An integrative health practitioner since 2000, my passion for the East Asian healing arts grew from a lifetime of training in the martial arts of Japan and China. I rediscovered my love of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) while attending weekend workshops at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA in the mid-’90s. After a successful career in environmental management, I decided to return to school to study TCM in 2005. By that time, I had accrued almost two decades of training and experience in Asian bodywork, and the use of external herbal therapies, with a distinctive style incorporating techniques from both Eastern and Western massage therapy traditions.
I earned my Bachelor of Health Science, with honors, from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, specializing in Tui Na Manual Therapy, and was privileged to study under Sifu Bill Helm, TS. Thanks to arrangements made by Sifu Helm, I also traveled to Shanghai, where I was fortunate enough to participate in an externship at the Tui Na Center of Yue-Yang Integrative Medicine Hospital,completing additional studies in Tui Na at Shanghai University of TCM.
After which, I was accepted into the four year Master’s program at Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine, the number 1 ranked acupuncture school in California, and one of the top 2 in the country. There, I earned a Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine degree, with highest honors. While at Emperor’s, I gained extensive experience in the treatment of behavioral health issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addiction, while building on my earlier orthopedics and pain management training. My strong interest in integrative healthcare, especially pain management, led to my integrative medicine residencies at the Disney Family Cancer Center, Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center at the Venice Family Clinic; and the HIV+ Community Clinic at BeingAlive LA.
Subsequently, I completed an academic doctorate at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, with a focus on integrative medicine and the treatment of neurological disorders, especially movement disorders.
In addition to my training in East Asian medicine, I am a proud alumnus of Loyola Marymount University, where I earned a B.A. in Political Science and Theology, and a M.Sc. in Environmental Science. I have been lovingly accused of being able to bend time, and in my spare time, I actively volunteer in my parish, am an avid family historian/genealogist, an artisanal bread baker, as well as a professional opera singer and voice-over artist. But of all the titles I hold, none makes me prouder than that of “Daddy” to my little girl, Gigi.
