What’s been the most pivotal moment in your career?
In early 2008, I was still working as a spa director in Grand Cayman when, on one particularly auspicious day, I received a call from none other than Sue Harmsworth, asking me to join her team at ESPA.

Switching from 18 years of spa operations to being a vendor/consultant was a big learning curve but that experience gave me a huge advantage and was pivotal to my success. It helped me form some strong and long-lasting relationships which I treasure and nurture to this day. This is a relationship-driven industry without a doubt.

What do you still hope to accomplish?
My one wish, and something I should have done much earlier, is to be a mentor. Now, as an ISPA Board member, I hope to be able to guide young people in our industry and open their eyes to the opportunities available to them. This is a fast-growing, global industry with a lack of qualified employees and little succession planning, but there are countless options for career advancement. It’s such a rewarding and enjoyable vocation.

How do you hope the industry will look in 2050?
The self-care trend has helped the spa world bounce back from COVID-19 and I see it becoming more mainstream than ever. This translates into all kinds of statistical improvements, particularly spa-goer demographics – a balance between genders to reflect more male visitors and a wider age range.

Touchless therapies are more popular and there will always be a place for them, but nothing will replace human touch. Many people are increasingly suffering from loneliness and a machine can’t fill that void like a caring therapist does.

I hope wellness and spa become increasingly mainstream and affordable for all, while at the same time, creating meaningful and rewarding career paths for future generations.