About Kindred Spirits Wellness Group
A partnership built on experience, alignment, and a shared commitment to elevated wellness operations.
Vicki Hicks
- 25 years training Massage Therapists
- Massage Academy of the Poconos
- Workforce development
- Training, compliance, staffing sustainability
Donna Porcino
- 30+ years beginning at Skytop Lodge
- 20+ years at Mount Airy Casino Resort
- Spa operations
- Guest experience leadership
- Build-out and development insight
Our Mission
To help hospitality properties create successful, sustainable spa operations through experienced leadership, skilled professionals, and a commitment to exceptional guest experiences. We are hands on from the education & training process through leading staff to workforce opportunities.
Some partnerships are built through strategy. Others are built through time, shared values, and a natural alignment in how people see the world.
Kindred Spirits Wellness is both.
For decades, Donna Porcino and Vicki Hicks built their careers independently within the spa and hospitality industry, each developing deep expertise in their respective areas. Vicki focused on education, workforce development, and building a sustainable pipeline of skilled therapists, while Donna led spa operations within high-level resort environments, refining the guest experience and managing high-performing teams. Though they are cousins, their professional paths evolved separately, each gaining decades of experience, perspective, and leadership.
Over time, something became clear. The challenges facing resort spas, staffing shortages, inconsistent service, operational strain were not being solved by traditional models. And yet, between them, the solution already existed.
A Natural Alignment
When their experience came together, it wasn’t forced, it was aligned.
- One built the therapists
- One led the operations
- Both understood the guest experience
Together, they realized they could offer something fundamentally different:
A spa management model that doesn’t just operate a spa, but supports it from the inside out. The name Kindred Spirits reflects more than a family connection.
It represents:
- A shared approach to leadership
- A commitment to quality and integrity
- A belief that wellness is both professional and personal
- And a partnership built on trust, respect, and experience
What Makes This Different
Kindred Spirits is not a corporate management group removed from daily operations. It is a hands-on, experience driven partnership built by two professionals who have spent their lives in this industry. With more than 60 years of combined spa and hospitality leadership,
Kindred Spirits brings together:
- Operational excellence
- Workforce development
- Training and education
- Guest experience strategy
- Spa development and design insight
All working together to create stable, successful, and elevated spa environments.
Kindred Spirits was created to partner with properties that value:
- Consistency
- Professionalism
- Guest experience
- Long-term success
Because when those elements are aligned, everything else follows.
Kindred Spirits is where experience, alignment, and purpose come together to elevate the spa experience.