Sustainability-focused spa association The Green Spa Network (GSN) has appointed a new executive director, spa industry veteran Paul Schmidt, who will be responsible for programme development and administration.

Schmidt’s experience includes an extensive background in massage therapy, as well as curriculum building for massage schools in the US – Utah College of Massage Therapy and Eagle Gate College. He has also directed several spas including the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Southampton and oversaw the development of wellness centres in Burlington – Vermont, Salt Lake City – Utah and Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Schmidt has served on the board of massage schools, the International Spa Association and the Jackson Hole Destination Wellness Committee.

Schmidt will report to the board of directors, making sure that the association’s activities are focused on the achievement of GSN’s mission – to make a positive and lasting contribution to environmental and social health – while also meeting financial objectives.

“The board was convinced that the best way to continue to move this organisation forward in its role as the industry’s voice of sustainability was to select an executive director who can both empathise with the realities of spa operations and also be respected as a green advocate,” said Jim Chenevey, GSN board member and CEO of Living Earth Crafts. “We are lucky to have found such a person in Paul.”

Health, healing and spas are important to Schmidt, but he is also committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

“Thirty years ago, as a young, dedicated holistic thinker and seeker, I realised that my personal wellbeing was nothing if I wasn’t also nurturing my family, my community and the planet,” said Schmidt. “For me, mind, body, spirit, society and ecology are fundamentally connected – but I have always felt compelled to live in harmony with them and be a guide for others to do the same.”

“Spa business at its best flows from core values like oneness, balance and longevity," Schmidt told Spa Opportunities. "Whether you call this fitness, healthy living, beauty or wellness it all boils down to sustainability. A lot of people think GSN is all about reducing one’s carbon energy footprint. Our members are skilled at that, yes; but our community’s true purpose is in expanding the healing energy footprint spas leave in the world.”