova

Katya Borisova is Vice President, Business Development at Comerg LLC. Katya has an MBA Degree from Santa Clara University in the field of Marketing Management and International Business. Leveraging an extensive history in strategic planning, team leadership, and business transformation, she helps companies achieve their full potential by developing strategies, implementing platforms and creating solutions that allow them to scale. As a driving force behind helping companies strengthen their vision, eliminate unnecessary costs, and improve the bottom line, she identifies strategic opportunities, develops a solid business case, and lead them to successful execution. At the core of her work, she sets up goals to discover, shape, and execute ideas and solutions that transform businesses and organizations.

Dr. Eric P. Thor

Dr. Eric P. Thor is a Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University. He is a six-time presidential appointee and presidential advisor: advisory services on FSIS (U.S. Food Inspection Service) and a Member of the Emerging Market Advisory Board to Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama. Currently he is State Director of Arizona Ag Institute and Visiting Professor at the Royal Agricultural University, U.K., where Queen Elisabeth II chartered him in 1998. He has authored a number of books including “Attacking Global Barriers”, and co-authored “Anatomy of American Agricultural Credit Crisis”. He has held senior positions at USDA and also served as President and CEO of the Farm Credit Assistance Board. He has received Award of Superior Service by both USDA and U.S. Treasury. He currently works on projects on four continents and has done new market development in over 60 emerging markets.Gaetano Frankel: Bio Coming soon

Anna Shahbazyan

Anna Shahbazyan is originally from Armenia. She started Ballroom dancing at the age of 14. She moved to the US in 2000 where she pursued her career as a professional dancer while continuing her education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) majoring in Psychology and later earning her Masters Degree.

In 2012 she started working in the field of ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) as a Behavior Interventionist and later as an Adaptive Skills Supervisor. Shortly after, in 2014 she realized how much more could be achieved if therapy was combined with dance, and not any dance, but specifically Ballroom Dancing. That is when she started her own program ASDance for Autism at the Sloan and Sloan School of Dancing in Glendale, CA, serving the needs of children and teens with Autism, Non-Verbal Autism, Dyspraxia and even Visual Impairments as well as their families through the multidisciplinary approach used through Ballroom.

Anna was a recipient of the Community Service Award in 2016 by the NDCA (National Dance Council of America) for her contribution to the community as an ambassador of Ballroom Dance. She is also the co-organizer of City Lights Open Competition in San Jose, CA. With her professional partner they were:
  • British Open Professional Smooth Finalists in 2017
  • Open Professional Smooth Bronze medalists at the Champions Ball in Moscow
  • US National Rising Star Smooth and Ohio Star Ball Vice Champions
  • US National Rising Star International Ballroom Finalists
  • Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Ballroom Vice Champions
Anna is joining DanceSport Education as an Advisory Board Member and is excited to support our mission in reaching out to ALL children. She will guide our efforts in establishing a program for children and teens with special needs, so that they can experience the long-term benefits of ballroom dance.

Gaetano Frankel

(Bio coming soon)

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