Alison Thurston, General ManagerAlison Thurston brings considerable experience in club operations and management from the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle to her role as General Manager. Prior to Four Seasons, Alison spent 12 years at The Sports Club Company where she was an Assistant General Manager in NY and Orange Country, CA. With her success at the club level she was asked to bring her managerial skills to the Spa division and became the Spa Director, and quickly was promoted to the Corporate Spa Director, overseeing all Spa operations for the clubs in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Orange County and New York. Alison attended Arizona State University with a degree in Marketing.

Ray Knecht, Assistant General ManagerRay discovered fitness in college while undergoing physical therapy from a knee injury. His degree is in accounting but soon after school, left accounting to follow his newfound passion. Ray has been in the health and fitness industry since 1979 and with the Sports Club Company for 28 years in Southern California. He’s held several different positions while working there including Operations Manager, Assistant General Manager, and for the last 10 years he was the General Manager. He met his wife at the gym and she is even more passionate about fitness than Ray. They enjoy travel, the beach, cruising and most of all spending time with their three grandchildren.

Cecily Guest, Group Exercise ManagerCecily Guest is a 25-year fitness veteran with 15 years of experience as a Group Exercise manager for large fitness organizations in both New York City and San Francisco. She is a 18-year certified AFAA GX instructor and holds additional certs with SCW Fitness, Madd Dog, Keiser, Yoga Fit and SCW Yoga levels 1-3. She has been a certified AFAA and ACE personal trainer and currently holds a personal training certification with The National College of Exercise Professionals. As an instructor Cecily is known for her dynamic Yoga, Sculpting, Boxing and Indoor Cycling workouts. Her years in musical theater and degree in classical music from Indiana University lends itself to presenting fun, entertaining classes. As a manager she enjoys creating 5-star programs and services for members of all interests. 

Erika Vargas, Spa ManagerErika Vargas is the Spa Manager at Sports Club/LA - San Francisco. Prior to joining Sports Club/LA, Erika was the Assistant Spa Manager at Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park. Erika began her career at Silverado Resort and Spa, working her way through the ranks including Spa Sales manager to serve as the Guest Services Manager. For over 12 years, Erika has worked in the luxury hospitality industry, with a commitment to producing excellent results while cultivating a 5 Star customer service culture. 

Daniel Finnerty, Sales ManagerDaniel has been involved in the fitness industry since high school when he took his first position at local health club in his hometown of Fairfax, Virginia. Before arriving at our San Francisco location in July of 2012 Daniel was the leading Membership Director in our Washington DC location for 3 years. He has held a number of management and operations positions in the fitness industry but his passion and focus have always been sales, marketing and high level member service. For his own workouts Daniel loves Thai Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, yoga and long runs. 

Zelda Curry, Reception ManagerZelda has been with Sports Club/LA - San Francisco for 10 years. She started in the Accounting Department as the Membership Service Manager and transferred to Reception Manger in 2007. Zelda has been in the Fitness Industry for 19 years and has a degree is in Business Administration. She has also had her Real Estate Licenses for 12 years and enjoys meeting new people, dancing and traveling. As a Reception Manager, she take pride in providing five-star customer service to Members.

Laura Flynn, Sports Manager

Laura began her career in New York City, where she worked as a marketing manager with fitness brands Town Sports International (TSI) and Equinox Fitness Clubs. Upon leaving New York for the West Coast she transitioned to the sports industry and worked for The SF Marathon and several professional soccer franchises. She joined Sports Club/LA in 2011 as a private trainer, holding certifications through NASM & ACE. In 2013, she took on the role of Sports Manager.

Laura has an MS in Corporate Public Relations from Boston University, as well as an undergraduate degree in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania. When she is not on the court, you can find her training clients on the fitness floor.

Michael Andrews, Fitness ManagerMichael attended Feather River College with a major in forestry. He also graduated from the United States Coast Guard School of Engineering in Norfolk Virginia, and was a ship’s engineer in the Coast Guard for two years active duty, and four years reserve duty. He has worked at a variety of outdoor jobs including as a fire-prevention technician and fire engine foreman for the U.S Forest Service. He also served as the Mountain Manager in charge of operations for Royal Gorge Cross Country, now the largest cross-country ski area in the United States. He also worked as a ski patrolman for Alpine Meadows ski area at LakeTahoe. Mike earned the coveted title of health fitness instructor from the American College of Sports Medicine in 1991 and has been in the fitness industry ever since. Michael was the fitness manager for the San Francisco Tennis Club and Crow Canyon Country Club before moving to Sports Club/LA in San Francisco as Fitness Manager in 2009.

Thiana Mai, Executive AssistantThiana joined the Sports Club/LA team in 2008 after relocating to San Francisco, CA from Maui, Hawaii. As executive assistant, she oversees administrative operations, Member relations, and supports the management team while serving as a liaison to our corporate office. Thiana graduated from the University of Hawaii, Manoa with a Bachelors of Art in Marketing. Thiana is committed to making a difference in our Member’s lives every day by providing the essentials for a healthy lifestyle.