Education & Professional Experience
I am a Washington Licensed Massage Therapist (MA00017639) and a Vermont Certified Massage Therapist, Bodyworker, and Touch Professional (164.0000629). My original training was through the Brian Utting School of Massage in Seattle, WA, where I was honored to receive training of the highest standards in both academics and techniques of massage therapy. Since then, I went on to expand my knowledge in Myofascial Release and Neuromuscular Therapy through continuing education. In the last 10 years, I have specialized in CranioSacral Therapy and Healing from the Core. I regularly work with other healthcare practitioners (both traditional & non-traditional) to facilitate their patients’ recovery from injury or chronic pain.
I believe in the strength of community through professional associations. I was a Professional Member of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) from 2003-2014. From 2006 to 2010, I served on the Board of Directors for the local Vermont AMTA Chapter to help Vermont practitioners get what they needed in the absence of any state governing body. As the AMTA-VT Government Relations Chair, I spent several years working with local massage therapists and the state government to lay the groundwork for licensing massage therapy in Vermont. While regulation for my profession did not happen under my tenure, I continued to support this movement, which resulted in the development of a state certification process in 2020. In 2014, I moved to Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals as it offered more opportunities to the bodywork community.
My passion for the abilities of the human body began at an early age. As a professional modern dancer, following a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois, I discovered that massage therapy and other types of bodywork addressed my body’s need to heal quickly and entirely from various injuries. With a love of and respect for the human body, the medical field attracted me. I have worked as a Surgical Assistant and a Health Care Associate in Women’s Health as well as working for a rural ambulance service as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). I also taught Wilderness Emergency Medicine for five years at SOLO Wilderness Medicine.
One of my beliefs is that, through education, practitioners can affect more patients than the ones in their own hands. In 2010, I returned to the educational field as a Teaching Assistant in CranioSacral Therapy for the Upledger Institute and the New England Center for CranioSacral Therapy. In this new and exciting role, I helped new practitioners take conceptual ideas and transfer them into “ah-ha” moments they feel in their hands. Now, since 2012, my educational focus has been on parenting my daughter, Aida. I stop to return to teaching other practitioners as Aida becomes more self-sufficient. As of 2022, I began offering non-professional education opportunities to my local community.
As a therapist, I approach the human body, mind, and spirit with respect and awe. I listen to the story of each, and through those stories, I aid clients in finding movement and health.