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The Women in Fitness Association Announces New Board Appointments

blog board of directors bod fitness press release the women in fitness association wifa women leaders Oct 09, 2019

For immediate release: The Women in Fitness Association Announces New Board Appointments

The Women in Fitness Association (WIFA) has just completed their second board appointments, and is pleased to announce the appointment of three new directors to the Board. The election of three new directors was a result of the a governance change to enable additional expertise to be brought to the Board, in line with the growth of the association.

WIFA Founder & CEO Lindsey Rainwater announced that Rebecca Cofod, Amira Polack and Paula Comfort have been selected to join founding Board members Debra Siena, Emma Barry, Sarah Pellegrino and Kristen Green. Also returning for a second term are Board members Maureen (Mo) Hagan and Sara Kooperman.

Lindsey Rainwater states “We were thrilled to have had over 30 high calibre applications for these positions from highly respected industry leaders. This indicates to us that this is clearly a sought after position, and is a testament to the reputation that WIFA has developed over the last two years. Each of the newly appointed Board members will bring an important and diverse mix of skills and experience to the board, as WIFA continues to grow from strength to strength. It is remarkable that just two years after our initial board was appointed we are now serving 500 members globally, dozens of partners and collaborators and growing our programs exponentially. We are confident that the future of the association is bright, filled with opportunity to grow and support women within our industry”

Applications are called for the WIFA Board annually between June and August.

Rebecca Cofod

After working in high tech and retail sales and consulting for many years, Rebecca followed her passion for fitness and made a career change to join Les Mills in 2005.  She spent 11 years there in various business development roles before transitioning to her current position as the Group Training Solutions Manager at Matrix. Throughout her career, Rebecca has worked with many types of organizations helping them to excel in their marketing and sales efforts.  With a Masters Degree in Business and Marketing, she has worked with hundreds of health and fitness organizations to help them see value using programs, systems, and products to engage with their members with a clear focus on motivating consistency of participation. The measurable outcome of this engagement is increased revenue from acquisition, retention, and referrals.  Now she has joined the WIFA Board to help advance the next generation of women in the fitness industry as we all work together to bring the value of health and fitness to people around the world.

Amira Polack

The Founder and CEO of Struct Club, an LA-based fitness tech company with a mission to elevate music-inspired group fitness instructors. Polack has built a career in social impact and innovation, from global philanthropy and social entrepreneurship to tech and fitness. Polack has served as President and Chairwoman of the Foundation for Student Communication, CEO and co-founder of Ubomi Beads (South Africa), Social Enterprise Fellow at Hybrid Solar Solutions (Philippines), Head of the Global Youth Campaign for SAP, and Founding Director of Customer Success at Kespry, a drone startup in Silicon Valley. Ultimately, she became an indoor cycling instructor, certified by Schwinn's Keli Roberts and Stages' Javier Santin and Marina Mitchell.

 
With over 25 years’ progressive experience in the Health Club industry, Paula has leveraged records of double-digit growth and record-setting launches, to champion the success of both emerging and established brands in the highly-competitive, health and fitness space. As Vice President of the Sports Clubs of Canada/Bally Total Fitness, she was accountable for the Canadian operation of 23 locations.  She then joined the senior leadership team of Spa Chakra, a New York based spa and fitness company, where she was Managing Director of fitness and proceeded to open 13 locations in luxury hotels around the world.

Sara Kooperman, JD 

CEO of SCW Fitness Education and WATERinMOTION®, was recently re-appointed for a second two-year term to the Women In Fitness Association Board of Directors. Sara is a visionary leader that has transformed the fitness education community. A successful business owner and advisor, she is a keynote speaker, published author, podcast presenter and sought-after industry leader. Sara has launched eight successful MANIA® fitness-professional conventions and over 35 live and online certifications. Her company has touched more than 100,000 Fitness Professionals face-to-face and engaged another 300,000+ in virtual connections. Having produced over 600 Fitness Instructor Training videos, written several books and been published repeatedly in magazines and newspapers, Sara is well-known for her creativity and impact on the health and wellness industry. She has a unique ability to share her passion and devotion towards fitness education through her humor, enthusiasm and her effervescent no-nonsense personality.

Maureen (Mo) Hagan

is a global fitness ambassador and has been recognized for her work in fitness that spans over three decades.  Mo is the Chief Operating Officer for canfitpro and has been an integral part of canfitpro since 1993.  Mo has been working in the fitness industry since 1984 and is an award-winning group fitness instructor and program director, and the recipient of multiple industry awards including the IHRSA Julie Main Woman Leader of the Year (2016) and the Canadian Fitness Industry Leader of the Year (2019).  As a member of the Board of Directors for Women in Fitness Association (WIFA), Mo dedicates her life to leading and influencing leaders within the fitness industry, inspiring healthy living through fitness education, and personal and professional empowerment.

ABOUT WIFA - The Women in Fitness Association (WIFA), was created with the vision of establishing a platform to prepare and develop more women to be in leadership roles in the fitness industry by championing women to achieve their career aspirations, and share their success through collaboration.

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