Our Team
Lifetimes of Skating
Our professionals have been teaching youth and adult beginner and advanced figure skaters and hockey players for decades. They are US Figure Skating Certified Coaches and receive annual training and certification from the US Center for Safe Sport.
David DeFazio
David's passion for intensive, detail-oriented training is the driving force behind the The Skating Collaborative. As a skater, David was the 2007 Swiss Ice Dance Champion and reached the final segment of the European Championships the same year. He also performed in ice shows throughout North America, Europe and Australia.
David has 15 years of experience teaching skating. His students include USFS Gold Medalists, senior-level collegiate competitors and championship-level competitors at the US Adult Figure Skating Championships.
David holds an MA in Sustainable Peace through Sport from United Nations-mandated University for Peace and the International University of Monaco and a BA in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison University. As a skater, he trained at elite centers in the United States, Canada, France and Germany under the coaches of World and Olympic Champions. He has worked extensively in the non-profit sector to promote positive youth development through sport. He contributed to working groups with ENGSO Youth in Budapest, Hungary and the European Youth and Sport Forum in Larnaca, Cyprus and was a panelist at the Common Purpose Global Leadership Experience (GLE) at Harvard University from 2015-2017.
David teaches skating skills, freestyle, ice dance and choreography to skaters of all ages and abilities.
Donna Wojtowicz
Donna is the grande dame of The Skating Collaborative and she brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the school.
Herself a USFS Gold Medalist in freestyle and figures, she has been the coach of numerous USFS Gold Medalists in those disciplines as well as skating skills. S
he has coached multiple USFS regional championship medalists and sectional championship competitors in freestyle, including at the senior level. Indicative of Donna's ability to instill strong fundamentals, several Donna's former students have gone on to become teaching professionals themselves.
Donna's education in the sport is deep and includes learning from Olympians and Olympic and PSA Master-Rated coaches in the USA and Canada. Donna holds a BS in Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Economics from Russell Sage College.
Donna teaches skating skills, freestyle and choreography to skaters of all ages and abilities.