ISPA Announces 2020 Board of Directors and Officers

The International Spa Association (ISPA) announced the election of the 2020 board of directors and officers, who began their term after the September 2019 ISPA Conference & Expo. With an impressive pool of candidates, those elected were chosen after an extensive nomination and interview process. 

Garrett Mersberger, director of sales, marketing, and spa for Blue Harbor Resort & Conference Center (Sheboygan, WI), will head the board as chairman. Taking on the role of vice chairman is Brennan Evans, the vice president of operations at Trilogy Spa Holdings. Robert Vance, director of Sensei retreats in Lanai (Lanai City, HI), will continue the role of secretary and treasurer. Todd Shaw, Technogym’s national manager for private clubs and country clubs, will serve as the immediate past chairman. 

Five new members are also coming to the board. This includes Natasha Burns, senior director of spa and wellness at 21c Museum Hotels (multiple locations); Lynelle Lynch, president of Bellus Academy and founder of the Beauty Changes Lives foundation; Dawn MacLellan, director of spa and salon at St. Andrews Country Club (Boca Raton, FL); Jay Muller, Technogym’s vice president of hospitality; and Eric Savage, CEO of Freedom Spas, LLC (multiple locations). Additionally, Patrick Huey, corporate spa director for Montage Hotels & Resorts (multiple locations), and Robert Vance were renewed as incumbent directors.

The new leaders are joined by seven directors who are currently in the middle of an active board term. This includes Jill Carlen, global director of spa concepts at Hilton (multiple locations); Kelleye Heydon, director of The Edgewater Spa (Madison, WI); Kristine Huffman, a partner at Hutchinson Consulting; Michelle Adams Somerville, executive vice president of Billings Farm & Museum at Woodstock Inn & Resort (Woodstock, VT); Yvonne Smith, director of spa and resort retail at La Rive Spa at Northern Quest Resort & Casino (Airway Heights, WA); Erick Stephenson, chief wellness officer at Elements Massage (multiple locations); and Jessica Timberlake, public relations manager at Eminence Organic Skin Care

Founder and CEO of ResortSuite, Frank Pitsikalis, takes on the position of chairman of the ISPA Foundation board of directors. Scott Duncan, Noel Asmar, Blake Feeney, and Laura Parsons will finish their terms on the ISPA board of directors after serving in various volunteer roles within the board and additional ISPA committees. 

ISPA president Lynne McNees said, “As a volunteer-driven association, we are grateful for committed members willing to move the association forward through board service.”

The interview process for the 2021 ISPA board of directors will begin in spring 2020, when a call for candidates will be announced to all ISPA members. 

 

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