About
A story shaped by 20 years
A perspective shaped by 20 years of experience, a lifetime of hard lessons, and a deep belief that how we lead — ourselves and others — matters more than anything else.
I've spent over 20 years in the spa and wellness industry. And what I've learned is this: the most powerful work — whether it happens in a treatment room, a team meeting, or a coaching session — is the work that helps a person feel seen, supported, and capable of more than they believed when they walked in.
That is what I am here for.
I work with women who are ready to find their voice, navigate a career transition, and get clear on what they actually want. And I work with spa leaders who are ready to build something better — for the people doing the work and the guests experiencing it.
Both of these things come from the same place in me. They always have.
I work one-on-one with women who are done shrinking and ready to start leading their own lives. Women who have been taking care of everyone else and have lost track of themselves in the process. If you are sitting in burnout, a career transition, or the quiet ache of wanting something different but not knowing how to begin — this work is for you.
Learn more about coaching →I partner with spa owners, directors, and teams to build environments that work for everyone in them — not just the guests. Team culture, burnout prevention, guest experience design, and the kind of leadership development that actually sticks.
Get in touch →I didn't grow up feeling like someone with a lot to offer. I was bullied as a kid — the kind that gets into your bones and stays there long after the people doing it have moved on. I learned early to make myself smaller. To not take up too much space.
What saved me was curiosity. I started reading about personal development, psychology, and human behavior — hungry for answers, not just for myself but for everyone around me who was struggling and didn't have the language for it yet.
That hunger led me to massage therapy. I became a licensed massage therapist and cosmetologist and fell in love with what happened in those rooms. People came in carrying weight they couldn't name. Being cared for genuinely helped them put it down for a while. I saw it happen over and over and never got tired of it.
Over time I moved from the table into leadership — managing teams, then running full spa and salon operations. Seven of those years were spent at Joseph Anthony Hair Salon in Springfield, PA — building and leading a full luxury spa and salon operation that became the foundation for everything I do today.
During that time I was given the opportunity to spa consult with leadership at Joseph Anthony's sister property, the Salt Spa in Stone Harbor, NJ — bringing the same philosophy and systems I had built and applying them in a new environment. I was also given the opportunity to work with Spa Visions, educating teams and developing treatment protocols that elevated the standard of care across the board.
Those years taught me that a spa is not just a collection of services. It is a living environment, and it either feels good to work in or it doesn't. I also saw how often talented providers burned out not because the work was too hard, but because the structure around them wasn't built with people in mind. That realization never left me.
Then COVID happened.
In that stillness I finally did something I had always wanted to do — I enrolled at the Health Coach Institute and began working toward my certification as a life and health coach. Everything I had been doing intuitively for years finally had a framework and a name.
Somewhere in that season I also got sick. Really sick. Months of tests, of not knowing what was wrong, of functioning through fog and fatigue and symptoms that didn't add up. Eventually I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I turned to NRT — Nutrition Response Testing — a form of natural healing that works with the body rather than against it. What came next wasn't just physical recovery. It was a shift in how I understood health, energy, and what it means to truly take care of yourself.
And then the call came.
In 2021 I lost my dad and my stepmother. They were killed in a car accident — a collision that took them both.
There is only the before and the after, and the long, disorienting work of learning to live in the after. I took time to grieve. To fall apart and put myself back together. I leaned on everything I had ever learned about resilience and being held when you cannot hold yourself.
Eventually we came home. We moved back to Buffalo — back to family, back to roots, back to something that felt like ground. I was given an extraordinary opportunity to join Excuria Salon and Spa, a brand that has been building its legacy in the Buffalo area for over 30 years, as they opened a brand new luxury spa from the ground up. It was exactly the kind of challenge I was built for.
And somewhere in the middle of the grief, the homecoming, and the rebuilding — Kristen Brown Studio became real.
I built this because I know what it feels like to be the person holding everyone else together while quietly falling apart. I know what it feels like to have a voice that gets dismissed, a body that gives out, a heart that breaks in ways that don't show up on the outside.
And I know what it feels like to find your way through. That is what I am here to help you do.
- Every woman deserves an environment where her voice matters and her goals are possible
- You don't have to choose between ambition and your own wellbeing
- Burnout is not a character flaw — it is a systems failure
- Structure should support people, not restrict them
- Emotional safety is essential, not optional
- The most powerful thing a woman can do is stop shrinking and start leading her own life
- Luxury isn't just aesthetics. It's thoughtfulness, structure, and heart.
20+ years leading spa and salon teams across Pennsylvania and New York · Certified Life and Health Coach · Licensed Massage Therapist · Spa Director at Excuria Salon & Spa, Williamsville NY · Spa Consultant at the Salt Spa, Stone Harbor NJ · Educator with Spa Visions
View full experience on LinkedIn →For nearly seven years I served as Fundraising Coordinator for Girls Night Out Media — co-leading an annual event that has raised over $1 million supporting women in Delaware County, PA navigating cancer. A reminder that people-centered leadership matters far beyond any single industry.
Whether you are a woman ready to find her voice, a spa leader building something better, or someone sitting in a season of transition and uncertainty — this space is for you.