Lauren Harris

I didn't set out to work in private clubs. I started in advertising, on accounts like the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the New Orleans Saints, and Harrah's, learning how to make a room want to be part of something. Then I took a membership role at a privately owned club, and it clicked. A club isn't a brand you advertise at people. It's a community people choose to belong to. Same instincts, higher stakes, a lot more heart.

From there I spent over a decade inside one of the country's largest private club operators, working my way up to Regional Director of Member Experience. I launched a new lifestyle club from zero to 700 members in six months, designed a membership product that gave members their dues back and quietly generated around $600,000 in recurring revenue across nine clubs, and became the person leadership called when a club was reinventing itself. In 2024 I went independent, because the work I love most, figuring out the right membership strategy and then actually running it, kept living in the space between departments.

Today I run Modern Membership from Hutchinson Island, Florida, where I also sit on the board of an 80-year-old yacht club. So I've seen this from every seat: the consultant making the case, the operator funding it, and the board deciding whether it's worth it. I'm also a wife and a mom to a three-year-old named Harbour, which means I've gotten very good at doing important things in the time I actually have. It turns out clubs appreciate that too.

If your club or resort is trying to grow, reposition, or simply feel current again, I'd love to hear what you're working on.

Every engagement starts the same way: getting to know your brand, your goals, your operations, and your membership DNA. No two clubs or communities are alike, so nothing we do is one-size-fits-all. From there, the work spans the full life of a membership — from the first impression to the reason someone renews and brings a friend.