Michael Lasher Takes Over as Director of CPSA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2020

Media Contact:
Janay Rickwalder, CAE
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
703-357-3918 | jrickwalder@phta.org

Michael Lasher Takes Over as Director of CPSA

(Alexandria, Va.) - The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is proud to announce that Michael Lasher, IOM, is joining PHTA as Director of the California Pool and Spa Association. His first day will be December 1, 2020.

Lasher is an association executive with nearly 29 years of experience in non-profit management. Through his affiliation with the association management firm Gayle Stewart Enterprises, Inc., he currently serves as Chapter Administrator for the Orange County Chapter, International Facility Management Association (IMFA OC), which delivers educational programs and services to professionals in the facilities management industry. He also is the Chapter Administrator for Meeting Professionals International, Orange County Chapter (MPIOC), which serves the local meetings and events industry.

Lasher started his association management career in 1991 with Gayle Stewart Enterprises, Inc. in Tustin, California, where he aided non-profit professional and trade organizations. He has served as Chief Staff Executive for chapters of the National Speakers Association (NSA), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Christian Businessmen’s Committee (CBMC), National Spa and Pool Institute (NSPI) and independent organizations, including the Escrow Institute of California (EIC) and the Life Science Industry Council (LINC). Lasher was also the Chief Staff Executive for the Building Owners and Managers Association of Orange County, the Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) and the Network Professional Association (NPA).

He attended Biola University in La Mirada and is a 1999 graduate of the Institute for Organization Management. In 1999, he received his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation and was awarded the Institute for Organization Management’s IOM designation that same year. He has served as Vice President of Membership and a Board member for the Southern California Society of Association Executives (SCSAE). He also served on the Western Board of Regents for the Institute for Organization Management. Mike lives in Simi Valley, California with his wife Carol and their college-age children.

Michelle Kavanaugh, current Executive Director of the CPSA, is switching her focus to consulting industry businesses. Kavanaugh said she is happy to pass the torch to Lasher. 

“It has been a true honor to serve the California pool and spa industry as Executive Director of the California Pool & Spa Association for the last two years,” said Kavanaugh. “The members of CPSA are in great hands with their new leader, Michael Lasher, and I am excited for my next journey as business owner of MK Inc., where I will assist small businesses with achieving success personally and professionally.”

For more information, please contact Janay Rickwalder, PHTA’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, at jrickwalder@phta.org or 703.357.3918.

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About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with nearly 3,500 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $36.5B pool, hot tub and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge and profitability. Additionally, PHTA facilitates the expansion of swimming, water safety and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.