Augie has been a corporate leader for more than three decades and runs Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS in the same way he ran his successful businesses. All donors are treated like investors, and top thought leaders provide leadership and direction.
Board of Directors
Eric Affeldt
Former President and CEO, ClubCorp
Eric Affeldt is the former head of domestic and international operations for ClubCorp, the world leader in private clubs. Today, ClubCorp owns or operates more than 200 golf and country clubs, business clubs, sports clubs and alumni clubs in 26 states, the District of Columbia and two foreign countries.
Sherri Medina
Founder & Managing Partner, Epic Ventures
Sherri currently serves as a founder and managing partner of Epic Ventures, a firm specializing in investments in post-acute care solutions. She brings over 30 years of experience in healthcare services having built companies in the post-acute rehabilitation sector, and one of the nation’s largest contract rehab companies with over $200 million in revenues and multi-state operations.
Augie Nieto
Chairman of the Board
Augie Nieto is the Chief Inspiration Officer and Chairman of the Board for Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS, and the Chairman of the Board for the ALS Therapy Development Institute. He is one of the original pioneers of the fitness industry, and the founder and retired Chief Executive Officer of Life Fitness. Currently, Augie serves as an operating advisor to North Castle Partners, a private equity firm, an Advisor for Fuscoe Engineering & Systems Paving, and is on the board of Hydromassage.
Lynne Nieto
Board Secretary & Treasurer
Lynne is the “voice’ of Augie’s Quest, and a board member of the ALS Therapy Development Institute. Her leadership, vision and focus on the bottom line, where her accounting background comes into play, have been key to our success. Lynne lives in Corona del Mar, California with her husband, Augie, and dog, Rubye. They have four adult, married children and eight grand babies.
Paul Sallaberry
Paul Sallaberry is a software industry veteran with a career leading the build and operational management of organizations, such as VERITAS Software, OpenVision, and Oracle. He serves on the Board of Directors for Acquia, Calypso Technologies, Moovweb, Quorum Labs, Dataguise, Livemagic, and is Chairman of the Board of Seal Software.
Bert Selva
President and CEO, Shea Homes
Bert Selva is president and CEO of Shea Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in America. Recognized as an industry leader in customer and financial metrics, Shea Homes was recently awarded the coveted Builder of the Year Award by Professional Builder Magazine.
Michael “Boomer” Wallace
July 2, 1972 – December 19, 2018
Michael “Boomer” Wallace was a clothing industry veteran, having served as CEO of Beacon Point Outfitters, which he acquired in 2012. Previously, Michael led sales and marketing efforts for Lilly Pulitzer and Adam Lippes. He was diagnosed with ALS in June of 2016, and created the Michael S. Wallace Foundation in the effort to find a cure for ALS.
Jim Worthington
Owner, Newtown Athletic Club
Jim Worthington is the owner of the Newtown Athletic Club. As a member of IHRSA since its inception, Jim serves as the Chair of the IHRSA Board of Directors and has been appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. He’s also founded the Delaware Valley Alliance of Health and Sports Clubs and the NAC Have a Heart Foundation.
Leadership Council
Success is great, but significance is vital. Augie calls upon his peers who have achieved remarkable success and reaped the benefits from those accomplishments to make a significant, life-saving difference in the lives of others. These incredible leaders have responded to the call.
Matt Bellina
Matt Bellina graduated from Virginia Tech and received his commission into the US Navy to become a Naval Aviator. Matt can no longer fly naval aircrafts after being diagnosed with ALS, and holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander (RET). He and his wife, Caitlyn, created Matt’s Mission with the Newtown Athletic Club to fund research at ALS TDI. They live in Southhampton, PA with their three young sons.
Scott Cameron
Principal, Land Advisors Organization - Washington Division
As Co-Founding Principal of Land Advisors Organization – Washington Division, Scott leverages his 30 years in the real estate industry as a trusted advisor building relationships with a wide array of valued clients including publicly traded and private builders, developers, investors, financial institutions, private parties and family trusts.
John Duden
President & Founder, Occasio Residential Capital
John Duden is the President of Occasio Residential Capital, a real estate investment firm. John has spent his 35-year career in the banking and the finance industries. Having been diagnosed with ALS in August of 2018, John is excited to work with this team of dedicated and purpose-driven individuals to help find a cure for ALS.
Philip Green
Founder, MAD ALS & Host, I AM ALS Podcast
Phil is a graduate of the University of Washington where he was on the 1991 National Championship Football team. He has spent the past 25 years developing technology solutions for brands such as Sony, Hewlett Packard, and Home Depot. A loving husband to his wife Jennifer, Phil is also a father to four wonderful children. In August 2018, Phil was diagnosed with ALS and dedicated himself to making a difference in the fight against this disease.
Evan Lamberg
President, North America Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG)
As President of North America publishing at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), Evan has signed and worked with such artist-songwriters as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Prince, Imagine Dragons, Mariah Carey, Childish Gambino, Neil Diamond, Randy Newman and Gloria & Emilio Estefan.
Patricia Laus
Owner & CEO, The Atlantic Club
Patricia Laus is the Owner/CEO of The Atlantic Club. She saw an opportunity to create a grassroots program that would bring together members of the fitness industry to help raise awareness and much needed funds to support Augie’s Quest and founded The Atlantic Club’s in-club fitness campaign.
Nancy O’Dell
Television Host
Emmy Award-winning entertainment journalist Nancy O’Dell has proven to be a force in all areas of her career as a host, author, producer and entrepreneur. In addition to her role as the co-host of the most watched entertainment news program in the world, Entertainment Tonight, for almost a decade, O’Dell has contributed reports to CBS This Morning, NBC’s Today show and Dateline. She was the co-host of Access Hollywood for 13 years. She is the published author of 4 books, producer of successful shows on Reelz, HGTV, and USA Network and O’Dell currently has several shows in production with Nancy O’Dell Enterprises, Inc.
Bob Olson
President, R.D. Olson Development
Robert Olson is the founder of R.D. Olson Development, a Newport Beach, California-based firm engaged in the development of commercial properties nationwide with a specific focus on hotels and resorts. He established the company in 1997 following nearly 20 years as founder and CEO of R.D. Olson Construction.
John Ondrasik
Five For Fighting
John Ondrasik has certainly soared in every aspect of the music industry. From songwriting, producing, to performing, this Los Angeles native known better as Five for Fighting has been a one-man team unto himself, constantly shooting and scoring while setting the bar higher each time. To date, John has sold more than 2.5 million albums around the world.
Alberto Perlman
CEO and Co-Founder, Zumba
Alberto Perlman is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Zumba Fitness, LLC, the largest branded fitness program in the world. The global lifestyle brand fuses fitness, entertainment and culture into a dance-party experience and has more than 15 million weekly participants in 200,000 locations across 180-plus countries.
Larree Renda
Former Executive Vice President, Safeway, and Chair, The Safeway Foundation
A former Safeway top executive, Renda was responsible for all retail strategies and a broad range of functions for one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America. Her responsibilities included retail strategy, public affairs, communications, government relations, health initiatives, human resources, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, real estate, and more. In 2001 and 2002, she was voted one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Business” by Fortune magazine.
Matt Stewart
Co-Founder and CEO, National Service Group
Matthew Kennedy Stewart is co-founder and CEO of National Service Group (NSG), which operates College Works Painting, Empire Community Construction, and SMJJ Investments. NSG has grown from a small Southern California-based business into an international company located throughout the United States and Canada.
Fitness Industry Advisory Council
ALS steals your muscles, and robs you of everything exercise provides. Because Augie dedicated his career to improving the physical health of others, he is able to recruit fitness industry champions to help work out creative ways to keep focus on conquering ALS.
Mike Alpert
President and CEO, The Claremont Club
Mike Alpert is the President/CEO of The Claremont Club in Claremont, California. In addition to his role as the past President of California Clubs of Distinction, Mike has served on Boards for the Northwest Athletic Club Association and the Medical Wellness Association.
Bryan Andrus
COO, US Specialty Labs
Bryan Andrus is the COO of CLIAwaived, Inc. and US Specialty Labs, where he is striving to bring healthcare and the fitness industry together through PreventTEST®, and he serves as a consultant of SportBrain, 24 Hour Fitness, FitnessFirst, IDEA, Samsung, NIKE/Apple and Seiko/Epson.
Chip Baird
CEO and Founder, North Castle Partners
Chip Baird is the founder and CEO of North Castle. Serving on the Board of Directors for organizations, such as Sprout Foods, SmartyPants, Curves, Ibex, Equinox Fitness and Naked Juice, Chip has spent the last 30 years improving operating performance and enhancing shareholder value.
Robert Brewster
CEO and President, Alaska Club
Robert Brewster is the CEO/President of The Alaska Club and the President of Alaska Fitness Equipment. In addition to his work with the Hotel Captain Cook and the Captain Cook Athletic Club, Robert was elected Chairman of the Board for IHRSA in 2014
Lynne Brick
Founder, Brick Bodies
Lynne is the founder/co-owner of “Brick Bodies Fitness Services, Inc.” which owns and operates a chain of co-ed and women-only health clubs in the Greater Baltimore area. Lynne is an internationally acclaimed fitness expert and is considered one of the leading group exercise instructors in the world.
Victor Brick
CEO, Brick Bodies
Victor Brick is the CEO of Planet Fitness Growth Partners, the largest privately owned franchise in the Planet Fitness organization, and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Brick Bodies, Victor is an international business consultant and motivational speaker.
Peter Brown
President, AB Media
Peter Brown and his wife Gretchen have owned the Athletic Business and ABShow for the past 30 years. After graduating from Harvard, Peter began working for Lifecycle in 1980 with Augie Nieto. Being part of the team that transitioned Lifecycle to LifeFitness was a unique and rewarding experience for Peter. In building his businesses, Peter has always summoned the experiences he learned from his early years working at Lifecycle.
Rick M. Caro Jr.
President, Management Vision
Rick Caro is the President of Management Vision, Inc. Providing management expertise to clubs, real estate developers, hospitals, hotels, resorts, and appraisers, Management Vision is widely regarded for its experience with a variety of fitness properties all over the U.S. and other countries.
Chris Clawson
Chris Clawson is the CEO of Life Fitness. He has served as the VP of Sales and Marketing for Life Fitness, CEO/President of Johnson Health Tech – North America, Chairman of the Board for the Sports and Fitness Industry Association and VP of Marketing and Business Development for Stamina Products.
Larry Conner
President & General Manager, Stone Creek Club & Spa
Larry Conner, CPA, is the President & General Manager of Stone Creek Club & Spa. With 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, he’s dedicated his career to enriching lives through the health club experience. Larry is currently serving a 4 year term on the IHRSA Board of Directors.
Art Curtis
President, Curtis Club Advisors
Art Curtis has served in a number of leadership roles, including: as the President of Curtis Club Advisors, the CEO of Millennium Partners Sports Club Management and the COO of Wellbridge. He has been a member of the Board of Taymax Holdings and CYBEX and the Chairman of IHRSA from 2010 to 2012.
David Giampaolo
Founder and CEO, Pi Capital
David is the founder/CEO of Pi Capital. As an investor, advisor and board member, David has worked with some of the most successful health companies in world, including Fitness First, 24 Hour Fitness, Zumba Fitness.
Mark de Gorter
COO, Workout Anytime Franchise Systems
Mark de Gorter is the COO for Workout Anytime Franchising Systems. In addition to his dual role as President for the Americas and Global CMO for Power Plate International, Mark has worked with Walter Thompson Worldwide, Bally Total Fitness, L.A. Gear, NTN/Buzztime and Velocity Sports Performance.
Dave Hardy
President, Franvest Capital Partners
Dave Hardy is the President of Franvest Capital Partners. His current investments include Orangetheory Fitness, World Health Edmonton, and Fresh Fit Foods. David is actively engaged in the fitness industry through roundtables, trade associations, public speaking, and industry-wide initiatives.
Ron Hemelgarn
Owner, Hemelgarn Enterprises
Ron Hemelgarn has gathered a lifetime of experience, expanding his success in health and fitness for the past 50 years into other industries such as financial, real estate, and franchises. Ron’s strong conviction to live with simplicity, honesty, humbleness, and humor are what he is best known for.
Gale Landers
CEO, Fitness Formula
Gale Landers is Owner and CEO of Fitness Formula. In 1996, he was elected to the IHRSA Board of Directors and served as the IHRSA Board President in the year 1999-2000. In 2003 he was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.
Anita Lawlor
CEO & COO, IHRSA
Anita Lawlor is the CEO and COO of IHRSA. With 30 years of experience in non-profit management, Anita has worked for the Boston Five Cent Savings Bank, served as the executive director of the Massachusetts Dance Ensemble and was director/co-founder at the Village School of Classical Dance.
Dennis Lee
President and CEO, Octane Fitness
Dennis Lee is currently the co-founder at Stā Active, a new company on a mission to keeping active people active. He co-founded and was president and CEO of Octane Fitness for 15 years. Serving as an advisor to North Castle Partners and a Board Member of Hydromassage, Lee has also been a leader for LifeFitness and ParaBody.
Chuck Leve
Executive Vice President, Association of Fitness Studios
As one of the founders of IHRSA, Chuck Leve is credited with creating and building IHRSA trade show into the largest, most successful fitness show in North America. He also served as the executive director of the National Court Clubs and the executive director of the US Racquetball Association.
Paul Lunter
Founder and President, HydroMassage
Paul Lunter is the Founder/President of HydroMassage. Paul previously owned a residential and commercial construction company, and also founded Digital Chainsaw / Net Performance, an internet company that was acquired by a Paul Allen owned company.
Bill McBride
President and CEO, Active Wellness, Active Sports Clubs & BMC3
Bill McBride is the co-founder of Active Sports Clubs, Active Wellness and BMC3. He has served as Chairman of the IHRSA, President of the Mid-Atlantic Club Management Association (MACMA), as well as an advisor to the American Council of Exercise (ACE), Medical Wellness Association (MWA) and Medical Fitness Network (MFN).
John McCarthy
Founder, IHRSA
John McCarthy served as the founding Executive Director of IHRSA for 25 years. Today, he continues his service as a volunteer at Mass General Hospital and an advisor to Healthtrax & North Castle Partners. John has also been the Chairman of BASH for Augie’s Quest since 2008.
Kevin McHugh
COO, The Atlantic Club
Kevin McHugh is the COO of the Atlantic Club and has served in leadership roles for The Paddington Corporation, Moet-Hennessey and Seagram & Sons, and the Food Bank of Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Kevin is also the COO of the Clubs for the Quest team, helping us raise over 7 million dollars for ALS research.
Joe Moore
President and CEO, IHRSA
Joe Moore is President/CEO of the IHRSA. Beginning with his first commercial facility in 1972 to developing a 20-club three state chain that he sold in 2004, Moore has played a pivotal role in public policy and coalition building for the fitness industry.
Dave Mortensen
President & Co-Founder, Anytime Fitness and Self Esteem Brands
Dave Mortensen is co-founder of Anytime Fitness which has been identified as “One of America’s Most Promising Companies,” “Top Global Franchise” and “Fastest-Growing Fitness Club.” Created as an alternative to big-box gyms, Anytime Fitness offers smaller, neighborhood clubs that prioritize cost and convenience.
Paula Neubert
President/GM, Club Greenwood
Paula has served as the President/GM of Club Greenwood since 2003, and has been in the fitness industry since 1985. Working in various capacities from group fitness instructor to business developer and strategic planner, she built numerous facilities including medically based fitness centers, Pilates studios, and a health and fitness center designed solely for kids.
Andy Richters
VP of National Accounts, Matrix Fitness
Andy Richters was a college soccer player and coach with Master’s degree in Sports Medicine, when a near fatal car/pedestrian accident changed his life. With a career spanning 23 years, his leadership earned him a role at Star Trac and Matrix Fitness.
Petra Robinson
Fitness Industry Adviser, Zumba
Petra Robinson is the former VP of AFAA , EVP of Healthclub.com and VP of Zumba. Using her creative talents and industry contacts, she has earned a reputation for being an industry leader capable of taking concepts and turning them into well-known brands, such as Zumba, Piloxing, and Get RIPPED!
Matthew Stevens
President and CEO, The Bay Club
As the President and CEO of The Bay Club, Matthew Stevens oversees the $200 million business and its portfolio of 25+ clubs and sports resorts. His leadership resulted in the creation of various new products and the acquisition of more than 15 properties.
Emmett Williams
President and Partner, Myzone
Emmett Williams is a native Australian who has had the rare experience of being both an operator and a vendor in the commercial fitness industry, whilst also working extensively in 3 different regions of the world. Having built and owned a chain gyms on one side of the ledger, to having owned and grown the international sales & marketing company CFM International on the other side of the ledger, Emmett now allocates most of his time towards being President and Partner in the wearable technology company, Myzone. Emmett was recently awarded entry onto Fitness Australia’s prestigious ‘Roll of Honor’ for his excellence in leadership, whilst also accepting IHRSA’s ‘Associate of the Year’ award on behalf of Myzone.
Jim Worthington
Owner, Newtown Athletic Club
Jim Worthington is the owner of the Newtown Athletic Club. As a member of IHRSA since its inception, Jim serves as the Chair of the IHRSA Board of Directors and has been appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. He’s also founded the Delaware Valley Alliance of Health and Sports Clubs and the NAC Have a Heart Foundation.
Keith Worts
CEO, Crunch Fitness
Keith Worts is the CEO of Crunch, overseeing all aspects of operations including brand strategy and sales. Already exceeding the expectations of this role, he has managed all aspects of the Crunch business with a focus on developing new locations and continuing to grow profitability.
Past Award Honorees
Augie’s Quest is honored to have support from business and entertainment leaders in our Quest to find a Cure. Click through gallery displaying names, photos & bios of honorees from our Tradition of Hope Gala.
Our Team
Interested in learning more about the Augie’s Quest team?