*Jodi Chang is a former resident of Perfection, Nevada, who inherited Chang's Market from her uncle, Walter Chang, turning it into a large business selling various souvenirs and other merchandise to tourists in the Perfection Valley. She has also survived numerous incursions by graboids, shriekers, assblasters, and Mixmaster creations into the Perfection Valley. Notable for giving the assblasters their name.

Jodi's reliance on the Harvard Business School case-study approach to any situation contrasts with Tyler's instinctive, gut-level response to things. She's full of good business advice for him and gets jealous when he trumps her with an occasional, casually tossed-off brilliant idea, such as "Burt Gummer's Survival School." And although she'd never admit it, Jodi's also jealous of Rosalita Sanchez, whom Tyler clearly finds pleasantly distracting. Overly organized, Jodi was on the corporate fast-track in San Francisco until she discovered that she couldn't stand to work for anybody else. Facing her life's first big crisis, she bailed out to take over her late, eccentric Uncle Walter's general store. It's her chance to prove herself, and she dedicates her life to "growing the business of this theme-related retail outlet." As soon as she arrived she renovated the store and got rid of abandoned buildings and trailers. She also cleaned up the old junk yard, moving it further away from the town, which provided a great hiding place in the third movie. All of this was in the name of attracting tourists.*