Meet the Owner

Instructor
Breezy loves sharing her passion for Reformer Pilates and building connections through movement. An avid runner who's tackled everything from half marathons to a 50-mile race, she brings energy and endurance to every class. When she's not teaching, she's adventuring with her husband and three dogs, hiking, and traveling.

Instructor
Katie Ann is a Mat Pilates, Reformer, and Barre instructor with nearly a decade of teaching experience in mindful movement. Certified in Mat Pilates and Barre since March 2025 and an E-RYT 200 yoga instructor since 2016, she brings over 1,000 hours of teaching to her classes and a deep understanding of alignment, functional strength, and embodied awareness.

Pilates has become a natural extension of Katie Ann’s lifelong movement journey. What began in childhood practicing yoga with her mom has evolved into a passion for helping others build strength, stability, and confidence through intentional, precise movement.

In the Pilates studio, Katie Ann teaches with compassion, clarity, and presence. Her classes are thoughtfully structured to support proper form, meet students where they are, and challenge them to move with control, curiosity, and confidence.

Instructor

I floated in and out of practice trying to find a movement style that I enjoyed. Barre and Pilates were my first love and it was because of the attention to form and the hands on corrections that I became interested in learning about bodies and how they move. Small, powerful movements were the game changer! I became a Barre & mat Pilates instructor in 2015. After teaching, I knew I needed to learn more.

I decided to go through yoga teacher training in the summer of 2018 in Spain. It was an intensive, fully immersive experience, and I do not regret it. I then decided to dedicate 300 hours to learning about Yin, anatomy, and myofascial release. 

My movement classes can range from challenging and sweaty to slow and effortless. Sometimes the body needs different styles to feel good. 

Outside of class, catch me skydiving, trying to cook, and enjoying time with my husband and two cats!

Instructor

Sofie passionately believes movement is one of the most powerful ways to reconnect with yourself. She combines her experience of yoga and reformer based strength training instruction to create classes that balance mindfulness with empowerment—helping students feel grounded, strong, and at home in their bodies. Her goal is for you to find awareness, sustainable progress, and joy in movement. If she isn’t teaching it is very likely you’ll find her alongside you in class. She strongly values her personal movement and the community the studio offers! 

Instructor

Emily has been teaching fitness since 2012, leading everything from high-energy indoor cycling to strength-focused circuit training, and high-intensity pilates. After spending the past decade in Portland, Scottsdale, and the Bay Area, she’s back in her hometown of Akron and excited to bring her passion and experience to the MVP community. In the studio, you'll find her classes are upbeat, accessible, challenging, but most importantly...fun!

Outside the studio, Emily is happiest being outside! She loves hiking new trails, running, skiing in the mountains, wine tasting, or hopping on a plane to visit a new city or a friend...She’s also fiercely committed to claiming her most important title yet: favorite aunt! 

Instructor

With over 16 years as a fitness enthusiast and 6 years as a certified personal trainer, I’m passionate about helping others build fitness, confidence, and life balance through movement. Across all modalities, I encourage clients to push past preconceived limits and find harmony between strength, mindfulness, healthy habits, flexibility, and mobility.

What began as a personal transformation—losing 35+ pounds (twice) and changing lifelong habits—quickly grew into a passion that led me to trade my corporate manufacturing career for one in fitness. Now, I’m where I truly shine: sharing the many benefits that movement, exercise, and community bring—empowerment, independence, control, and confidence.

In addition to being a Certified Personal Trainer, I’m a RYT-200 yoga instructor, TRX Certified coach, hold specializations in Youth and Golf Fitness, and am currently pursuing a comprehensive Pilates certification. Blending knowledge from multiple disciplines, I strive to create dynamic, functional, and results-driven workouts that inspire clients to discover what they’re truly capable of—moving with strength, power, and mindfulness.

When I’m not spreading or participating in fitness joy, I’m a born-and-raised Californian who’s called Ohio home for the past 13 years. My family and I love hiking, snowboarding, baseball, gymnastics, golf, travel, and spending time with our two cats. I can’t wait to meet you!

Instructor , Social Media Manager

Sarah enjoys sharing her passion for movement and reconnecting with the body through Reformer Pilates. She enjoys empowering others through strength based challenges while exploring similar interests, such music and activewear, during her classes. Since 2024, Sarah has loved engaging with her community by making physical activity accessible to a wide range of clients. She hopes through her classes she can make everyone feel confident and strong from within.

With extensive experience in social media management for various clothing brands, nonprofit groups, and small magazine publications, Sarah is eager to take on the role as social media manager for Merriman Valley Pilates. She’s excited to connect with clientele outside of the studio and turn the social media page into a fun, creative, and unique space. If you’re not already, make sure to follow @merrimanvalleypilates on Instagram!

Instructor

Hello! I am Joelle Nichols — a proud mom of two boys, a wife, and a former special education teacher who fell in love with the transformative power of Pilates. My background in education taught me how to connect with people of all abilities, and I bring that same care and attention into every class I teach.

Pilates has become my way to help others find strength, balance, and confidence — both on and off the reformer. I believe movement should feel empowering and accessible for everyone, and I strive to create an encouraging, personalized experience for each client.

When I’m not in the studio, you’ll find me with my family, traveling as often as possible, exploring local restaurants and shops, enjoying books, taking Pilates and yoga class, or walking my two fur babies.

I look forward to sharing the beautiful practice of Pilates with you!

Instructor

Mica is a Yoga, Barre, and Sculptformer certified instructor with over four years of teaching experience and a deep passion for mindful movement. Currently pursuing her Pilates certification, she brings a love of breath work, alignment, and strength-based practice to every class. Mica’s teaching style blends focus and flow—helping clients build strength, find balance, and connect with their bodies through intentional movement. She’s deeply inspired by the power of community and is excited to grow, move, and thrive together in this new space.

Mascot

Meet Lucy – Our Studio Mascot 🐾

Lucy is our five-year-old Cavapoo and the official mascot of Merriman Valley Pilates. She loves greeting clients when they arrive and will happily welcome you with a wagging tail and a few friendly kisses. Most of the time you’ll find her proudly carrying a ball in her mouth — Lucy believes every ball she finds belongs to her.

Lucy also has a habit of hiding her bones around the studio, so if you find one tucked somewhere unexpected, you’ve just discovered Lucy’s latest treasure spot.

While Lucy isn’t allowed in the studio during classes, she often sits outside the door and peeks in to watch the action. She loves being around people and being part of the MVP community.