I’ve known Maureen Vipperman for more than 20 years, going back to her days at Laguna Cliffs Marriott in California. And looking back now, I realize she has been trying to bring spa people together for nearly as long.
There was the Urban Spa Group. The Los Angeles Spa Group. Spa Talk Radio—an early attempt to give spa professionals a voice long before seemingly everyone had a podcast. Maureen describes those ventures today as intuitive rather than strategic: she saw a need for connection and tried to create it.
Now Executive Spa Director at Miraval Austin, she has done it again, only this time on a much larger scale.
The newly formed Texas Spa Association is envisioned as a statewide home for education, advocacy, collaboration, and connection in a state where Maureen sees spa and wellness expanding rapidly. But what makes the association particularly interesting is what sits underneath it: the Texas Wellness Initiative and its Dignity Backpack Program, created to provide basic self-care necessities to people experiencing homelessness.
For Maureen, the two missions are inseparable. If the spa industry believes so deeply in wellness, self-care, and human connection, she asks, what are we doing for the people who need those things most?
I spoke with my longtime friend about where that question came from, how the idea of the Texas Spa Association took root, and why this new venture feels like the culmination of something she has been trying to build throughout her career.
MB: When did the idea for the Texas Spa Association begin to percolate?
MV: It started about a year or two ago. I was at Omni at the time, and I wanted to do something more. I was percolating on what I could do to bring wellness together. I started looking at what was in Austin and Texas. There was Live Love Spa in Dallas, but that’s quite a drive for me. I thought, what if I did all of Austin—or all of Texas?
I went on the State of Texas website. I Googled. I did AI searches. I found the Texas Med Spa Association, but nothing for wellness. So, I snatched up the Texas Spa Association domain—and then Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and the other major-city domains—and started building the website.
I was working nights and weekends. Then somebody said to me, “Hey, do you know anything about this Texas Spa Association?” And I thought, I better do something.
If the spa industry believes so deeply in wellness, self-care, and human connection. what are we doing for the people who need those things most?
MB: Looking back, I realized this isn’t the first time you’ve created something designed to connect the spa community. You launched Urban Spa Group, Los Angeles Spa Group, and Spa Talk Radio years ago. What was driving you then—and is what you’re doing now an evolution of that same instinct?
MV: Yes, you are correct. I did try my entrepreneurial hand a few times. Spa Talk Radio was my favorite.
Looking back, I can see a clear thread running through everything I’ve ever built for this industry. Urban Spa Group, Los Angeles Spa Group, Spa Talk Radio—each of those projects came from the same instinct I’m acting on now: the desire to create a place where spa professionals could find one another, learn from one another, and feel less alone in the work.
I was a spa director who saw how isolating leadership could be, especially in an industry built on care and connection. I wanted a space where directors and practitioners could talk openly about challenges, share ideas, and celebrate the craft of wellness without competition getting in the way.
So, I tried to build what I wished existed.
Each project had momentum, each created community, and each eventually reached a natural stopping point as my career evolved and my responsibilities grew.
But the instinct never went away.
What I’m doing now with the Texas Spa Association is absolutely an evolution of that same calling—just more mature, more intentional, and built with the experience and perspective I didn’t have back then.
MB: But somewhere along the way, this became about much more than creating a professional association.
MV: The Texas Wellness Initiative is a ministry for me. It is a labor of love.
I thought to myself, I’m in the wellness industry, but I would not invite any of these people into my spa. But as a wellness professional, this is what I preach. I preach self-care. I preach wellness. Everyone in this industry does the same—but what are we doing for the people who need it the most? What are we providing to them?
I wanted to create a backpack program—toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, things that would help somebody feel more human.
Then I ran into a homeless gentleman who works at my property. I thought he didn’t belong there. And he smelled like he’d slept in his clothes a few nights. I felt such shame. I could have said, “Hey, colleague, come to the spa. Take a shower. Let me take your clothes home and wash them.”
All of those things just spoke to my spirit, and I couldn’t let it go.
MB: You’ve said something that deeply resonates with me: If we are who we say we are as an industry, shouldn’t we do something?
MV: If we are the loving, caring, giving people that we claim to be, there’s more than enough to go around.
You give from an open hand.
The Dignity Backpack Program started small. Then my daughter asked me, “Shouldn’t you include diapers and dog food?” So we started building it out. We have a fellow veteran [Maureen is a veteran] working with the VA in Texas, and we’re going to build it out for veterans who are homeless and their families.
This is the mission.
MB: So how does the Texas Spa Association support that mission?
MV: The initiative is the baby that we nurture from this engine. The engine is the voice of authority in wellness in the state of Texas.
We plan on doing advocacy with the state. We want to be the place where connections come from for vendors and spas alike—decision makers in the industry, based on education and camaraderie and elevating what we offer.
Texas is becoming a hub for resort spas and wellness and technical wellness. They’re moving in, and more are coming.
We want to be the go-to place for that. We want everyone to feel included.
MB: And you’ve deliberately structured this differently from some industry organizations. Why?
MV: We’re a nonprofit. We’re veteran-owned, woman-owned, and nonprofit in the state of Texas.
I created a board of directors to keep the Texas Spa Association accountable. Every dime, every voice is held to a standard and held accountable. And it’s not about vendors. It’s about education and spreading the message of wellness.
Our board is 50/50 vendor and spa. We have a really good mix of people who are super-passionate. We have an influencer, a corporate retail buyer, and a brand strategist.
We’re not soliciting and we’re not taking advantage of our vendor partners. They’re not paying for a booth to have people come and take all their samples and have no ROI. The education is just as much for them as it is for their partners. We’re teaching people how to be good business partners and collaborate together.
MB: Where do you want all of this to be two years from now?
MV: We would like to be the voice of the spa industry in Texas. We would like to be that go-to place for education, connection, collaboration, and ideas.
We’d like to be established with a membership base and have our first 1,000 backpacks distributed—whether that’s through the Red Cross, Goodwill, a homeless shelter or a food bank.
I’m so excited about it.
The Texas Spa Association at a Glance
The landscape: Approximately 85,000 spa-related establishments operate across Texas. Spa-related establishments, notes Maureen, are any establishment that requires licensure for massage or aesthetics.
Membership: The Texas Spa Association launches its membership drive in October, with three membership levels ranging from individual professionals to spa and partner memberships covering multiple team members. A one-month introductory membership allows prospective members to explore member resources before committing.
Education: Monthly webinars begin in November under The Tea Room banner. Webinars are open to members and nonmembers; members receive access to the recorded library. The association’s blog and newsletter is called The Texas Tea.
Leadership: A 12-member Board of Directors represents an approximately 50/50 mix of spa and vendor professionals, with additional perspectives from retail, branding, and the influencer community.
Committees: Education, Membership, Events, and Career Path & Veteran/VA. “There’s a whole generation of people coming out of the military who are stuck with what they want to do,” notes Maureen. “We feel we can create a whole new talent pool for spas.”
Industry partners: Vendor membership rates are structured for Texas-based, national, and international brands, with additional silver and gold sponsorship opportunities. The association says education and meaningful business collaboration—not traditional trade-show selling—will be central to its relationship with vendor partners.
Events: Plans include two educational seminars and one major annual two-day summit, culminating in a fundraising gala benefiting the Texas Wellness Initiative.
Social mission: Proceeds from the Texas Spa Association support the nonprofit Texas Wellness Initiative and its Dignity Backpack Program, which provides self-care essentials to people experiencing homelessness.
Mary Bemis
Mary Bemis is Founder & Editorial Director of InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. An advocate for all things spa, Mary forged a vocabulary for spa reportage that is widely used by those who cover the issues today. Recently honored as a Top 30 Influential Voice Transforming Wellness by Medika Life, Mary is an inaugural honoree of Folio’s Top Women in Media Award. Her spa media roots run deep—in 1997, she launched American Spa magazine, in 2007, she co-founded Organic Spa magazine, and in between serving on the ISPA and NYSPA Board of Directors, she was on the launch teams of Luxury SpaFinder and New Beauty magazines. Named a "Wonder Woman of Wellness" by American Spa magazine, Mary was honored by the International Spa Association with the distinguished ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award. She is a special advisor to the non-profit Global Wellness Day.
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