about

Based in the nation’s greater capital region, Washington Spa Alliance (WSPA) was launched on June 17th, 2010, by a group of spa industry professionals who recognized a need for a regional spa organization. WSPA acts as a knowledge center that raises awareness of Washington’s thriving spa community while connecting spa professionals and serving as a catalyst for discussion and action.

 

WORKING BOARD

 

MARY BEMIS
Founder

Insider’s Guide to Spas

 

LAURIE DIETTER
Creative Director

Glen Ivy Hot Springs

 

MARY GENDRON
President
Middleton & Gendron

 

SUSAN GWALTNEY
Owner
Essential Spa Consulting

 

ERIC SOMERVILLE
General Manager
MINT Fitness and Spa

 

OFFICERS

 

SHARILYN ABBAJAY
Co-Chair
Abbajay & Associates, LLC

 

BERNARD BURT
Co-Chair
Author, Editor, Founder
SpaGoer.com

 

MARY-ELIZABETH GIFFORD
Vice-Chair

Senior Advisor
Island Outpost

 

PENNY KRIEL, Secretary
Spa Director
Mandarin Oriental

 

ADA POLLA, Treasurer
President & CEO

Alchimie-Forever

HONORARY BOARD

 

DEBORAH SZEKELY
President & Chair
Honorary Board
Founder, Rancho La Puerta
Tecate, Baja California, Mexico
andĀ Golden Door, Escondido, CA

Brent Bauer, MD
Director, Complementary and
Integrative Medicine Program
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

PHILIPPE BOURGUIGNON
CEO of Miraval
Tuscon, Arizona
and
Vice Chairman
Revolution Places
Washington, DC

Jerry Cohen
CEO and Vice Chairman
Canyon Ranch, Tucson, Arizona
and Lennox, Massachusetts

Susie Ellis
President, SpaFinder Inc.
New York, New York

Gary Henkin
President & Founder
WTS International
Rockville, Maryland

Martha Honey, PhD
Executive Director, CREST
Center for Responsible Travel
Washington, D.C.

Sheila Johnson
Founder and CEO, Salamander Hospitality
Middleburg, Virginia

Ted Ning
Director, LOHAS
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability
Louisville, Colorado

Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP
Special Advisor to the
U.S. Surgeon General and
Founder, Peeke Performance
Washington, D.C.

NORA Poillon
Chef and Founder
Restaurant Nora
Washington, D.C.

Mary H. Tabacchi, PhD
Professor, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York