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
Marissa Davies
Barretender
Fitness and exercise has always been a part of Marissa’s life beginning at an early age. Marissa started dancing when she was five years old. She continued to take tap and jazz for seven years at the Boardman Dance Institute. Marissa has been an athlete all of her life as she played several sports growing up, but her main focus that she concentrated on in high school was softball.
Marissa received an athletic scholarship to play softball at Mercyhurst College. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 2005, Marissa continued her studies at Kent State University for graduate school. She received her Masters of Education degree in 2007 and her Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology in 2009. She is currently a licensed school psychologist in the Warren City School district, and she and her husband, Matt reside in Boardman with their three daughters, Emma, Mia, and Tessa.
Marissa has been taking bootybarre® classes since 2013 when Laura first began teaching this one of a kind barre program. She fell in love with this workout back then and still continues to love it to this day. She has been able to see her body quickly bounce back after two pregnancies and was even able to continue to take bootybarre® classes all the way up to a few days before she delivered her third daughter.
Marissa’s classes in 3 words: motivating, challenging, sweaty
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!
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!”
Alex Thomas
Mega Coach
Alex graduated from Cardinal Mooney and Youngstown State University with degrees in accounting and finance. Outside of Mega Barre, you can find her working part time in commercial real estate for the Platz Reality Group. Alex has been teaching Lagree in the megaformer studio since opening in 2019 and has taught fitness for several years prior. She says, “The Lagree method is a total mind and body workout, which I love, and I am beyond excited that I get to share it with the people in our community.” Alex loves the efficiency of the Megas and loves that it hits everything you need in a 45 minute high intensity workout. She is passionate about being a morning person and describes her class as loud, intense and no BS!
Alex lives in Boardman with husband Brad, daughter Gemma and dogghter, Valentine.
Jennifer Kilpatrick
Barretender
Jen’s love of dance began at the age of 4 at Kathi’s Dance and Gym center. There, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop for 14 years as well as assistant taught and participated in community theatre with Easy Street Productions. After high school Jen has continued teaching ballet at several studios in the Youngstown area.
Jen holds a bachelor’s degree in Radiologic Imaging Sciences from Kent State University, concentrating in MRI. She has always had a love for fitness, especially running, but often became bored with at home work out programs. The encouragement of a friend brought Jen to MBYO in 2017 and she’s been hooked ever since! She became a certified Booty Barre instructor in 2019 and is so excited to begin sharing her love of barre with others!
Jess Booms
Mega Coach
Jessica graduated from John Carroll with a degree in Communications. After college, she spent several years in sales before having a family. She has been teaching group fitness for several years. And feels, “there is something very special about being apart of changing peoples lives and seeing transformations mind, body, and soul”.
Jess typically loved fast, high energy, sweaty workouts, and the more intense the better. Once she found Lagree, her affinity for intense workouts changed and she found a new appreciation. On the Megaformer, she discovered a new intensity, passion, and love for a workout that continually challenges her. Jess is excited to be part of your fitness journey, and can’t wait to have you in class.
Dana Scott
Mega Coach, Barretender, Front Desk
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.
Jenn Zetts
Yoga Instructor
Jenn’s first experience with yoga began in 2007 and she was instantly hooked. It changed her right away in a way she’d never encountered. She allowed herself to take a journey of self discovery and that journey continues to his day. Jenn is passionate about health and wellness as well as finding a disciplined approach to mindful living each and every day.
She completed her yoga teacher training in 2014 and has loved teaching, guiding and motivating each of her students. “It’s so rewarding to watch my students grow with each class and discover their own love of yoga along the way.”
Jenn resides in Canfield with her daughter, Hannah and works at Merrill Lynch Her downtime is dedicated to her daughter and enjoying each day with immense gratitude.
Melody Ward
Mega Coach
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!”
Vanessa Tortora
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!
