Our Instructors
Jill has been teaching yoga and pilates fusion classes since 2006. She recently completed her Balanced Body Reformer training and is excited to have joined the Thrive team. Her classes include mindful sequencing and cueing with an emphasis on guided breathwork. Jill believes well-being begins with movement. Please join Jill in a reformer, mat or barre class, you’ll be sure to leave feeling grounded and joyful!
After a lifetime of training and competing in equestrian sports Anne, a USDF Bronze Medalist, started ADK Dressage, focusing on basic principles and the training scale of the horse. After a riding injury Anne was introduced to pilates by a Physical Therapist and she quickly realized how Dressage training of the horse is similar to pilates training of the human so she became a certified pilates instructor in 2016, with a focus of working with equestrians on and off the horse helping students to become more balanced with their equine partners.
With her appreciation and patience of the fundamentals she loves going back to the basics with existing students and introducing the art of Pilates to new students. Keeping her classes high energy she wants clients to leave the studio feeling like they are successful and have challenged themselves each time. Having accomplished the Balanced Body 3D Anatomy, Reformer 1 and Reformer 2, she is excited to be expanding her training to XO Chair and other equipment classes. When not at a Thrive Studio or ADK Dressage, You can find her trail running, searching new recipes to cook and spoiling her 3 rescue dogs.
I am currently interning to become a pilates instructor at Thrive! I have completed Reformer and Mat 1 certifications and am now going through the mentorship program with Thrive that includes 100 hours of observing, team teaching, and taking classes. I have lived in Aberdeen for about a year and a half and started coming to the studio in July of last year, and absolutely fell in love with Pilates. As I continued to take classes, I became more interested in becoming an instructor to not only learn more, but to also help clients in their pilates journey. I am originally from Gulf Breeze, Florida. My husband is military and that is what brought us here to North Carolina. I have 2 young kids, Mason and Peyton, and we also have three fur babies as well. Growing up, I was an athlete and played soccer, basketball, softball, and volleyball and pursued volleyball through high school as well. I am hoping to take those experiences with me as i’m teaching and working with former and current athletes. Pilates has also helped heal my core and pelvic floor after having my two kids and I’d love to help other moms feel their best again. I am looking forward to seeing you all in my classes.
Jess, a nurse from Anchorage, Alaska, has practiced Pilates there since 2009. There she studied at Studio One Pilates and became a VASIE certified Mat/Reformer/Barre Instructor. Jess enjoys working with all types of clients, but her passion is working with men and women with low back pain and pelvic floor issues. She especially loves seeing clients transform their bodies and hear how it affects all parts of their lives, not just the physical conditioning part.
She came to Pilates as a runner with all the aches and pains she had come to accept as part of “training.” So when she laid down one night and her back wasn’t throbbing, she thought, “This Pilates stuff really works!” You may see Jess as a substitute for one of your regular instructors or you can book a private session with her. Next time you see her make sure to say “Hi!”
Marissa holds a comprehensive Pilates certification in both mat and equipment through the Kane School of Core Integration in New York, NY under the direct instruction of the program’s founder, Kelly Kane. Her training is heavily grounded in a knowledge of anatomy and an understanding of functional movement. Marissa has worked with a wide range of clients who have diverse needs and goals. She has also worked with individuals with various injuries and chronic conditions. She has a certification in pre and post-natal Pilates and continues to study facial connections in the body through Thomas Myers’ Anatomy Trains workshops. Marissa has been teaching Pilates for six years. She began teaching at Mongoose Bodyworks in Manhattan, working with many dancers, actors, and producers. She then moved to Augusta, GA and taught at Pilates on Riverwatch, working with many equestrians and golfers. She most recently taught at Framework Pilates in Southern New Jersey. Marissa came to Pilates through dance. Her movement experience began when she started dancing at age three. She holds a BA in Dance from Muhlenberg College. She fell in love with Pilates after she recognized how Pilates informed and improved her dancing by helping her to find an ease and efficiency in her movement through breath, balance, mindfulness, and core strength. Marissa is also an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. Marissa also holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work and works in the mental health field. This informs her passion for making her clients feel present, competent, and empowered. Marissa interweaves her mind/body training and social work practice to create a safe movement environment for her clients. She loves to think with, move with, and experience the presence of others. Marissa strives to create a positive atmosphere for her clients, working with them to craft fitness/corrective sessions that will leave them feeling stronger. She is passionate about meeting her clients where they are and challenging them to reach their movement potential!
Alisa is an instructor and the owner of Thrive Pilates Studio. She was born and raised in Ukraine. She came to the United States to play tennis for Armstrong Atlantic State University. She has been highly involved in improving community health and fitness since 2008, when she began working as a yoga teacher, fitness instructor, and personal trainer. Later, as a Graduate Assistant for Fitness at Boise State University, she had an opportunity to work with a wide range of NCAA athletes. Her Pilates journey started in 2010, when she started experiencing issues from old tennis injuries. After earning her Master’s Degree in Kinesiology at BSU, she started working as a Wellness Specialist at a hospital that had a small Pilates studio. It is there that she realized that Pilates was her calling, and she dedicated her free time to mat, chair and reformer training.
Alisa enjoys working with clients of all levels, from beginner through advanced, but her specialty is working with injured clients. Whether that client is dealing with a chronic physical condition or a more recent acute injury, she enjoys the challenge of evaluating the physical body, finding imbalances and inefficiencies, and devising a plan to stabilize and strengthen the injured area. The goal is to balance the entire body by restoring function to the injured area. She uses her understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, and common injuries to make even the most hesitant client feel confident that they can have a safe and productive movement experience during a class or private session.