trainer bios

Alicia was introduced to Pilates while she was preparing for her first half marathon in 2006. She began a weekly mat Pilates class to cross-train and introduce some strength conditioning into her routine. Impressed with the results achieved from this once per week regimen, she continued to take mat classes over the next several years. In 2009, she decided to do something with her passion for the Pilates method of exercise and went through the Pendleton Pilates certification course. She is trained to teach both mat and Reformer classes. In 2011, Alicia pursued and added a Personal Trainer certification from the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

Brandon’s running journey began in college as a way to keep competition in his life, post soccer. Since then he has completed 20+ half and 3 full marathons. He joined studio s in 2013 as way to bring community and running together and owes both his half and full marathon PRs to Susie and her team. He is still chasing down the elusive Boston unicorn. Brandon is joining the studio s coaching staff to give back and support the studio s family. When its 10 degrees, he will be that guy in shorts.

Susie has always been captivated by human potential. At age thirteen, she began self-studying world religions by gobbling up as many books as she could on the topic. She would go on to graduate with a degree in Comparative Religion from Miami University, Oxford, OH because she wanted to know how religion influenced and motivated individuals as well as cultures.

She co-founded a life coaching company, ikigai (a Japanese word defined as “that which makes life most worth living”) to help others seek out their own potential. She co-taught workshops to help professionals of all backgrounds clarify and pursue their life goals. It was out of this process of leading others that she discovered her own purpose—to help indiividuals find confidence and strength through fitness and healthy living.

In 2010 she started studio s, a boutique-style fitness facility offering Personal Training, Spinning and Pilates. From the beginning, Susie’s intention was to make studio s more than a gym. From its programs that are rooted in the community, to its classes that are infused with philosophical, goal-setting elements, studio s is a breeding ground for others to find and be supported in pursuing their passions.

Susie continues to help bring people closer to their personal and physical goals through one-on-one interactions during Personal Training, teaching a Spinning class or coaching a new runner on a training run. She delights daily in the opportunity to combine her experience in life-coaching with her passion for physical movement.

In addition to studio s, she has gone in search of her own potential by participating in many marathons/triathlons, completing IRONMAN, and running a 50-mile ultra marathon. Each event or adventure teaches her more about herself, the people in her life, and the universe.

She is a certified Personal Trainer with ACE (American Council on Exercise), a Group Exercise instructor with AFAA (Aerobics Fitness Association of America), a Pilates Mat instructor with PHI Pilates, a Pilates Reformer instructor with Peak Pilates and recently was in the first class to be certified in True Movement. In her ninth year of teaching, she holds a lifetime certification in Spinning from Mad Dogg Athletics.

As a performance and competitive dancer from age 8 through her time as a dance team captain at Indiana University, Sam was never introduced to functional fitness training. It was not until after college did she discover her passion for weight training. It was through finding immediate and apparent results in her body composition and strength that she became committed. In summer of 2015, Sam decided she wanted to share her enthusiasm of training with others. She earned a certificate from TRX in Functional Fitness Training.

Tim has been a certified Spinning instructor through Mad Dogg Athletics since 2004 and enjoys teaching heart rate based training. As a husband to Shari Humbert and father of three boys, when he is not spending time with the family or Spinning, he likes to ride out side and loves to race on Sundays. One other hobby he’s had for the past 15 years is wheel thrown pottery, if you are lucky you may show up to a class where there is a pottery give-away.

Katie’s journey with Pilates began in 2009 while she was living in Denver, Colorado. Katie turned to Pilates to rehab from several running related injuries, and quickly realized what a significant positive impact Pilates had on her body, by strengthening her smaller and deeper muscle groups. Katie went on to complete an extensive teacher training curriculum, and has been teaching since 2011. Katie believes in the multifaceted benefits Pilates can offer for anyone interested in strengthening and lengthening from the inside out, as well as increasing their mind/body connection.

Katie graduated from Miami University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in social work. Upon graduation, she taught English in the Czech Republic for one year, then pursued a Masters of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati in 2005. Katie’s practice as a social worker has been focused in oncology, working at the American Cancer Society (Denver, CO) and the Cancer Support Community (Blue Ash, OH). Empowering individuals is something that Katie is extremely passionate about and she found that the common denominator of both Social Work and Pilates is just that- empowerment. Outside of Pilates, Katie enjoys the great outdoors, traveling to the mountains or water, and spending time with her family.

When Megan began her personal Pilates practice she was attracted to the total mind/body focus that the exercises demanded. Now, as a mother of 3 young children, she uses Pilates as her avenue to a clear mind and a healthy body.

After spending years encouraging others to experience Pilates for themselves, Megan decided to begin Balanced Body Teacher Training so she could be the one to introduce this functional movement to them. She feels it was the best decision of her life.

Megan is a comprehensively trained Balanced Body instructor, and certified by the Pilates Method Alliance. Megan is also pursuing her ACE personal trainer certification.

Before finding pilates, Megan was an attorney, earning her JD from the University of Cincinnati in 2005.

Megan loves being a Pilates instructor and believes everyone can benefit from Pilates whether it’s for rehabilitation, cross-training or to get fit! She loves to help all of her clients reach their goals!

Katie has been a Personal Trainer for more than nine years, has a degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University and holds a certification in Exercise Physiology from ACSM. Her education and experience has given her the knowledge and tools to assist clients in changing their lifestyles for good.

Kristine began teaching Pilates in 2008, focusing her work on helping runners strengthen their bodies to perform at their best! She was the owner of Pilates for Runners, a local Pilates studio in Cincinnati. Her passion for healthy living extends beyond the mat and she launched her health and wellness business in 2013.

Currently, Kristine spends her time helping others to live their best lives through personal coaching, nutrition counseling, and entrepreneurship development. She is super excited to be back in the studio teaching Pilates!

Emily has been an ACE certified personal trainer since 2008, when she began her fitness career in New York City. She runs her own in-home personal training business, and is thrilled to join the studio s team. Emily also runs the blog and fitness retreat/event business, www.thecityskinny.com. She lives in Madeira with her husband and 5 and 8 year-old children.

Heather is an ACE certified Personal Trainer, Yoga, Health Coach and Chef. Her journey to health and wellness during her Freshman year of college. Heather’s dad passed away and that experience drove Heather to live more fully. She began running and eventually joined the cross-country team. Heather ran her first marathon one week before her college graduation from Lake Forest College. She graduated with a double major in Spanish and Environmental Studies.

In 2004, Heather’s love of the environment led her to The Midwest Culinary Institute where she could make an impact by cooking with only local and seasonal ingredients. She has a certification in Culinary Arts and an Associates degree in Pastry Arts. Heather enjoys cooking healthy, delicious and environmentally conscious meals.

To learn more about nutrition, Heather studied dietetics at the University of Cincinnati. While studying dietetics Heather decided a Yoga certification would be a great compliment to her already well rounded background. She is a 500-hour certified Yoga Instructor from Yoga Home and teaches group as well as private classes. Heather is also a certified Spin Instructor through PowerRyde.

Heather knows the importance of all aspects of a healthy lifestyle and looks forward to sharing tips on cooking and nutrition, strength building, endurance training, flexibility, meditation for stress relief and goal setting.

Joni began her fitness career in 1981 and continues to passionately pursue her interest in exercise physiology. She is certified in group fitness from YMCA & ACE, Johnny G Spinning, and completed Balanced Body Reformer 1 Training and has a BioMechanics Specialist Certification. She holds her personal training certifications through ACSM and Cincinnati State, and YMCA Fitness Specialist certified from Kent State University. She has also served as fitness director at Clinton County YMCA, Wilmington, Ohio.

Sarah first experienced mat Pilates while she was a dancer in high school, and she discovered the reformer during rehab after a dance-related injury. After graduating from college, she began to take Pilates mat and reformer classes regularly and then decided to take a teacher training course. She completed a Mat and Reformer teacher training program through Pendleton Pilates and has been teaching since 2011. Currently, she is continuing her Pilates education through Balanced Body.

Chelsea has been a fitness enthusiast since she can remember, but it was through her days of playing competitive club volleyball at Ohio State when she understood the very important role fitness plays in a positive, healthy life.

In 2011, Chelsea first became interested in cycling through riding 100 miles in Pelotonia, Columbus Ohio’s annual charitable cycling event that donates 100% of all funds to cancer research. Since then, she has not only rode over 300 miles for the event, but discovered a passion for cycling which led her to pursue her Spinning certification in 2015 through Mad Dogg Athletics.

Aside from Spinning, Chelsea has completed two half marathons, one sprint triathlon, countless 5k’s and enjoys competing year round in co-ed doubles sand volleyball. Outside of fitness, she works as a Experiential Graphic Designer for a local architecture firm and enjoys downtime with her fiancé Adam and dog Bentley.

Chelsey has been dancing and performing since the age of 3 in Lima, Ohio, and was introduced to Mat Pilates at the age of 13. She danced for the University of Cincinnati’s dance team and accomplished 5 years as a NFL cheerleader. Fitness has always been a part of her career. She completed her undergrad degree in exercise science and recently finished her Master’s degree in injury prevention at CalU of PA. Chelsey enjoys the research side of fitness and presented at the Pilates Method Alliance conference last fall. She is currently certified NASM, Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist and Youth Fitness Specialist. Chelsey also has her Balanced Body Reformer certification and many Stott Pilates CEUs. She enjoys traveling and meeting fitness people all over the country. Learning from experience is her favorite thing about the fitness world and she can’t wait to share her fitness passion at Studio S.

Just one Pilates Reformer class was all it took for Anna to fall in love with Pilates. She began practicing reformer in 2012 and a year later she pursued her Comprehensive Teacher Training through BASI Pilates.

Anna is knowledgeable in the full line of Pilates apparatus (Reformer, Mat, Chair, Cadillac, Ladder Barrel, Avalon System). She is also a Barre instructor and is continuing her education in fitness through additional certifications.

Anna graduated from the University of Dayton in 2009 with a B.A. in Public Relations and a minor in Psychology. A true people person, she loves connecting with her clients and is dedicated to helping them achieve their greatest potential.

Jonathan is a group fitness instructor, motivator, goal coach and singer/songwriter. After graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in Music, Jonathan moved to NYC where he played some of NYC’s biggest venues including Rockwood Music Hall and The National Underground. While taking various fitness classes, Jonathan discovered a passion and desire to help motivate and transform others the way he had been motivated. Under the guidance of celebrity trainer, Raymond Wallace, Jonathan received his certifications in TRX Group Suspension Training and Indoor Cycling through Schwinn and began teaching at Pedal NYC.

Jonathan is a huge fan of dynamic and athletic training, mainly using bodyweight to create strong lean muscle. As a musician, he knows how much music can influence and motivate. His classes are challenging, motivating and fun. He aims to create a safe space in which you can constantly push yourself to achieve whatever fitness goals you have.