The International Medical Spa Association
520 23rd Street, Union City, New Jersey 07087 .:. phone: 201.865.2065 .:. fax: 201.865.3961 .:. email: medspaassn@aol.com

Advisory Board 2008

 
Advisory Board
President
Founder & Executive Director
  


President

Eric J. Light
Eric is one of the founders of the Strawberry Hill Group (UK) Limited, a 27 year old business development and design firm in England with a major interest in the hospitality, spa and wellness industries. While residing in England, Mr. Light was responsible for the business design and development of spa and wellness projects in England, Greece and Spain.

Mr. Light left The Strawberry Hill Group in 1980 to join Procter and Gamble as a Senior Manager. During his career with Procter and Gamble, Mr. Light worked on a number of national and international health and beauty projects. In addition, he worked on the development of a global strategy for Procter and Gamble's involvement in the spa industry. Mr. Light has visited 87 different countries and talked with over 2,000 consumers about their spa experiences. In 2001, Mr. Light rejoined The Strawberry Hill Group of Companies as President of North and Latin American operations. The Strawberry Hill Group, Inc. represents the company's first venture into the North and Latin American marketplace and is currently working with clients in Florida, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Mexico on the design of new businesses or the revamping of existing facilities and programs.

Mr. Light attended the University of Mexico, Temple University in Philadelphia, and Trinity and All Saints Colleges, England. He holds degrees in anthropology, communications and perceptual psychology. Mr. Light has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, and Latin America about the business development process, techniques for concept and vision creation, and consumer perceptions. He has been interviewed by numerous print and broadcast media outlets in the United States and Europe, and is a member of the Day Spa Association. Strawbryhillgrp@aol.com


Chair

Catherine Atzen
In the late seventies, Ms. Atzen began her studies in France working with burn victims and those suffering from severely damaged skin conditions. Ms. Atzen graduated, in France, as a clinical esthetician and is a recipient of the esteemed international advanced certification, CIDESCO (Comite International D'Esthetique et de Cosmetologie) diploma. Subsequently, Ms. Atzen earned a BA -- graduating cum laude and became a member of Phi Kappa Phi -- with intensive studies in Biology, Nutrition, and foreign languages. While studying with biologists, plastic surgeons and doctors of aesthetic medicine, Ms. Atzen determined that some of the burn therapies could be helpful to individuals with aged and weather damaged skin -- seeking a more youthful appearance. This realization lead her to be the first to introduce the most powerful anti-oxidant, Integral DNAT into skin care products and encouraged her development of other revolutionary skin health remedies available in the ATZEN Pharmaceutical Skin CareT line. In 1985, Ms. Atzen was the first to open a true Day Spa for skincare in the United States -- located in New York City. In those early days, Ms. Atzen's revolutionary approach to skincare placed her in notable opposition with the entire fashion world when, she expressed concerns to top publications (who touted her products) about the dangers of sun exposure -- especially to women's skin. The New York ATZEN Clinical SpaT takes its inspiration from a combination of traditional medicine and French skincare, and offers an escape from the city and a place to find clinical skincare. Catherine Atzen's clinical contributions include the formalization of LymphobiologyR Science - lymph drainage massage and a prescribed therapy of active anti-aging skin care products. The company, in addition to manufacturing professional and retail skin care products, manufactures 2 lymph drainage devices, one for physicians, one for estheticians.

The ATZEN headquarter offices are in San Jose, California where Ms. Atzen heads a global manufacturing, sales and distribution enterprise servicing physicians, fine salons, spas, day spas and the ATZEN Clinical SpasT. Ms. Atzen is the sought-after the keynote speaker at seminars, conferences, trade shows, and charity events. She has written over 200 professional articles on skincare treatments and health issues. She is the recipient of an Honorary Degree as an educator in clinical skincare from Scott & White College of Medicine, A&M University, Texas. catherineatzen@flash.net

Chair

Cheryl Blackwell Bryson
Cheryl Blackwell Bryson is head of the Chicago office's Employment Law and Management Labor Relations Practice. Ms. Bryson represents middle-market as well as Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries on labor and employment law and litigation issues, including pattern and practice Title VII litigation, and discrimination matters before federal and state agencies and state and federal courts.

Ms. Bryson also provides legal counsel on claim avoidance, internal investigations, alternative dispute resolution and other aspects of the defense of EEO claims. She has extensive experience advising both private and public sector employers in labor and employment matters and collective bargaining related activities, including negotiations, mediation, arbitration and contract administration.

While on leave from law firm practice, Ms. Bryson served as deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago's Law Department, where she established the Labor Relations Division and directed contract administration and collective bargaining for the City's 35,000 unionized employees. A frequent author and lecturer on labor and employment law issues, Ms. Bryson is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Labor and Employment Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and the Cook County Bar Association.


Chair

Hannelore Leavy is a native of Vienna, Austria, where visiting spas is a way of life. In her capacity as Marketing Director of the Austrian National Tourist Office in New York City, she was one of the first to promote health vacations to European spas.

Ms. Leavy's 20+ years of experience in the promotion of travel and tourism made her a natural candidate to become "Jeffrey Joseph's Spa?Finders" Vice President of Sales and Marketing and the Associate Publisher of THE SPA FINDER. In that capacity, she was the innovator of many projects, including the organization of the first Spa Symposium in 1990, from which I/SPA (International Spa Association) emerged.

Since the mid?eighties Hannelore has been a strong voice for the U.S. spa industry. She is considered a major source for information on spas in general and the day spa industry in particular. She has been published in numerous trade magazines. Her articles have also appeared in such monthly magazines as Natural Health & Fitness, and she has been quoted in hundreds of articles written on spas and day spas in particular. Recently she appeared on CNN Financial News' Movers and Shakers.

In addition to her role as Executive Director of The International Medical Spa Association, Ms. Leavy is also the founder and Executive Director of THE DAY SPA ASSOCIATION, a professional association dedicated to the education of the consumer about the benefits and availability of spa treatments. The association is also dedicated to helping professionals preserve and elevate the standard of spa services. Ms. Leavy was responsible for the publishing the first consumer and industry study on the day spa industry and the first DAY SPA DIRECTORY in 1994.

Ms. Leavy sits on the Advisory Board of Day Spa Magazine and Spa Management Journal, for which she is a contributor on various spa topics. She has co-authored The Spa Encyclopedia, a reference book about spa services for the professional and consumer alike, and created THE DAY SPA BUSINESS BIBLE, a reference manual for day spa start-ups, salons expanding into day spas and existing facilities to keep their business on track. MedSpaAssn@aol.com


Medical Advisory board

Dr. Dion Chavis is a 1978 graduate of Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Missouri. Upon graduation, Dr. Chavis began a 16-year journey at the University of Missouri in Columbia. While at "MIZZOU", Dr. Chavis earned a bachelor's degree in biology, a master's degree in endocrinology and his medical degree. He also completed residencies in general surgery, plastic surgery, and a fellowship in microvascular surgery. In 1994, Dr. Chavis began his career in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Chavis is the former Chief of plastic surgery at Methodist Hospital and the former Vice chairman of plastic surgery at Community Hospitals of Indiana. He is one of only a handful of physicians who is board certified in both plastic surgery and age management medicine. Because of his long held interest in holistic and alternative treatments, Dr. Chavis began studying the medical spa concept in the 1990's and this research culminated into the opening of Khara Spa in November of 2006. Dr. Chavis is a founding member of the International Medical Spa Association and is the head of the IMSA's Medical Advisory Board. dionchavis@aol.com

 


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