Nancy Griffin Appointed to Prestigious Advisory Board of UC Irvine Extension's "Spa & Hospitality Management" Program.

Spa Industry Guru, Griffin, Selected as Advisor to Internationally-Renowned Certificate Program

IRVINE, Calif. & PETALUMA, Calif. -- UC Irvine Extension, the pioneer of the first "Spa and Hospitality Management" certificate program on the West Coast and the only fully-online certificate program of its kind in the United States, announces the appointment of Nancy Griffin to its prestigious advisory board of local and national industry professionals.

"UC Irvine Extension is proud to welcome Nancy Griffin to its 'Spa and Hospitality Management' advisory board," said Angela Jeantet, M.B.A., associate director of Business and Management Department at UC Irvine Extension. "Like our other advisory board members, Nancy has a finger on the pulse of what's happening in the industry. Her specialties in trends analysis, marketing and education, and her strong industry reputation as the founder of SpaTrade.com will be a wonderful asset to us as we further refine our curriculum and cultivate strategic alliances within the hospitality industry."

Griffin offers the spa advisory board insight gleaned from her wealth of highly diversified experience in the health and hospitality industries. For more than a decade, Griffin has shared her marketing expertise with the lodging, fitness, beauty, and health care industries. In 1996, she founded The Wellness Resource, a marketing and trends-research consultancy focused on spa and wellness, and in 2000, Griffin founded SpaTrade.com - the largest international resource for spa information with 15,000 registered members from 95 countries. A graduate of the prestigious Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Griffin is at the forefront of the medical spa movement and the integration of spa therapies in healthcare. She is also a frequent speaker at spa industry trade events, and directs the education and VIP programs for the IECSC New York (formerly the American Spa Expo).

"UC Irvine Extension's Spa and Hospitality Management Certificate Program is the most cutting-edge program of its kind across the globe. Its advisory board is comprised of the 'who's who' of the industry, and I am proud to join their ranks," says Griffin. "This is truly a time of burgeoning growth for the spa industry, and demand often exceeds supply of trained, qualified professionals. Staffing is the number one concern of this high-touch industry, and I look forward to working with UC Irvine Extension to develop and hone curriculum that further equips spa professionals with everything they need to enter, survive and thrive in the booming business of spa."

Known for providing current and up-to-date curriculum on the cutting-edge of what is in demand in continuing education, each of UC Irvine Extension's specialized certificate programs consult with an advisory board of national and local business leaders from various organizations and roles within the industry. These boards meet twice per year to identify industry trends, consult on the development of new and existing curriculum, provide insight into instructor and speaker selection, and discuss ways UC Irvine Extension can better meet the educational needs of the industry they represent. In addition to advisory roles, board members also serve as ambassadors of the program, helping to generate awareness of UC Irvine Extension's unique curriculum nationally and globally.

About UC Irvine Extension: As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information, please visit www.extension.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.