About
Dr. Maria Stevens is a physician and fitness industry leader whose work sits at the intersection of clinical medicine and fitness industry practice.
She serves as Director of Fitness & Education at FITNESS SF, where she oversees the fitness department across nine Bay Area health clubs. In this role, she directs a team of over 120 personal trainers — with responsibility for recruitment, educational oversight, sales training, and performance analytics — as well as overseeing safety and compliance training for 340 employees, and the strategic development of FITNESS SF's presence in the medical fitness space.
As Director of the Live Fitness Program at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center (2017-2023), Dr. Stevens personally designed and directed a 12-week fitness and health education curriculum for participants in a 180-day substance abuse recovery program. She has served on the center's Advisory Council during that time. This work formed the basis for a research collaboration with UCSF School of Nursing, examining the impact of structured exercise on recovery outcomes for individuals with substance use disorder. The resulting paper, "Tools You'll Have for the Rest of Your Life: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Fitness and Vocational Training Program for Substance Use Recovery," was published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Use & Misuse, for which she continues to provide peer review.
Dr. Stevens has over a decade of experience in group fitness leadership, having directed group exercise departments and designed enrollment-based health programs in Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco, including programs that achieved full redemption rates on training sales. She is the author of five accredited continuing education courses (19 CEUs each) for fitness professionals: Lifestyle Medicine Specialist, Metabolic Health Specialist, Senior Fitness Specialist, Corrective & Orthopedic Exercise Specialist, and The Anatomy of a Personal Trainer.
She currently serves as a volunteer Health Educator at Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts, presenting an "Exercise Is Medicine" series on exercise as a tool for chronic disease prevention and management. In collaboration with the Franklin County YMCA, and with grant funding from LifePath and the Age & Dementia Friendly Council, Dr. Stevens created "Stay Fit. Stay Connected." — a program designed for seniors with access and mobility limitations, built to facilitate functional strength while directly addressing the loneliness epidemic among older adults.
Dr. Stevens is a practicing physician who holds a medical degree from the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine, a BA in Philosophy from Yale University, and a post-baccalaureate from UC Berkeley Extension.
Athletic Background
Dr. Stevens was a Division I Varsity Athlete with Yale Women's Crew (2002-2006), where she rowed to four NCAA Championships, won the Concept 2 World Indoor Rowing Championships in 2004 and 2006, and earned multiple All-American and All-Ivy titles — training under more than a dozen elite coaches and strength trainers. She subsequently trained full-time with the United States National Rowing Team in Princeton, NJ (summers 2003-2004, 2006-2007) as an Olympic hopeful preparing for World Championships, including a two-month residency at the Arco Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. In 2011, her performance in American Kettlebell Club Long Cycle was assessed by a Master of Sport-ranked athlete as exceeding that rank's standard; Dr. Stevens currently trains in Pentathlon under International Kettlebell Organization standards.
Certifications & Trainings
Certified Personal Trainer, American Council on Exercise (2007)
Certified Medical Exercise Specialist, American Council on Exercise
Medical Fitness Director, Medical Fitness Association
Advanced Health & Human Performance Specialist, Levels 1, 2, & 3, Institute of Motion
Orthopedic Exercise Specialist, American Council on Exercise
Corrective Exercise Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
Corrective Exercise Specialist, The BioMechanics Method
Yoga Teacher Training (200-hour), Yoga Alliance
Indoor Cycling Certification, ICG
Level 2 Instructor in Kettlebells for Metabolic and Neurological Adaptation, Kettlebell Concepts
Active Isolated Stretching Specialist (The Mattes Method), Stretching By The Bay
