Prior to her appointment at Lake Austin Spa Resort, Tracy was the director of The Spa at the Crescent, a luxury spa, fitness and wellness facility managed by Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, a management company with five star hotels and resorts around the world. In this role she managed all aspects of the private fitness facility and the public day spa. In addition to her management responsibilities at The Spa at the Crescent, Tracy served on the development team for Rosewood Hotels designing spa and fitness facilities for new hotels and resorts around the world. She is a contributing author for the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 5th ed. (Williams and Wilkins, 1995) and a textbook for wellness professionals entitled Health Fitness Management (Human Kinetics, 1997). Tracy also served as a section editor for the ACSM's Resource Manual to the Guidelines, 3rd and 4th ed. (Williams and Wilkins, 1998, 2001).

Chris joined the Lake Austin Spa Resort team in 2005 as Assistant Spa Manager before being promoted to Spa Manager and ultimately Spa Director. Prior to Lake Austin, he served as Assistant Spa Director of Glenmoor Country Club Spa and Fitness Center in Canton, OH. Chris graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. While earning his degree, he was introduced to the spa world and worked with consulting firm WTS International as they did a complete renovation of the Spa and Fitness Center at Glenmoor.

Bringing his expertise to Lake Austin Spa Resort, Chef Conlan takes the guesswork out of healthy eating by creating a veritable cornucopia of gourmet meals, many of them enhanced by the vibrant textures and flavors of the vegetables and herbs from the resort's organic gardens. Using regional and seasonal ingredients, guests will find a wide variety of selections on the menu, including Thai, Cajun, Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian and regional American cuisine, as well as a choice of vegetarian dishes and superb tasting, but guilt-free desserts.

His philosophy is simple: "Wonderfully nutritious and delicious food abounds all over the planet. Ironically, some of the more technologically advanced countries, with emphasis on fast and convenient foods, have gotten away from many of these traditions, so a big part of our mission is to simply reawaken peoples' interest in the possibilities of genuinely good eating," says Chef Conlan. "I am not interested in diets or gimmicky foods; I want to produce healthy, relatively low-fat, absolutely delicious meals that everyone will enjoy eating on a long-term basis. Not just the best spa food that they have ever eaten, but some of the best food that they've ever eaten anywhere."

In addition to the resort's menu and daily specials, Chef Conlan shares his wealth of knowledge with guests through our Culinary Experience™ at Lake Austin Spa Resort. The popular week-long Culinary Experience program begins on the second Sunday of every month. The program, dedicated to healthy cooking and healthy living, features special guest chefs, daily cooking demonstrations and more than 20 other activities centered on the celebration of all things culinary.

Chef Conlan regularly teaches cooking classes throughout Texas, and during selected weeks each summer, the real "foodies" can take advantage of a more intensive Summer Cooking Workshop Series developed by Chef Conlan and taught by him and his staff, as well as featured guest chefs.

He has published articles and recipes in magazines such as Cooking Light, Eating Well, Shape and Prevention, and has also been acknowledged with a five-star review from Weight Watchers magazine, as well as been featured in Cooking Light and other culinary magazines.

In addition to these efforts, he has been featured on national television with appearances on both The Learning Channel ("Laurie's Light and Easy") and the Food Network ("The Best Of" series), as well as numerous interviews on a variety of Texas radio and television stations.

On November 1, 2003, Chef Conlan's first hardback cookbook published in nine years was released - FRESH, Healthy Cooking and Living from Lake Austin Spa Resort – and is available in retail outlets and bookstores nationally, as well as at the resort and through the website at www.lakeaustin.com. Prior to that, Chef Conlan authored Lean Star Cuisine, as well as the 1998, 2000 and 2002 Summer Cooking Series recipe books.

When asked to what he attributes whatever measure of success he may have achieved, he responds simply, "Well, I truly enjoy every aspect of what I'm doing, but in the end, what it all boils down to is that I'm funnier than Julia Child and a better cook than Dave Barry."

Crafts are another of Trisha's interests, and she teaches classes such as pressed flower designs, potpourri, painting pots and herbal swags, to the guests at LASR. She has participated in the writing, editing and testing of two cookbooks for the resort, and teaches cooking classes as well.

Teaching by example is Michael's secret to success in creating an intimate yet comfortable dining experience.  He also understands that guests' perception and memory of their dining experience is directly affected by the ambience of the dining room.

Michael is originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana. He studied Business Administration at McNeese State University. When he met world-renowned Chef John Folse, he began working for him as Assistant General Manager. An unparalleled opportunity took Michael to Commander's Palace in New Orleans, to work as the Garden Room Manager before being promoted to Assistant Matri d' and quickly thereafter, Beverage Director. Finally, Michael assumed the role of General Manager, where his training helped prepare him in his most successful project of opening Commander's Palace in Las Vegas.

For the first several years at Lake Austin Spa Resort she taught many different types of exercise classes for our guests. In recent years Nia Dance is the modality of movement she enjoys most because of the strong mind/body connection with music and the freedom and release that it offers.

She enjoys interacting with people and is motivated to help them find ways to have a fun and active lifestyle. She is an avid reader, gardener, walker, and can play a pretty mean game of Texas Hold'em poker.

She loves to plan and organize, and now devotes most her attention to orchestrating special classes and events. She has been instrumental in the creation and development of guest programs such as the annual Gathering of Wise Women women's health series and For the Love of Books author's series. She is also the coordinator of our monthly program, The Culinary Experience at Lake Austin Spa Resort, as well as specialty weeks including Nia, Yoga for Everybody, Gotta Dance, Mother/Daughter, Duplicate Bridge, Poker, In Love with Lavender and Comedy Improvisation and Style.

Robbie is always on the lookout for new ideas and programs that our guests would enjoy, and you will still catch her enthusiastically teaching dance classes whenever she can!   

Lynne was a critical force in the successful launch of the new LakeHouse Spa on April 1, 2004, when she unveiled an unprecedented menu of over 100 treatments and services. One of her greatest passions is creating new and innovative treatments, ensuring that the LakeHouse Spa is always on the cutting edge. Experimenting with essential oils, utilizing herbs organically grown in the resort's garden, and applying techniques that are in keeping with its menu of natural treatments, have resulted in signature items such as the "Olive Our Love", "Fruits of the Shore" and "Gifts of the Garden."

Brent began in the hospitality industry in 1999. Brent spent 6 years working for the Hyatt Regency Austin Hotel. He worked in many areas of the rooms division, serving as Guest Services Manager, Assistant Front Office Manager, Assistant Executive Housekeeper, and Director of Housekeeping. As Director of Housekeeping at Hyatt Regency Austin, Brent led his team of staff in assisting with a multimillion dollar guest room renovation.

Realizing the strong connection between the body and mind and wanting to gain insight into the actions of those she taught and trained, Sharon pursued an advanced degree and earned a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Memphis in 2002. Her research projects focused on common psychological issues within the fitness realm such as adherence, motivation and behavior change. This background allows her to "open the therapeutic door" for those wanting to improve their overall quality of life by launching a healthy endeavor, stopping a deleterious habit, or simply gaining understanding of the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.