All of our instructors have taught gymnastics/tumbling for over 5 years, have passed background checks and receive ongoing training through USA Gymnastics, AAU Sports and our own BIO University.
Meet Our Team
Leadership
Julie has been involved with the sport of gymnastics for over 15 years. With all of her daughters competing in the sport and developing a passion for it, the family decided to open BIO Gymnastics in 2013. She also headed up a club booster club and helped to build the program to one of the largest in the state of Georgia. Julie also has a web design business, JP Design.
Graduating from Seton Home Study in 2014, Donna Kaye has been involved in gymnastics since she was 4. She has competed in levels 2 through level 9 and has won many regional and national awards. Her family opened BIO Gymnastics in 2013 to teach Donna Kaye how to open and run a gym. She has been accepted into the BIOsphere mentorship program under Dr. Vladimir Zaglada and will continue her studies at BIO. Currently, she is the lead team director and oversees all aspects of the team development and performance.
Brad has coached for over 20 years and produced dozens of collegiate athletes. Mentored by Coach Vlad, Brad brings that same methodology and passion to the gym floor. Brad's training and development of the staff has a hands on approach that benefits the athlete as well as the coach.
Vladimir Zaglada was born in Soviet Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg, Russia) in November, 1944. He received a degree in coaching gymnastics from the Lvov (Ukraine) Institute of Physical Education. He went on to do graduate work at Moscow’s Lenin Institute of Physical Education, earning a Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences (the approximate equivalent of a PhD). In 1964 he was granted the title Master of Sport of the USSR in Acrobatic Gymnastics. Zaglada has devoted his 40 year professional life to the theory and practice of artistic gymnastics, including as coach and consultant for the senior and junior Soviet women’s and girl’s gymnastics teams, assisting in their preparation for World and Olympic competition. After serving as a senior professor at the main physical education institutes of Lvov and Moscow, he served as the head coach for Moscow-Dynamo’s Olympic Reserve School, where many of the Soviet Union’s top female gymnasts spent their childhoods training to become champions. Later he became the first president of Dynamo-Moscow’s Gymnastics Club. He was a member of the Women’s Technical Committee of the Soviet Gymnastics Federation, a member of the Executive Board of the Dynamo-Moscow City Council, an Honorary Member of Russian Dynamo, and a vice-president of the Dynamo-Southampton Gymnastics Club (now the United Kingdom’s Dynamo School of Gymnastics). He served as producer and artistic director for the Soviet Gala Concert at the 1991 World Gymnaestrada in Amsterdam and has appeared as a gymnastics expert on both CNN and CBS. The author of numerous scholarly books and articles on artistic gymnastics, he coauthored (with Tatyana Lisitskaya) Floor Exercises for Women, which has been translated into Japanese and English and is recognized as one of the best monographs on the subject. For years he contributed chapters to textbooks used in the top institutes of physical education in the Soviet Union and Russia and has written a number of works on programmed learning. He is recognized in The Encyclopedia of Gymnastics as having made a significant contribution to the shaping of both the theory and practice of Soviet gymnastics, including through his contributions in the area of branch programming, which led to changes in how complex gymnastics exercises are taught at the highest levels of training. In 1999 Zaglada left Dynamo to accept the position of technical director for men’s gymnastics in Great Britain. He arrived in the United States on September 10, 2001. Since this time he has worked as head gymnastics coach for clubs in Minnesota and Georgia, where he produced a numbers of state and regional champions and Eastern and National Qualifiers.
Administration
Velera has been involved in the sport for 19 years having won many awards at a State and National level and has been a Coach/Instructor for 8 years. Velera graduated from Berry College with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science. She is patient and kind to each and every child and her experience in the sport is a major advantage when teaching children new skills.
Stephanie has been with BIO since the beginning and currently serves as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Office Manager. She started gymnastics at the age of 7 and competed through her senior year of high school. Once in college, Stephanie started the cheerleading team at UNG and ran it for 3 years. Stephanie graduated from the University of North Georgia where she majored in Business and Accounting.
Competitive Team Staff
Amanda join BIO in 2021 working with the Optional Team. A graduate of the University of Arkansa, Amanda competed for their gymnastics team and brings her experience to us! She is Safe Sport and Safety Certified and has passed the Positive Coaching Alliance Program.
DaLen brings his love for the sport and vast experience to the BIO team. He is Safe Sport and Safety Certified and has passed the Positive Coach Alliance Program.
Kamri attended the University of Bridgeport on a college scholarship for gymnastics. Since graduating, she has coached gymnastics and has travelled the country choreographing floor routines for college and club gymnasts. Kamri started working at BIO in 2021 and has been a great addition to our staff. Along with being Safe Sport and Safety Certified, Kamri is CPR certified and has passed the Positive Coaching Alliance training course.
Kendra did Competitive Gymnastics for 12 years and has been working at BIO for 5 years. Kendra has worked with the Gymstars and Recreational Classes and currently is a lead compulsory coach. She loves the sport of Gymnastics more than anything and her goal is to help the children love it as much as she does. She graduated from the University of North Georgia majoring in Film and Business. She is USAG Safety, Safe Sport, and CPR Certified.
Lindsay joined the BIO team in 2021 and has been working as a class instructor for the last year. She recently added team coaching responsibilities to her position by working with the XCel program. Lindsay graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Geography from UGA and competed collegiately in Track. She is Safe Sport and Safety Certified and has passed the Positive Coaching Alliance Program.
Melinda's love for gymnastics started when she was 2. She has competed in levels 2 through level 9, trained level 10 and has won many regional and national awards. She has worked in the past with developing class curriculum, assisting with team and sharing her love of the sport with everyone. She graduated the University of North Georgia with an Associates Degree in Exercise Science. She is USAG Safety Certified and is a USAG Certified Instructor and has also taken all three levels of Positive Coaching Alliance's training. She is also CPR certified.
Sara Michelle is the youngest of 5 girls. She has been assisting with camp and classes for the past 7 years. 2 of the things that she is most passionate about are Gymnastics and Dance. She graduated high school last year and was also the Regional Platinum Bar, Beam, Floor and All Around champion.
She has a heart of gold and her joyful personality is contagious. Her main goal as a Camp Counsleor is to help the children grow up to be kind and generous people!
She has a heart of gold and her joyful personality is contagious. Her main goal as a Camp Counsleor is to help the children grow up to be kind and generous people!
Instructional Staff
Patrick has been part of the BIO family from the beginning and has been working as a camp counselor since 2020. He adores children and we are blessed to have him as part of our staff.
Ellie is a former member of the BIO competitive team and she has been teaching classes here for the last year. She attends South Forsyth High School and also takes tumbling classes here at the gym.
Kamri attended the University of Bridgeport on a college scholarship for gymnastics. Since graduating, she has coached gymnastics and has travelled the country choreographing floor routines for college and club gymnasts. Kamri started working at BIO in 2021 and has been a great addition to our staff. Along with being Safe Sport and Safety Certified, Kamri is CPR certified and has passed the Positive Coaching Alliance training course.
Julia is part of the BIO founding family and is currently focusing on her passion, special needs. In addition to working one-on-one with students, Julia also serves as a camp counselor. She is working with the newly formed BIO-Ability team to offer expanded services to our adaptive community.
Kieran was one of BIO's original competitive gymnasts and now we are proud to have her as one of our camp counselors. Kieran is number 7 of 12 children. 5 out of the 12 children have special needs and Kieran is very helpful when it comes to taking care of her siblings and other special needs children. She loves working with children and is great with keeping them active, organized and having fun. Currently, she is a junior at the University of North Georgia where she is majoring in childhood education.
Melinda's love for gymnastics started when she was 2. She has competed in levels 2 through level 9, trained level 10 and has won many regional and national awards. She has worked in the past with developing class curriculum, assisting with team and sharing her love of the sport with everyone. She graduated the University of North Georgia with an Associates Degree in Exercise Science. She is USAG Safety Certified and is a USAG Certified Instructor and has also taken all three levels of Positive Coaching Alliance's training. She is also CPR certified.
Kendra did Competitive Gymnastics for 12 years and has been working at BIO for 5 years. Kendra has worked with the Gymstars and Recreational Classes and currently is a lead compulsory coach. She loves the sport of Gymnastics more than anything and her goal is to help the children love it as much as she does. She graduated from the University of North Georgia majoring in Film and Business. She is USAG Safety, Safe Sport, and CPR Certified.
Sara Michelle is the youngest of 5 girls. She has been assisting with camp and classes for the past 7 years. 2 of the things that she is most passionate about are Gymnastics and Dance. She graduated high school last year and was also the Regional Platinum Bar, Beam, Floor and All Around champion.
She has a heart of gold and her joyful personality is contagious. Her main goal as a Camp Counsleor is to help the children grow up to be kind and generous people!
She has a heart of gold and her joyful personality is contagious. Her main goal as a Camp Counsleor is to help the children grow up to be kind and generous people!
