MY LIFE IS MY MESSAGE...  In 1974, Karla Rodriguez was born Karla Martinez to parents Ana Maria Martinez and Carlos Martinez in the City of Hartford, Connecticut. She grew up in a single parent household with her sisters by her side. Karla continued through school and graduated with honors in 1992 from Bulkeley High School where she left the legacy of being a motivator. She was a member of the track team, cheerleading team, yearbook committee and a class official. Karla received an academic scholarship to the University of Connecticut where fitness had already become an interest,  but left there to become one of Hartford’s finest, a member of the Hartford Police Department.

Karla has been a member of the Hartford Police Department since 1995 where she was assigned to the Patrol Division within the department and was promoted to detective in 2001, assigned to the Major Crimes Division. She has received several departmental, local and statewide awards for her distinguished service, including being honored by the Connecticut Association of Police with the 2001 Woman Officer of the Year Award. She is a member of the Hartford Police Awards committee and is a certified P.O.S.T.C instructor in nine subject areas and teaches for the Hartford Police Academy, the Connecticut Police Academy, Manchester Community College and other outside agencies.

Karla is a certified group fitness and kickboxing instructor with over sixteen years of experience in helping people find passion in life and fitness. She has also been featured in local and national publications for her fitness and work efforts. Karla’s passion started with a work related injury that contributed to a 45-pound weight gain. This resulted in an addiction to positive energy associated with the beat of the music and hard core exercises. She began to not only teach regular classes but to  also conduct fitness and motivational workshops/conferences. Her passion for fitness was later halted by her pregnancy which resulted in another 50-pound weight gain. Making it all worth it, Juleana was born September 8, 2002. Juleana is now 7 years old and shares in her mother’s appreciation of music, dance and physical fitness. As Karla’s passion continued to rise and the desire to leave her daughter a legacy arose, the concept of Sudor Taino and her authentic clothing line was born.  Despite her many health issues, Karla continues to follow her passion, vowing to cast a light that reflects the true core energy of her family, friends and people that she encounters.

Karla holds a B.S. in Business Management and Public Relations from Albertus Magnus College and is scheduled to graduate from the Public Policy Master’s Degree Program at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in May, of 2010. Karla Rodriguez has been a Hartford Police officer since 1995 and has been assigned to the Patrol Division as an officer, the Major Crimes Division which conducts follow-up the investigations of sexual assaults, robberies, serious assaults, carjackings, and homicides as a detective; as well as the Intelligence Division which conducts dignitary details, corruption cases and investigations on serious gang and firearm crimes within the City of Hartford. Karla was promoted to the rank of Police Sergeant in May, 2009 and assigned to the Patrol Division.  Karla then supervised the Street Crimes Unit which is a proactive unit which has jurisdictions over the entire City of Hartford at night.  Karla has since returned to patrolling the Northeast District of the City of Hartford.  Karla still remains the President of the Association of Women Police. She is a single mother and resides in the Town of Newington.

In public interviews, Karla thanks God for her many blessings especially for the support of her family, friends, her hard core students and the special people that have motivated her along the way. She calls them her “Believers” because they have believed in her, in her mission and have always supplemented her passion. She was tattoed with the word, Namaste (a Hindu word/greeting) which serves as a reminder to  her that the light in her reflects the light in others.

Karla was quoted as saying, Everything I do…police work, giving advice to a fellow female officers, the workshops, the lectures, or even the messages I will put on my merchandise come directly from the inspiration I receive from individual encounters that I have with people on a daily basis. It is about the quest to live and not just to exist.”

Karla's goal is to contribute to the progress of humankind by continuing to touch the lives of everyone around her with the ideology of Fitness & Life with Passion.