Melanie Ash - Owner/CEO
Melanie Ash (CPT, CFSC) has been working in the fitness industry since 2008, and holds specializations in Fitness Nutrition, Weight Management and Back Injury Prevention.
After falling in love with group exercise classes at her local gym, Melanie became a certified instructor and began teaching classes of her own. She loved helping others find more energy and confidence from working out and realized this was her true passion.
In 2012 Melanie and her husband Jason founded Melanie Ash Fitness and in 2017 they opened Fitness Evolution. Melanie believes taking care of your body with proper nutrition and regular exercise allows you to have more confidence and success in all areas of life. Her training style is a mix of functional training, metabolic conditioning and fun!
Jessica McKelvey - Coach/Client Experience Manager
Jessica began dancing at the age of six. After receiving a BFA in dance from The Ohio State University, she went on to perform professionally for six years.
In 2016 Jessica attended a Zumba class for the first time, and her excitement and joy for this form of movement was instantly ignited.
Within months of that first class, she became a licensed Zumba instructor, and has been sharing her passion for dance and self-love within the Columbus community ever since.
Jessica was driven by a desire to help others discover the positive benefits of exercise and became a certified Personal Trainer. She joined FE in 2018.
CE Harris - Coach
CE grew up in Northeast Ohio and moved to Columbus to attend The Ohio State University. She graduated with a BA in psychology while working as a nanny, but has always had a love for fitness. CE completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification in 2019.
In addition to yoga, CE enjoys biking, hiking and weight training. After considering becoming a Personal Trainer for many years, she found a perfect fit at Fitness Evolution and joined our team in 2022.
CE lives in Worthington with her two teenage children, husband, and dog. She is excited to share her passion for fitness and love of teaching with the FE community.
Alexia Ponder - Coach
As a child Alexia enjoyed participating in sports and cheerleading, but her love for fitness didn’t blossom until college.
That’s when she began working with a Personal Trainer who mentored her on the path to completing her own Personal Training certification.
After graduating with a degree in Psychology in 2021, Alexia decided to begin her career in the fitness world. She is passionate about helping others find a healthy way to get fit and improve their lives. In the future she hopes to combine her Psychology degree and Training experience as a Sports Psychologist.
Alexia grew up in Rochester, New York and is new to Columbus. She’s excited to explore a new city and share her love for fitness with the FE community.
Kailyn Williams - Coach
Fitness has been part of Kailyn’s life since middle school. Her love and knowledge for it grew playing different sports, working with different trainers, and even challenging herself to create her own workout programs.
Kailyn attended Ohio University graduating with a degree in retail merchandising in 2018, thinking she wanted to be a stylist or fashion designer. After working in the corporate retail world for a few years, she soon discovered her true passion lay in fitness and she became a certified Personal Trainer.
In 2022 she took the leap, shifting careers from the corporate office to the gym. Kailyn hopes to make fitness feel as rewarding to others as it is to her.
Jackie Hathaway - Coach/Mobility Specialist
Since a young age, fitness has been at the forefront of Jackie’s life, beginning with a love for swimming, running, and biking. This love branched out into a passion for the science behind the fitness.
With this continued enthusiasm for health and wellness she went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University in 2022. Her passion for exercise physiology is the driving force behind helping others lead healthy lives without injury.
Jackie is excited to share her knowledge, love for exercise, fitness, and injury prevention with the FE community.
Jason Ash - Operations
Growing up in Ohio and playing sports throughout his childhood, Jason gained an appreciation for the positive way health and fitness can impact one's life. He also understands the value of training with other people. Jason believes confidence and cognitive ability are directly linked to the physical well-being.
Jason is responsible for the back-end operations of the studio. He handles accounting, website function and maintenance as well as customer support. You may get a response from him if a question is submitted through FitnessEvolutionStudio.com or see him fixing things around the studio.
