Dan Burns

Senior Vice President, Community Programs & Services @ Columbia Association

About

I am an Executive Leader with a 30-year career driving growth in fitness and wellness organizations. As Sr. Vice President of Community Programs and Services for the Columbia Association, I lead a diverse set of health, wellness, recreational and community service business units and direct a 15-person Marketing/Customer Success team, achieving 5,000+ annual sales. I've grown the business to $35M and strategically scaled the workforce to over 700 team members serving over 60,000 members and 2.4M visits annually.As part of my portfolio, I have responsibility for three full-service fitness clubs, two golf courses, ice rink, two indoor and 3 outdoor tennis clubs and more. I reversed an annual 5% membership decline, growing to over 60,000 members, and helped propel organizational revenues to $90M. Leading and restructuring sales, I drove a 60% increase in new member acquisition. I raised the Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 25% by initiating a Voice of the Customer (VoC) initiative, managed over $30M in capital projects, including a $9M greenfield tennis center and two $7M+ club renovation. As VP of Operations and acting COO for Club One earlier in my professional journey, I lead a struggling $70M regional chain. Collaborating with the CEO and the board, I orchestrated strategic communication and an exit strategy for the sale of the company.Throughout my tenure as Community Center Director and Regional GM, I expanded programs for community and medical fitness centers, as well as commercial clubs. I led the consulting and facility management division of Club One from infancy to a full-fledged revenue-generating operation, great expanding channel volume and surpassing revenue targets each year. I transformed sales and operations for clients across the United States, driving increased membership, programming and member satisfaction. Additionally, across roles like Group General Manager and Director of Operations at Sports and Health Clubs, I managed a $15M profit and loss statement, enhancing seven D.C. area fitness clubs, elevating retention by 4%, and increasing EBITDA by 16%. I aim to leverage my skills and experience to transition to a C-level role for a growth-driven organization. My academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Science from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.

Country

United States

City

Columbia

Industry

Health, Wellness & Fitness

Skill

Leadership, Operations Management, Organizational Leadership, Management, Sales Management, Consulting, Sales Operations, Management Consulting, Marketing Strategy, Customer Retention, Strategic Consulting, Increased Profitability, Distributed Team Management, Customer Acquisition, Customer Experience, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Fitness Consulting, Strategic Planning, Customer Service, Team Leadership

Experience

Senior Vice President, Community Programs & Services

Columbia Association

2025-7 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

Columbia, Maryland, United States

Vice President, Community Programs & Services

Columbia Association

2021-10 - 2025-7 · 3 yrs 10 mos

Columbia, Maryland, United States

Supporting and engaging our community with strategic and operational leadership of a diverse set of programs and services with $34M in revenue and over 600 employees in the business unit. The programs and services include three 60k+ square foot full-service fitness clubs, ice rink, two golf courses, sports/skate park, indoor swim center, twenty-three outdoor pools and tennis that includes two indoor and three outdoor facilities covering 36 tennis and 6 pickleball courts, before and after school daycare, youth and teen programming, multicultural programming, community archives, and an arts center.

Director, Sport & Fitness

Columbia Association

2015-6 - 2021-10 · 6 yrs 5 mos

Columbia, Maryland

Strategic and operational leadership of a diverse portfolio that includes three 60k+ square foot full service fitness clubs, wellness spa, ice rink, two golf courses, sports/skate park, indoor swim center, twenty three outdoor pools and tennis that includes two indoor and three outdoor facilities covering 36 tennis and 6 pickleball courts.

District Manager

In-Shape Family Fitness

2014-12 - 2015-6 · 7 mos

Lead and provide sales and operational support for multiple fitness facilities in the Northern California market.

Self Employed

Consulting

2014-3 - 2015-6 · 1 yr 4 mos

Provide strategic guidance and implementation support in sales, marketing, operations, development and programming to the Health and Fitness market.

Vice President of Operations/Interim COO

Club One

2013-3 - 2014-3 · 1 yr 1 mo

San Francisco Bay Area

Led diverse business units that included branded clubs, unbranded managed partner accounts and consulting services. Implemented new sales, programming and business processes that included new member management and time tracking systems while focusing on consolidating resources and assets in preparation for the sale of the business.

Director of Community and Medical Fitness Centers

Club One

2011-1 - 2013-2 · 2 yrs 2 mos

San Francisco Bay Area

Led managed and consulting business unit that doubled in volume by providing sales, marketing, retention, operational and strategic services to community and medical fitness centers as well as commercial fitness clubs.

Regional General Manager

Club One

2008-7 - 2011-1 · 2 yrs 7 mos

Oversaw the management and development of the fitness operations for JCC's and hospital based fitness centers outside of California. Led the increase in business partners while driving day to day business at each partner account. Strong focus on new member sales and retention through improved sales management processes and programming.

General Manager

Club One

2006-11 - 2008-7 · 1 yr 9 mos

Led club operations for one of Club One's largest managed partners. Created a $1M improvement in gross revenue in first year through implementation of focused sales, programming and retention plans.

Group General Manager

Sport&Health

1991-7 - 2006-10 · 15 yrs 4 mos

Provided leadership and support for sales, retention and operations of 6 clubs in the Metro DC area. Improved retention by 4% and EBITDA for region by 16% in one year.