Laura Zavadil
Founder, Owner of the Barre Studio
Laura Paden Zavadil is the founder and co-owner of Mega Barre Youngstown. She’s also a registered and licensed dietitian and works as a private practicing nutritionist.
Laura is a Boardman High School and Youngstown State University graduate where she received her Bachelor’s in Food and Nutrition. Laura has a strong dance & fitness background. She danced professionally in various musical theater venues around the world, such as Tokyo Disneyland and the Radio City Rockette Christmas Spectacular.
Combining her passion for fitness, dance and wellness, Laura became certified through bootybarre® and all of its sister programs. She started teaching group fitness in 2013 and the studio, now knows as Mega Barre Youngstown, was born. MBYO’s innovative barre program is not only the most unique in the industry, but gaining worldwide recognition on all fronts for being the best in the business. She proudly was the first to bring the fitness craze, “barre” in Northeast Ohio.
Laura became a Registered and Licensed dietitian in 2007 and is also AFAA certified as a group fitness instructor, TRX, mat Pilates certified, and Lagree Fitness. She is now a Master Trainer with the bootybarre® program leading teacher trainings across the US.
Mega Barre has truly changed her life and she is endlessly grateful to the community for fulfilling her heart every single day.
Laura and her husband Micah, reside in Canfield with their three girls, Lena, Aly and Sadie.
Erica Fleming
Owner of the Megaformer Studio
Erica is co-owner of Mega Barre Youngstown and runs the Megaformer studio.
Erica’s passion for wellness and fitness started at an early age. She graduated from the University of Akron in 1999 with a degree in Dietetics and Nutrition. Out of college, she worked for Jenny Craig in Hudson, Ohio for two years and then moved back to Youngstown to become Shepherd of the Valley’s first Wellness Director. While there, she worked with residents and employees to achieve all of their health and fitness goals.
Erica completed her bootybarre course training in Pittsburgh, PA in 2015, TRX fitness training in April of 2016, and bootybarre’s bounce training June 2017. in 2019, Erica decided to open the area’s FIRST and ONLY Lagree Studio on the cutting edge and state of the art, Megaformers. The Lagree technique is unique and challenging, and includes all that she loves about fitness; strength, cardio, endurance and flexibility!
When she’s not busy being a dance & soccer mom, she enjoys running and has proudly completed three marathons!
Erica’s classes in 3 words: strong, energetic, entertaining
Melissa Bennett
Client Success Manager, Barretender
Missy started off with a love of dance from a young age. She trained in tap, jazz and ballet at Kathie’s Dance and Gym for over 10 years. Missy was also a cheerleader through high school and continued her love of fitness well into college. She studied Sociology with a minor in Psychology and Pop Culture at Bowling Green State University. She currently works as a social worker while also raising her three children, Jillian, Audrey and JT with husband Jim in Boardman. Missy’s thrilled to be part of the Mega Barre Youngstown team having started with Laura way back in 2013. After seeing how amazing she felt doing these classes through her whole pregnancy and bouncing right back just weeks after, Missy was hooked! She loves helping others experience what she has with this amazing program!
Missy’s classes in 3 words: sculpting, sweaty, satisfaction
Kim Miller
Barretender, Mega Coach
Kim started dancing at the age of 5 at Linda Diamond’s Academy of Dance where she competitively on a national team and studied ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop. She also was a cheerleader for many years at Fitch High School. After graduation, she continued her dance career with Jamie’s Dance Force, while studying to be a Pre-K-Grade 3 teacher at Youngstown State University. She graduated in 2002 Magna Cum Laude and then later went on to get her Master’s degree in curriculum from Marygrove College. Kim has always had a love for dance and fitness, which lead her to bootybarre®. Kim teaches 2nd grade at Austintown Elementary School. Kim and her husband Matt, live in Austintown with their two children, Casey and Madelyn.
Kim’s classes in 3 words: arms, fun, good music
Cassie Vennetti
Barretender, Mega Coach
Cassie started dancing at the age of 3 at Zahnow Dance where she studied Cecchetti ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary. She continued her dance career with ballet director Richard Dickinson at Great Lakes Festival Ballet. Cassie danced and performed for Great Lakes while attending Mount Union College. After college, she taught dance at Studio L. Her love for dance and fitness lead her to bootybarre®. In March 2014, Cassie became a certified bootybarre® instructor and hasn’t turned back since. Her classes are “intense” yet so rewarding. Cassie and her husband Bill, reside in Canfield with their three children, Matthew, Anna and Noah.
Cassie’s classes in 3 words: fast paced, heavy arms, planks for days
Marie Rupert
Barretender
Marie has a passion for dance and fitness so she was thrilled when she discovered the bootybarre® through the suggestion of a friend. It was love at first plie. Attending bootybarre® classes is her time to better herself so she can then be a better mom, wife and teacher. She became so passionate about the program and is very excited to start this new journey of being a bootybarre® instructor. Marie attended Youngstown State University where she obtained at bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She now teaches 3rd grade at Hilltop Elementary School. She implements fitness into her class as often as possible. Marie resides in Youngstown with her husband, Jared and two boys, Gavin and Logan.
Marie’s classes in 3 words: fit, fun, fierce
Jennifer Thomas
Barretender
Jennifer started dancing at the age of 4 at Megert’s Dance Studio. After graduating high school, she continued dancing at Youngstown State University where she was a member of the dance team and dance ensemble, From YSU, Jennifer has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies and a Master of Science in Education. She currently works at YSU as a financial aid counselor. Realizing how much she missed dance, and the shape she was in when she was dancing, she started searching for classes that incorporated the elements of dance she missed so much. Her search proved to be successful and instead of shopping on Black Friday in 2014, she took her first bootybarre® class. Needless to say, she has been hooked ever since and is so excited to have the opportunity to teach barre to others!
Jen’s classes in 3 words: energetic, motivating, rewarding
Lesley Busico
Mega Coach
Lesley has a masters degree in mental health and school counseling and works as a school counselor at Austintown Fitch high school. She has a strong background in group fitness teaching Spin for many years and now Lagree, at her sisters studio when Mega Barre Opened in 2019!
She’s a mom to two crazy busy girls spending the winter traveling for competitive gymnastics with Harper and spending the spring summer and fall traveling for travel softball for Cece. Her and her husband, Mike conquer and divide splitting up the girls sports but love every second of it.
Lesley describes her classes at Mega Barre as “LOUD! I’ll for sure wake you up at 5:30am!” She loves teaching because to her, it’s family, community, and friends. “The atmosphere at MBYO makes me feel like I’m a part of something larger than life. I feel at home, relaxed, and it’s the one moment in my busy life that is for me, whether it’s teaching or taking class. And, my bestie and sister are always there too and I love having the MBYO community in common with them!! They are both my heart!”
Kaeleigh Carden
Barretender, Mega Coach
Kaeleigh started dancing when she was four years old and trained in tap, jazz, lyrical and ballet until she graduated high school. Kaeleigh was also a competitive gymnast until the age of fourteen. Not wanting to completely let go of dance after graduation, she became an assistant teacher for several years. Kaeleigh was a cheerleader all through school and went on to become a cheerleader at Youngstown State University. Currently, she is a varsity cheerleading advisor and a teacher at Struthers Elementary School. Kaeleigh has always made it a point to not let her fitness get put on the back burner and is passionate about leading a healthy lifestyle. While she has always enjoyed workouts of any kind, she completely fell in love with barre and wanted to get certified to teach as soon as possible! Kaeleigh is also recently certified to teach megaformer classes too! She loves the group atmosphere, dance influence, and constant variation that Mega Barre’s methods provide. She can’t wait to see you all in class!
Dana Scott
Mega Coach, Barretender
Dana’s love for being active started at a very young age. She was involved in many different sports including dance, softball, basketball, and cheerleading. She graduated from Austintown Fitch High School in 2017. In 2021, Dana graduated from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Intervention Specialist.
Outside of the studio you can find her teaching second graders or coaching seventh and eighth grade cheerleading. She also loves to spend time with her family and dog Milo.
Dana started at MBYO as a studio babysitter! She began taking classes and was instantly hooked. It was the first workout that she thought was actually fun. A couple years later, she became certified in Bootybarre and shortly after trained to teach on the megas.
“In my classes I try to encourage everyone to do and be the best they can. I love to remind everyone that modifications are okay and to challenge your mind in order to push your body. I would describe my classes as motivating and challenging. I love taking classes and teaching at Mega Barre and plan on this being a part of my life for a very long time!”
Maria Cerni
Yoga Instructor
Maria fell in love with yoga when she was introduced to the practice over a decade ago. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher certification in 2016 and has been teaching since then.
She loves to challenge her comfort zone and find strength on the mat. As a teacher, she enjoys offering the mind/body benefits of yoga by incorporating some yoga philosophy with the physical practice.
In addition to yoga, Maria stays active taking classes at MBYO and chasing after her 3 little girls. Maria lives in Canfield with her husband, Vince, and daughters, Eliana, Isabelle and Grace.
Vanessa Duraney
Mega Coach
Vanessa has a bachelors degree from YSU and a masters through American College of Education. She currently teaches 8th grade Language Arts at Jackson-Milton. She recently got married in October to her husband Frank and they have a cute (but sort of psycho) chihuahua Zeus!
Vanessa fell in love with MBYO after trying all the different class options and realizing she would never get bored or plateau. The studio is super organized and it’s obvious everyone has a true passion for it.
She would describe her classes as, “fun and laid back but still challenging!” When she’s not at MBYO, she likes hanging out with Zeus and shopping at Target. Lastly – she loves cheese and red wine!
Melody Ward
Mega Coach, Bounce Instructor
Melody graduated from Boardman High School. She then went to Kent State University, to play college softball where she earned the nickname “Mighty Mel”! She earned a bachelors in Integrated Language Arts and masters in Secondary Education. Melody then spent a year in Brisbane, Australia teaching and coaching softball. Now she’s a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at Austintown Middle School.
Her husband teaches in Austintown, and her two children Charlotte 12 and Greyson 9 also attend Austintown. Fun fact: Charlotte is in my class this year! I am enjoying being a Teacher-Mom.
Melody has been a group fitness instructor for 6 years and an ACE certified personal trainer for 4 years. She is so grateful to be a part of the MBYO community.
“Through the many relationships and friendships I’ve made at MBYO over the years, I’ve been inspired by others’ success stories and humbled by their fitness journeys. I get the opportunity to teach the early morning class and the latest evening class. Nothing impresses me and motivates me more than the members that make their health and fitness a priority before the sun even comes up or after a long hard day at work.”
Words to describe her class:
“High energy! I’ve had my caffeine I hope you’ve had yours!”
Dr. Alexa Bodine
Mega Coach
Dr. Lex is the owner and chiropractic physician on staff at Poland Chiropractic Clinic. She graduated summa cum laude from Palmer College of Chiropractic: Florida Campus in December of 2022. She purchased Poland Chiropractic Clinic in April of 2023. She primarily utilizes Diversified and Thompson technique. During her time at school, she was also trained in Flexion Distraction, Activator, and Gonstead technique. She elected to further study Comprehensive Spinal Rehabilitation, Trigger Point Therapy, and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM).
Dr. Lex received her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Biology from Youngstown State University in 2019, which drives her passion for movement-based care and treating active individuals. She truly believes that exercise is the best form of preventative medicine. Her goal is to help patients return to the activities they love by empowering and guiding them through their pain experiences.
Outside of the clinic, she spends the majority of her time working out, walking her pup, exploring local coffee shops, taking yoga classes, and coaching Lagree Megaformer classes at Mega Barre Youngstown
Heather Haneline
Mega Coach
Heather found MBYO shortly after moving to the Youngstown area in 2022. She quickly fell in love with the Lagree method and the MBYO community so she decided to complete 20 hours of Lagree training. A lawyer by day, Heather is a firm believer that a strong body and focused mind go hand in hand. So, you can expect every class she teaches to be both a physical and mental challenge. Whether you’re a regular or new to the Megaformer, Heather would love to have you in class! When she’s not at the studio, she’s probably chasing around her wild (but super cute) puppy, Steel, or cheering on the Penguins football team and her husband, John
Ashley Smith
Barretender
Ashley Smith discovered her love for dance at just four years old and has pursued her passion for movement ever since. Since joining MBYO in 2019, her interest in fitness has flourished in ways she never imagined. The opportunity to blend her love for dance with her fitness journey has been transformative, enhancing both her physical and mental well-being.
Ashley holds both a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Nursing Education from Youngstown State University. As a dedicated Registered Nurse, she is committed to making a difference in the lives of pediatric and geriatric patients in the Mahoning Valley.
Outside of her professional life, Ashley loves traveling, performing in community theater musicals, and spending time with her friends, family, and her beloved pup. She is thrilled to continue teaching at MBYO, where she aims to inspire and motivate others on their own fitness journeys.
Jina Vitullo
Mega Coach, Barretender
Jina was a competitive dancer at Jamie’s Dance Force until she graduated high school. While in college, she taught at JDF for three years, where she stumbled into her first bootybarre class with Laura. Almost ten years later, she still remembers how incredible (and sore) she felt after that first class. Since then, she has attended almost 1,000 classes, constantly striving to better herself both as a client and an instructor. She finds Mega Barre Youngstown to be the most dynamic and effective studio in the area with the most welcoming and supportive community as an added bonus.
In 2022, she received her bootybarre certification, and in 2023, she completed her Lagree Fitness training. Her goal is to get enough instruction and experience to teach every single class MBYO has to offer. Latest update: the last class she needs to teach is Strength in order to reach her goal!
When Jina is not teaching or taking class at MBYO, she is managing the YSU English Language Institute and working for YSU’s International Programs Office. She received her B.A. in English with a minor in Education and her M.A. in English with certifications in Teaching of Writing and TESOL from YSU. She taught at Walsh University, Cleveland State University, and Eastern Gateway Community College before coming back to work at her alma mater.
She currently resides in New Middletown with her partner, Billy, and cat, Freddie Mercury. She loves reading, traveling, playing video games, and drinking G&Ts on her patio.
Tara Schuster
Mega Coach
Tara grew up in Youngstown and moved to Columbus after graduating from Ohio University to work as a pediatric RN. She stumbled upon Lagree in 2022 when searching for a healthy outlet to release her stress from her job. After 3 years in Columbus, Tara and her fiancé decided to move back to Youngstown and she found Mega Barre Youngstown! She currently works at the children’s hospital in Boardman and is a family nurse practitioner student at YSU. “It was literally fate that I found MBYO. Half the reason I was sad leaving Columbus was leaving Lagree behind and then I found MBYO on an Instagram story the week before I moved!”
