Meet
LYNELLE LYNCH
ISPA BOARD MEMBER
• PRESIDENT, BELLUS ACADEMY, POWAY, CALIFIRNIA
LYNELLE LYNCH WORKED IN HIGH-END RETAIL FOR 20 YEARS,
“Gen Z is fiercely
independent and want
to be entrepreneurs,
they do not want a
large student loan, so
we are veryconfident
that our Make
Your Mark
campaign will
attract them
to the
industry.”
Bellus Academy operates four schools in the U.S.
66
PULSE
■
APRIL 2020
primarily as the general manager for a number of Saks Fifth Avenue stores. Since she was 14,
she loved the fashion and beauty industry, and she even modeled.
But Lynch’s mission changed 15 years ago when she inherited a chain of beauty schools.
That allowed her to realize a new challenge involving helping the younger generation choose
the spa industry as a career. Now the president and owner of Bellus Academy in Poway,
California, she is passionately advocating for the spa industry while serving as the president of
the non-profit Beauty Changes Lives.
The biggest problem Lynch noted was that top spa owners in San Diego required
employees to have five years of experience and refused to hire recent graduates. So Lynch
recruited spa professionals to help redesign the curriculum at her schools and add advanced
courses. She also started Beauty Changes Lives, which aims to unite the spa and salon industry.
It has so far raised over $6 million to
support individuals entering the
industry with scholarships and
mentorships.
These days, she is trying to
elevate the industry perception with
a recruitment campaign entitled,
“Make Your Mark,” targeting Gen Z
to embrace the spa world as a career
path.
“Gen Z is fiercely independent
and
wants to be entrepreneurs,”
Beauty Changes Lives provides scholarships to aspiring spa
Lynch says. “They do not want a
and beauty professionals.
large student loan, so we are very confident that our Make Your
Mark campaign will attract them to the industry.”
Lynch serves on the boards of six charities—two of which she
is chairman. In the past year, she led a $50 million endowment
campaign and created a long-range plan to support the gift.
Lynch enjoys spending her time bringing together people in the
spa industry and the fashion/beauty industry. While a salon is more
of an energized environment and a spa is calmer, Lynch says both
industries “touch individual lives and make them feel special. Both
are very self-rewarding for the professional as they change lives and
provide emotional support.” n