WHO WE ARE

A leader in the laundromat industry for 30 years, Coin Laundry Association’s President/CEO Brian Wallace is a popular presenter, author and advocate for laundromat owners in the U.S. and around the world. He has led hundreds of educational seminars and penned numerous articles on all things related to successful laundromat management.  

Brian is also a passionate supporter and co-founder of the LaundryCares Foundation and serves as its Executive Director. The foundation focuses on supporting families at the laundromat with early childhood development and literacy resources – including mini-library spaces and free books for kids among other initiatives.

A lifelong Chicagoan, Brian resides in Elmhurst, Illinois with his wife Julia and daughter Beatrix. He has a passion for music as evidenced by his constant presence at live concert venues in Chicago and around the country – as well as through his many thousands of records that keep him busy in his downtime.  When schedules align, you’ll also find him at Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears games cheering for a win.

Over the past few years, Brian has focused on helping laundry owners improve their businesses. Hundreds of owners and new investors across the country have attended his high-energy presentations, including his ZombieMats™ presentation. Brian is also a relentless and passionate promoter of LaundryCares and its initiatives, including the Read, Play, Learn kits and Free Laundry Days.

Jim Whitmore is the owner of Fresh Express Laundry Center in Salem, Mass. Jim is a long-time supporter of the Coin Laundry Association, as well as the LaundryCares Foundation. He has been a multi-store owner, is a past chair of the CLA Board of Directors, and continues to advocate for literacy resources in laundromats as the immediate past chair of the LaundryCares Foundation.

Dan Naumann joined the LaundryCares Foundation as Executive Vice President in July 2018. His responsibilities extend to the day-to-day operation of the foundation as well as working to scale up LaundryCares’ governance, budgeting and committee activities.

 Dan comes to LaundryCares Foundation following a long and successful career in the self-service laundry industry. For more than 25 years, Naumann built a diverse organization including: a commercial laundry equipment distributorship: one of the nation’s largest independent apartment laundry management companies; one of the largest chains of laundromats in the U.S. as well as a digital marketing agency focused on helping small businesses grow. During this time, Dan earned a tremendous reputation for business development and taking great care of customers.

 This career in laundry was highlighted by volunteering for the betterment of the industry. Dan served on the Coin Laundry Association Board of Directors for 13 years including service as the organization’s Chair of the Board. He earned several industry awards recognizing his contributions. Naumann was also a stalwart volunteer for the Wisconsin Self-Service Laundry Association for more than 25 years. In the course of his business career, Dan also supported many nonprofits in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

An innovative and solution-focused pharmaceuticals executive with more than 20 years of cross-functional experience he is a seasoned professional who is equally comfortable in large established companies and small startup environments.

Dennis is the president of Spynr, which was established in October 2015 with a mission to help businesses see the importance of modernizing their marketing to build better relationships with their buyers.

Dennis Diaz boasts over 10 years of digital marketing experience. His company employs premier marketing and advertising talents like ex-Googlers, PPC account managers who handle ad campaigns in excess of $1 million per month, website and graphic designers, and content developers. 

Prior to starting Spynr, Dennis spent five and a half years managing the advertising and marketing for a financing company in the industry. During that time, he worked closely with laundry and drycleaning owners to understand their businesses’ needs.

Dennis also serves as a member of CLA’s board of directors.

Alaa entered into the laundromat industry with his dad about 19 years ago at their first location in Perth Amboy, NJ. Since then, him and his dad have built 7 laundromats in the NY/NJ area of which they have sold 3. The laundromat business has been a constantly evolving quest in the past 19 years, and he is happy to see more and more involvement in the community outreach programs within this industry. All their locations are built from the ground up to ensure they design a comfortable space for their customers and also facilitate activities for the community. He is looking forward to being part of this industry as it continues to evolve and progress in the near future.

Paul Hansen is a 3rd generation laundromat owner who has been involved in the business in some fashion since he was a teenager. After working as a CPA for several years, he was drawn back into the business when he purchased his first store in 1997. Since then, he has owned, purchased or developed multiple laundromats. Currently, he owns 5 full-service stores in Chicago. He was former President of the Illinois Coin Laundry Assoc and is currently on the board of the CLA as well as the LaundryCares Foundation.

Craig Kirchner was born and raised in northwest Iowa.  After completing high school he joined the United States Army and was stationed in Germany where he served as a telecommunications specialist.  Returning from Germany he attended college at the University of Iowa and graduated in 1985 with a degree in marketing.

He was hired by the Maytag Corporation in 1986 where he held numerous positions in sales, service and marketing.  In 2003 he became the General Manager of the Commercial Laundry division.  He held that positon with Maytag and Whirlpool Corp. until 2012 when he joined Dexter Laundry.  He held the position of Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service until April of 2016.  He then was promoted to his current positon, President of Dexter Laundry.  

Craig served on the board of the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) for 11 years where he held the position of Chairman of the Board for two of those years.

He has been married to his wife for 37 years and has two daughters, two grandsons and one granddaughter.

Lifelong Chicago area resident, Neal has a 40+ year history as owner and CEO of several high-volume manufacturing companies in 5 U.S. states with an additional presence in China. Additionally, Kate Shapiro has a 40+ year history as an educator and small business owner.

In 2014, Kate and Neal purchased their first laundromat in Chicago as a way to help their adult son with minor disabilities find purpose and meaningful employment. The idea was a success; Neal sold all of his manufacturing interests in 2019 and is now fully immersed in the laundry business with the addition of a pick-up and delivery service serving the North side of Chicago as well as the northern and western suburbs. 

Neal and Kate are also members of the CLA and LaundryCares Foundation. Neal is on the board of both organizations and is always promoting the idea that education and networking are the two biggest benefits of association membership.