Hannelore Leavy, founder of the Day Spa Association and the Spa Industry Association (formerly known as the International Medical Spa Association), passed away peacefully in her sleep the morning of Friday, January 31. She was 77.
Leavy spent most of her live in the spa and wellness industries, having started her career as a marketing director of the Austrian National Tourist Office, where she would promote European spas and health-oriented travel in the 1970s. As she furthered her journey into the wellness realm, Leavy served as vice president of sales and marketing as well as associate publisher at Spa Finder. In 1991, she founded the Day Spa Association and the International Medical Spa Association, where she served as executive director for nearly 20 years.
In 2002, she co-authored The Spa Encyclopedia: A Guide to Treatments & Their Benefits for Health & Healing with Reinhard R. Bergel, Ph.D. Most recently, she started the HR Leavy LLC Spa & Wellness Business Consultancy, where she put her years of industry expertise to good use helping spa and wellness professionals, locations, and companies increase their visibility in the industry and expand into markets overseas.
Leavy’s daughter asks that in lieu of flowers, colleagues continue her mother’s charitable efforts with donations to the charity of their choice, or donate to the Go Fund Me campaign started to help offset funeral costs.
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