I have an undergraduate degree in Physics from Portland State University, a Masters in Acupuncture from the National College of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR and a Doctoral in Acupuncture from the Pacific College of Health Sciences in San Diego, CA.

My undergraduate research was with Peter Moeck and focused on the fringe-fingerprinting of gold nano crystals. During my doctoral degree, I focused my academic research on suicide in the postpartum year and suicide and teen pregnancy management in Native American communities in the Portland area.

Since 2011, I have owned and run The Local Healer clinic in NE Portland, Oregon USA. The clinic started as a small, one-woman show that eventually grew to be a full-time practice with two acupuncturists and a number of support staff. During the pandemic, I closed the brick-and-mortar clinic to focus on teaching and home visits. I reopened in 2022 and currently practice the slow clinic life in a beautiful yurt that lives in my backyard.

Since 2015, I have been traveling to Nepal to work in and manage rural primary care clinics with the Acupuncture Relief Project (ARP). I work as the Volunteer Education Coordinator and Advisor to the Board for Special Projects (ARP)/GoodHealth Nepal. When I’m on the ground in Nepal, I teach licensed acupuncturists and other health care providers from around the world to provide primary care in conjunction with Nepali governmental Health posts. This work is unpaid but one of the most soul-feeding things that I do, and is mostly supported by my Portland patients and family, who I am forever grateful to.

At home in Portland, I also volunteer as a member of the State of Oregon’s Emergency Reserve Pool of Healthcare Volunteers (SERV-OR) and serve on the Leadership Committee for the American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA). I volunteer as an acupuncturist with underserved communities whenever possible.

I’ve been teaching US acupuncture and naturopathic students as at universities since 2015, including the National University of Natural Medicine and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. My teaching experience includes Anatomy and Physiology, Biomedical Pathology, Clinical Western Pediatrics, Diet and Nutrition, Chinese Medicine Dietetics, Living Anatomy, Integrative Medical Ethics and Acupuncture Jurisprudence.

Throughout my career, I’ve had a focus on providing trauma-informed care for women, and girls, helping birthing people find balance during the labor/birth/postpartum transition as well as the climacteric change and working with elders. In addition to this, my primary care and supervisory role in Nepal has given me ample experience in providing care in rural environments with limited resources. My clinical experience encompasses women’s health, infectious medicine, stroke rehabilitation, orthopedic care and chronic disease care (COPD, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer).

Prior to being an acupuncturist and my work in physics, I worked for a decade as a professional cook, training under Veronica Macias, Roy Yamaguchi, John Sikhattana and Yoshi Kojima. I continued my training in Chinese medicine nutrition, particularly for postpartum care, with Dr. Benson Huang. My training in herbal medicines was in Shanghan Zabing Lun theory with Dr. Arnaud Versluys. Even so, my preference is to use locally available foods and herbal medicines to limit the environmental and economic impact of shipping herbs across the globe. Dr. Glen Nagel, Ryan Drum, Michael Pilarski, Rosemary Gladstar, Matthew Wood and Dr. Aviva Romm have been my biggest teachers in regards to medicines that grow in this area.

Experiencing houselessness as a teenager inspired me to help underserved populations. I spent many years working as a case manager and legal advocate through the YWCA’s SafeChoice shelter program and taught math and science skills for displaced Russian immigrant women in Washington State. I worked on the streets as an HIV educator for unsheltered youth in Olympia and through the Red Cross with high school students in Hawaii. My acupuncture internship was completed with David Frierman at OutsideIn, a Portland non-profit that serves the houseless.

Self-cultivation is an important part of my life. I have been training in Taiji since 2008 with Sifu PikShan Ko, a fifth-generation lineage holder from the Kwong Sai Jook Lum Temple Praying Mantis School, Hong Kong, 1967. In addition to this, I have a dedicated yoga practice following instruction from my mentor, Denise Payne, since 2004.