Cathy Christensen

Cathy Christensen is the chief operating officer (COO) of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa), based in Chicago, and has been with the company since its infancy, joining as Director of Operations in 2013. Prior to this, Christensen worked in the publishing industry, where she began as an editorial assistant and transitioned into her second career in operations of AmSpa after climbing the ladder to become the Editor-in-Chief of Skin Inc. magazine and the Conference Director of the Face & Body events.

Christensen has contributed to AmSpa’s significant increase in gross profits year over year since 2013, as well as its staff growth, which has increased from two people to 27 people. Christensen oversees team members who specialize in marketing, membership, sales, events, legal and content.

Christensen enjoys strategizing and directing growth, budgeting, working with very talented and insightful people, and building relationships with vendors and partners to help meet their goals while at the same time meeting AmSpa’s goals. Processes and procedures are a passion of hers and, although they aren’t very glamorous, she firmly believes that they make or break not only the larger organization, but staff members’ job satisfaction within that organization, as well. In both of her careers, she has found that the keys to success lie in relationships, respect and excellent communication. Christensen prides herself in her ability to embrace challenges, persevere and even have a little fun while doing it.

Bryan Durocher

Bryan Durocher is the author of Wake Up… Live the Life You Love… in Beauty, and is the founder of Essentials Spa Consulting and Durocher Enterprises. Durocher was named one of the “Top 20 People to Know in the Beauty Industry” by Global Cosmetic Industry magazine, and provides coaching, consulting, global industry trends and marketing solutions for medical spa, spa and industry professionals internationally. Durocher Enterprises has been published in many articles and has provided business education internationally at a variety of national and international industry events.

Ben Hernandez

Ben Hernandez is a partner at Skytale Group who specializes in strategic management consulting for various service industries. He also offers his clients corporate-level financial analysis and guidance. As a co-founder of Skytale Group, Ben is passionate about leading an organization that people are proud to work with. He serves his clients not only with years of experience and service industry expertise, but also through upholding the Skytale core values of integrity, excellence, teamwork, and fun. He loves to help small business owners achieve their dreams, aspirations, and visions. Previously, Ben has worked with an international investment banking group, a financial services and advisory institution, a hedge fund, and CPA and advisory firms.

Greg Mahoney

Greg Mahoney is a management consultant at Skytale Group with broad experience in building infrastructure and strategic planning in the health care industry. Utilizing experience from individual locations, emerging groups and an organization with more than 100 locations, Mahoney expertly builds strategies and helps executive teams reach their goals. He has successfully led a practice to grow production from $1 million to $7.5 million annually. As a former COO and management support strategist, he has been successful in crafting the management structure and systems to grow large organizations. By nurturing revenue-generating activities and their related systems, he assists clients in reaching their business and personal goals. His ability to step back and assess problems from multiple perspectives gives business owners the peace of mind that advice is well-conceived, with a genesis in real-world experience.

Ryan McElwain

Ryan McElwain is a digital marketing veteran with more than 10 years of experience. While he launched his career with a focus in automotive, he has since made a name for himself helping health care providers and medical spa owners across the U.S. grow their businesses through online tactics. While always emphasizing the importance of SEO and PPC, he now runs a multi-disciplinary team of search and social experts at DoctorLogic.

Brandon Mullen

Brandon Mullen, BSN, RN-BC, is a bachelor’s prepared registered nurse. He is currently the fractional practice manager at Aiyana Atelier Studios and excels in client experience, marketing, IT and process improvement, among many other talents. With more than 20 years of experience in health care—including bedside nursing, case management and health care software IT—Mullen's unique background serves him well for all the day-to-day nuances of aesthetic practice management, whether he is virtual or onsite. Mullen splits his time between his hometown of Pittsburgh and both Aiyana Atelier studios, in Alexandria, Virginia, and Middleburg, Virginia.

Jay Reyero

Jay D. Reyero, JD, is a partner at the ByrdAdatto law firm. His practice focuses on the representation of business clients, with health care being the core of his practice. His health care and regulatory expertise involves the counseling and advising of physicians, physician groups, other medical service providers and non-professionals. Specific areas of expertise include federal and state health care regulations and how they impact investments, transactions and various contractual arrangements, particularly in the areas of federal and state anti-referral, anti-kickback and HIPAA compliance.

Alex Thiersch

Alex R. Thiersch, JD, is the founder and CEO of the American Med Spa Association, and he is also a partner at the business, health care and aesthetic law firm of ByrdAdatto. He has extensive experience representing industry professionals before state medical boards and is one of the most sought-after speakers in the country regarding matters of practice management and medical aesthetic law, including conferences for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the Global Aesthetics Conference, Vegas Cosmetic Surgery, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the Medical Spa Show and others.