Graham and Ashkahn are two of the founders of Float On, a float center located in the misty beer-filled land known as Portland, Oregon. They had the pleasure of founding this conference and organizing it for seven years before turning it into an industry run non-profit. They now serve on the board mostly to crack jokes during the board meetings that they find funny and everyone else finds disruptive and mildly unprofessional. They hope to one day follow in the footsteps of Lot’s wife and be turned into pillars of salt.

Challenged with juggling her responsibilities as a mom, big data technologist, and consultant, Gloria found balance when she floated for the first time in 2015. Float Sixty (her baby) was born nine months later. Now with three locations and two more in early development she is putting her consulting skills to the test in her own businesses. Gloria has a bachelors and masters degree in management and technology adoption but her real education comes from constantly tinkering with software and data.

Amy and James opened Float Harder in Portland, Maine in the Spring of 2016, 5 years after their first float in Denver, Colorado. Since opening, Float Harder has hosted over 21,000 floats! More importantly, it has donated over $18,000 through its quarterly giving event, Float For Philanthropy, and supported dozens of community events. In 2018 James and Amy began operating New England Float Partners, offering float tank installation, maintenance, service and repairs throughout the Northeast. In 2019 James accepted a position on the Float Tank Association interim board, and joined the Float Conference team. Amy decided James shouldn’t have all the fun, and in 2020 got involved with both organizations as well. As board members, Amy and James look forward to helping bring the conference to Portland, MAINE!

Jesse is a float enthusiast as well as a holistic nutritionist. He co-founded Float Toronto, a five-cabin Centre in the great white North, in 2014 with his buddy Sean. He has a deep appreciation for the collaborative nature of the float industry and has been invited to speak at the Float Conference to share strategies on community building and marketing. This chapter of owning and operating a Float Centre as been a tremendous life highlight! At the time of writing this, the records on his stores software system, ‘HelmBot,' says he’s floated 333 times - that’s kinda neat!

Lovinder is a filmmaker and college professor whose life took a left turn when he floated for the first time. Now he’s the owner of Nirvana Float in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Floating helps him work through the stories for his screenplays and his filmmaking helps him market his float center - a perfectly symbiotic relationship. Lovinder’s produced and directed documentaries all around the world including in Nepal on Mt. Everest, in India, Bolivia, Palestine and Guatemala. After spending many years exploring the world, Lovinder is happiest in a float tank exploring within himself.

Peter is an Aussie living in ASIA. He partners in a hands-on way with terrific people in the areas of Health & Wellness, Retail Real Estate Planning and Energy Service Stations. Peter is also the co-owner of Float Therapy ASIA in Hong Kong and of Cue Creator in Australia, a bespoke billiards manufacturing business, in addition to a Retail Planning Company in China and a Real Estate Development Company in India. He worked for Walmart for nearly 20 years in ASIA and is very proud of his accomplishments over the years. Retailing, Service and Retail Real Estate is in his DNA. Peter serves as Vice Chairman of the ICSC Asia Advisory Board and a Board Member of the Floatation Tank Association (FTA). Of course, he finds the best day of the week always includes floating.

From floating a thousand people out of their basement to now operating 6 tanks in Edmonton, AB, Matt and JP have always been hooked on what floating could really do for people. These guys love the industry and entrepreneurship, admiring how people from all walks of life, from all over the world, are building businesses and lifestyles that support their communities. In a weird twist of fate, with Matt originally hailing from a wellness background and JP having years of industrial mechanical experience, these two besties happen to be a great combo for operating a float center.

Nicole Walcott is the CEO of Shanti Wellness, Inc., a wellness company that specializes in chronic pain and stress management. Shanti Wellness serves individuals through Fayetteville Wellness Center, corporations through Shanti Corporate Wellness and military units through Shanti Government Wellness.

Nicole found floating in 2016 through her own personal struggle with chronic pain. While serving in the US Army, she suffered a devastating spinal cord injury that forced her to separate from the Army and caused her crippling chronic pain. Her life changed during her first float. For the first time in almost 3 years, she was pain free. Just 9 months later, she officially opened the doors to her wellness center. Nicole works almost exclusively with military and first responders through her Center in Fayetteville, NC. Her company holds the only multi year military contract for Floatation Therapy.

Nicole currently sits on the Board for the Float Conference and serves on the Membership Committee for the FTA.

Heather and Paul are both Colorado natives. They have two beautiful daughters, Quincy and Charly. While living in Breckenridge, Colorado, Heather owned an Interior Design Business, and Paul was a realtor for almost 20 years. Paul propositioned Heather with the idea of "selling it all to open a float center." After floating, and driving back up to the mountains on I-70, without a worry in their heads or an ache in their bodies, they knew they were onto something. After a year and half and a move to the Front Range, Samana Float Center was born. Almost 4 years later, Samana Float multiplied and Samana Fort Collins opened her doors in November, 2019.

Besides their kids, Samana Float Center is their best accomplishment in life. Being of service is the most precious career choice Paul and Heather ever made.

Jonathan has an insatiable passion for the float experience and industry. Driven by what he calls his, “superpower,” a medical condition known as ADHD. But it wasn’t until discovering floatation therapy that provided him a therapeutic alternative to medication for his condition. Not long after his first sensory deprivation experience, Jonathan and his wife Jessie founded Float Light in Appleton, Wisconsin. Float Light was an immediate success and was admired by the industry and community.

Jonathan then focused his attention toward the float industry by becoming a contributing member of the Floatation Tank Association (FTA) and joining the education and outreach committee, hosting and presenting workshops and roundtable events. In addition to his work through the FTA, Jonathan shares his expertise and knowledge for free through online workshops, consultation, business tools and marketing content for float centers, spas and other businesses. Jonathan is an expert in marketing, advertising, videography, graphic design and software engineering. His ultimate goal is to educate the float community on strategies that build public awareness of floatation therapy and the many benefits it provides.

Allan & Jeanne have owned Ocean Elements for 5 years offering multiple modalities. They have 2 adult children, Eva and Arran, and an 11-year-old miniature schnauzer, Dexter. Allan is a consultant at LeadingAgile. His role focuses on coaching teams to enable them to achieve their results by engaging in a way that respects where the client is today, while laying a foundation for where they need to go in the future. He has executive level board experience with the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation. Allan is training to become a Certified Trainer with Inner Matrix Systems (IMS) which trains people in the Art & Science of Personal Mastery by rewiring your emotions, thought strategies and nervous system, to create a life of your own design. Allan floats weekly to enhance his nervous system training and has seen incredible personal results. Jeanne is a Registered Nurse and leverages her medical knowledge to help her clients work through their anxiety, pain, stress and sleep issues through customizing the multiple services they offer. She is a Certified HeartMath® Practitioner and helps her clients achieve coherent alignment of their physical, mental and emotional systems. Jeanne has executive level board experience with both the Baltimore Area Chapter of Legal Nurse Consultants and the Ocean Pines Swim Team. She tries to float weekly and enjoys taking advantage of the other relaxation modalities when possible.
Allan & Jeanne attended their first Float Conference in Portland, OR in 2017 and have become regular attendees. They thoroughly enjoy the “family feel” of the float community, feel passionate about the industry and are ready and willing to contribute to its success and sustainment.

Thomas H Fine is a pioneer in the research of Floatation REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy). In 1978, along with John Turner, he established the Floatation REST research program at the University of Toledo College of Medicine (formerly the Medical College of Ohio), where he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.

Over a twenty year period, Tom and John published numerous papers and edited several books on the physical and mental effects of floatation therapy. Their work focused on psychophysiological and endocrine changes associated with repeated use of a Floatation Tank, and the effects of floating on various stress related disorders. Tom is currently beginning a collaboration with Justin Feinstein at LIBR examining changes in Heart Rate Variability that occur during the Floatation Tank experience.