30 Under 40

  • Jonah Gonzales, 39

    ByPoolPro

    For Jonah Gonzales, the pool industry is both a livelihood and a legacy. In 2012, after years of struggling as a single father, he accepted an offer from his longtime neighbor and mentor, Rick, who owned AllPro Pools. “For years he had been telling me that whenever I was ready to start a [pool] career, he would teach me everything,” Gonzales says. He began as a technician, moving into repairs, and after five years was ready to branch out on his own. Rick gave him his first 10 pools, and Blue Whale Pool & Spa was born.

  • Kyle Erwin, 39

    ByPoolPro

    Kyle Erwin’s career in the pool industry began while in college, building pools for his family’s company, Hawaiian Pools and Landscape, in Memphis, Tennessee. After graduation, he transitioned into retail management and sales with the same company. A brief detour into the insurance world didn’t last long — Erwin found his way back to aquatics with Zodiac Pool Systems (now Fluidra), serving as a territory sales manager in the Atlanta market. Seven years ago, he joined United Aqua Group, where he now serves as vice president of sales.

  • Kelly Collins, 39

    ByPoolPro

    Kelly Collins didn’t just join the pool industry — she grew into it step by step. In 2019, she began helping her husband with invoicing and office work at Code 3 Pool Service and then moved into the field as a technician. That combination of office and field knowledge prepared her to be operations manager, where she oversees scheduling, vendor coordination, customer communication and team support. She still jumps in on fieldwork when needed, training new hires or covering routes, which keeps her connected to the day-to-day challenges her technicians face.

  • Brandon Underwood, 38

    ByPoolPro

    Brandon Underwood’s career in the pool industry has been defined by steady growth and a focus on people. Since joining POOLCORP in 2018 as a sales center manager in San Antonio, he has climbed the leadership ranks, moving to zone manager a year later and expanding his oversight to multiple Texas markets. By 2021, his responsibilities stretched across Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels and Corpus Christi. In 2022, he was promoted to regional manager, leading sales and operations across central and south Texas.

  • Sarah Hoopes, 38

    ByPoolPro

    Sarah Hoopes first entered the aquatics world as general manager of an Aqua-Tots Swim School, where she met Damien Ludwig, owner of Foothills Pool Care & Repair. Their professional relationship grew into a mentorship, and by 2019, Hoopes joined Foothills as a receptionist. In a few years, she rose through the ranks to office manager, general manager and now general operations officer and part owner.

  • Philip Kent, 38

    ByPoolPro

    Philip Kent has spent his entire professional career with Claffey Pools, where he’s grown from the drafting department to one of the company’s lead design consultants. He began in 2010, preparing construction plans and learning the fundamentals of pool building from the inside out. A few years later, he became an assistant to one of the company’s owners, producing renderings, pricing new designs and working closely with clients throughout construction. For the past decade, he has stepped fully into the design role himself, guiding projects from concept to completion.

  • Tom Gill, 38

    ByPoolPro

    When Tom Gill walked onto the shop floor at Aqua Creek in 2011, he had no idea it would mark the beginning of a long career in the pool industry. His first tasks were building small components for ADA-compliant pool lifts, but it didn’t take long for his talents to be noticed. By 2012, he was promoted to warranty and customer service manager, where, under the mentorship of vice president of sales and marketing Bruce Giffin, he helped transform the department into a reliable, customer-focused team.

  • Laci Davis, 39

    ByPoolPro

    For Laci Davis, the pool industry started with words. Her first role was writing manuals, blogs and social media content for one of the largest e-commerce companies in vinyl-liner pool kits. “My first assignment? Writing a full installation guide for DIY homeowners on how to build their own in-ground vinyl-liner pool,” Davis says. That project kicked off five years of translating technical details into approachable, high-impact education. At one point, her content generated the equivalent of more than $500,000 in paid ad traffic.

  • Mackenzie Keohane, 37

    ByPoolPro

    For Mackenzie Keohane, the pool industry wasn’t a lifelong plan — it was an opportunity she seized. Originally hired as an assistant to the maintenance coordinator at Heritage Pools, she was unexpectedly offered the chance to step into the construction department instead. Without hesitation, she took it, and today she thrives as a construction liaison, helping guide projects and clients through the building process.

  • Austin Gardiner, 37

    ByPoolPro

    For Austin Gardiner, the pool industry has been both a career and a calling. He started as a technician for his father’s company, later branching out as a sole proprietor. In those early years, he not only ran service routes but also honed his repair skills, often contracting part time for companies that didn’t handle repairs in-house. More recently, he has specialized in pool system setups, putting his technical knowledge to work programming and labeling new pools for efficiency and longevity.

  • Ashley Ross, 35

    ByPoolPro

    Ashley Ross has spent nearly two decades in the pool and spa industry, developing expertise across retail, construction and manufacturing sales. Her career began at One Stop Pool and Spa Store in Plano, Texas, where she steadily advanced over 15 years to become general manager. That tenure gave her not only a knowledge of products and customer service but also the confidence to take on greater challenges.