Our mission is to change the way our culture treats the relationship between a child’s social, emotional, behavioral and cognitive success and physical big body play

Pop, Hop & Rock™  is serious fun put into practice in Richmond, Virginia.  

  • 25: Years we have coached serious fun
  • 1000’s: Kids we have coached
  • 100’s: Games and activities we have developed
  • 1000’s: Teachers, parents and administrators we have trained
  • Dozens: Schools that have used our curriculum or have had our Coaches lead the curriculum

Pivot to Play™ helps YOU put fun into your school day.

  • Dozens: Conferences where we have empowered teachers and administrators to value play with logical research to back up powerful change.
  • 100’s: Games we have shared to support lively engagement teachers can use with their students.
  • 100’s: Schools that have been inspired to use play for improved learning and behavior for happier classrooms.
  • 1000’s: Teachers and educators around the world inspired by the brain science and logic of moving for improved learning and behavior.

Executive Team Bios

Preston Blackburn

CEO and Founder • Occasional Troublemaker

Preston created Pop, Hop & Rock™ in 2000 when her daughters were preschoolers. What started as a simple exercise program has evolved into one that focuses on creating opportunities for kids to hone the fundamental strengths, skills, and motor patterns they need for a successful and happy school journey.  Pop, Hop & Rock™ Coaches lead proprietary curriculum in school settings in the Richmond, Virginia area where new games and activities are tested and honed before being shared widely.

In 2019, Preston created Pivot to Play® to help teachers get kids moving during the school day to fill the play gap.  Using brain science and logic, as well as a treasure chest of games and activities that help kids understand how to use their bodies for school work as well as lay neural wiring for improved focus and behavior, Preston leverages fun to help classrooms move from chaos to calm.

Most importantly, Preston’s proudest accomplishment is her two daughters.  Though they are now twenty-somethings taking on the world, they were the best inspiration for Pop, Hop & Rock™.   Even today, they continue to add their expertise from their blossoming careers with guidance in human resources, sales, film, production, creative inspiration, and design as both Pivot to Play® and Pop, Hop & Rock™ continue to grow and evolve.

Preston has been teaching fitness classes to grown-ups since 1992 and is trained and certified in many formats including:

As a former NCAA athlete Preston brings her knowledge of sports mechanics to every class. In addition, her passion for wellness, nutrition and health drives her love for helping kids develop strong bodies and brains.  When she isn’t with children, she can be found around Richmond teaching anything from Bootcamp to BodyPump, Spin to Step and more.

Her love for sharing her talents and knowledge has led her to work with some amazing non-profits. 

  • In 2017 she was honored to be a keynote speaker at the second annual Move2Learn Summit hosted by Runningbrooke in Alexandria, VA. 
  • In 2018, Pop, Hop & Rock™ was chosen as Youth Life Foundation‘s Community Partner of the Year.   

Preston is honored and humbled to work with the following groups that support our next generation:

Preston’s Professional Memberships

Preston Blackburn

In the news!

Katie Couric Media: here and here.
CanFitPro, the largest provider of education in the Canadian fitness industry: here.
Play With a Purpose: here, here, here and here.
Community Connections: here.

See more interviews and articles here.

We have been honored to be a speaker/presenter at these amazing conferences:

Terry Rees

Senior Play Officer  •  Master Herder of Small People  •  Champion of Play

Terry has a BA in Liberal Arts from VA Tech and a M.Ed in Counselor Education from VCU. She was a middle school counselor for 5 years before deciding to stay home to raise her family. During that time, she became certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, one of the largest internationally recognized fitness certifying bodies. She began teaching in 2000 and has been sharing her love for fitness as well as her thoughtful, creative and fun classes to Richmond area grown-ups ever since. Terry can be found teaching almost anything including Barre, Step and Strength style classes.

Terry joined the Pop, Hop & Rock™ family in 2014 and has brought her enthusiasm and sense of adventure to schools all over Richmond. Her knowledge of fitness coupled with her counseling background make her classes energetic, creative and FUN!  

Terry is the primary tester for all games and classroom management tricks helping propel only those that are wildly successful into the Pivot to Play® and Pop, Hop & Rock™ repertoire.  Her classroom management skills are bar none, but watch out for that twinkle in her eye!  She might be up to some mischief!

Terry Rees

Kelsey Schmidt

Chief People Partner  •  Ambassador of Buzz  •  Maverick of Knowledge

Before joining Pop, Hop & Rock™ in 2021, Kelsey was a classroom teacher for 10 years. She gained most of her experience in a preschool setting, then enhanced that base working with children with special needs.  Currently, she is working on finishing her degree in Early Childhood Education and plans to leverage her knowledge into expanding the goal and mission of both Pivot to Play® and Pop, Hop and Rock™.

As Maverick of Knowledge, Kelsey acts as a resource for all things kids.  Her experience in special needs, classroom chaos, and innate love of small people makes her an ideal researcher, out of the box thinker, and prophet of play.  As Chief People Partner and Ambassador of Buzz, Kelsey manages customer relationships, social media and almost all things outreach.  If you have questions about the curriculum, feel free to reach out to her at Kelsey.Schmidt@pivottoplay.com.

Kelsey also has a passion for health and fitness. She believes in teaching young children about the importance of a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle and intentional movement as a necessary building block in their development. Recently, she finished The Richmond Marathon, and plans to complete either an ultra marathon or Ironman in the future.

Terry Rees

Kate Madison

Play Officer

Kate’s professional career in the fitness industry spans almost 25 years and due to her vast experience in the central Virginia area, she is well-known in the wellness community as a resource for other instructors and trainers in achieving methods for their own clients and programming.  Kate has attained the highly specialized Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) level 1 & 2 Fitness Certification allowing her to coach golfers and tennis players to hone their physical capabilities for ultimate performance.  In addition to TPI, Kate is a Master Trainer for Gliding and is certified in multiple areas, including: Cycling through Reebok and Lamond, Strength through STRONG, STOTT Pilates Mat and Reformer training.

Kate joined the Pop, Hop & Rock™ family in 2021 and has not only brought fun and high energy to all of her classes, she has developed numerous games and activities that drive the fun while supporting developmental growth.

Terry Rees

Tracy Ward

Play Officer

In her previous life, Tracy studied Sociology at VCU and then worked in banking management for 10 years, choosing to take the following 10 years to raise her children.  Not one to sit still, Tracy kept herself busy during those early parenting years, holding various development roles at both the YMCA and St. Joseph’s Villa.  When it was time to step back into the workforce, she spent another decade as a preschool teacher.  Lucky for us, she joined the Pop, Hop & Rock™ team in 2024 and hit the ground running.  When she isn’t racing around with kids, she is reading, kickboxing, spending time with family and friends, attending country music concerts, and taking care of her foster dogs.  Secretly, she holds a master’s degree in thrift shopping that the rest of the team envies!

Terry Rees

Melanie Campbell

Play Officer

Melanie has a BS in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a Masters in Teaching (PK-4th grade) from VCU.  After six years of teaching 3rd grade in both Richmond City and Chesterfield County schools, Melanie took time off to raise her son.  Lucky for us, she couldn’t stay away from her teaching!  She returned to education, leading JK and then 2-year-old classes for eight years, then joined us in 2024.

At Pop, Hop & Rock™, Melanie applies her expertise with both our elementary and preschool-aged students.  We are honored to share her with the Anna Julia Cooper School, a local independent, faith-based school that provides full tuition scholarships to students of limited resources in Richmond’s East End. At AJC,  Melanie spends multiple hours weekly tutoring and mentoring students.  In that capacity she was the 2022 Gabriel Award winner for volunteer of the year.

Melanie’s passion for health (thoroughly committed barre and step aerobics participant), contagious humor and unfailing upbeat attitude make her a standout coach that our school clients and their students love.  Her creativity and commitment to the Pop, Hop & Rock™ brand and mission make her  classes fun and purposeful for everyone!  But don’t mess with her when it comes to Virginia Tech or TCU sports….she is an avid Hokies and Horned Frogs fan!

Terry Rees

Kayla Hinton

Play Officer

With an insatiable curiosity toward human behavior, Kayla completed her BS in Social Work at SUNY Brockport then swiftly formulated a plan to move south! After finding home in Richmond, she continued her dedication to behavior analysis and growth within the early intervention community. In 2015 Kayla shifted to assisting people through some of life’s biggest transitions as a licensed Realtor. She never forgot her experience encouraging a student to participate in Pop Hop in Rock and thinking that a Play Officer would be the coolest job ever! Kayla connected with Preston and stayed in touch over the years until the timing to join the team was right. Understanding the neurological necessity of movement for children across a range of abilities has kept this group close to her heart. With an active toddler at home, Kayla enjoys flexing her chaos management muscles daily! In true millennial fashion, she juggles all her passions and side hustles with grace.

Terry Rees

Ilyse Canfield

Child Whisperer Extraordinaire

Ilyse, a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist with almost two decades of experience, holds a certification from Learning Without Tears.  As the founder of “The Write OT,” a company that specializes in fine motor skills, pre-writing and handwriting, Ilyse has worked with children of all ages in all types of settings.  Ilyse understands that a multi-sensory approach (visual, tactile, auditory, and movement) makes the work of practicing supportive writing skills feel a lot more like play than work.  Ilyse has been consulting with our team since 2021 and her insight dovetails with our philosophy while her guidance on all things OT helps us hone our practice.

Terry Rees

Sara Hudson

Word Prophet  •  Master of Lexicon

Sara has spent 20 years learning alongside young children. Over that time, the children taught her that real learning happens when we use our whole bodies and all of our senses. And, that kind of learning happens outside as well as inside. So, together with the kids and some great teacher friends, Sara learned to take the classroom outside – to the playground, to the woods, or just to an open grassy space. Add some sand, water, hay bales, logs, dirt, boots, rain jackets, paint, PVC pipe, soup pots, watering cans, shaving cream, trees and whatever else you can find and let the learning begin. Since leaving the classroom in the spring of 2019, Sara has been consulting on topics ranging from early childhood education quality to family literacy and has been serving as our team’s editor and academic consultant.

Terry Rees

Katherine Kelly

Chief Cheerleader

Katherine joined the team in 2018 and brings a lively spirit to Pop Hop & Rock™. Before leaving corporate work to raise her family, Katherine enjoyed volunteering in various community outreach programs that supported at risk families.

Since joining Pop, Hop & Rock™, Katherine has lent her creativity and humor to many of our programs, especially through the Snack and Roll™ offering.  It is this same sense of humor and creativity that has made her lead game developer launching new ideas and activities into the Pop, Hop & Rock™ and Pivot to Play™ library.  Though retired from day to day action with the team, she is frequently roped back in for her creativity, out of the box outlook, and enthusiasm for all things play.

Terry Rees

Taking Fun Seriously One Child at a Time