Kay Peterson, BFA, WCMT, NCTMB is a leader in her profession having served on the Board of Directors of the American Massage Therapy Association - Wisconsin chapter since 1997 as education coordinator for the chapter as well as serving as newsletter editor and publisher for the chapter's award-winning quarterly publication, Connecting Hands. She has also worked as a reviewer of several textbooks for massage therapists including the new edition of Pharmacology for Massage Therapy.
Kay received her Certification in Neuromuscular Therapy from the NMT Center in St. Petersburg, FL in 1993. A practicing massage therapist since 1992, Kay has built a successful massage practice, Essential Massage, and manages the Essential Massage Therapy Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The center currently has six massage therapists using the facility. Kay has integrated stones into her practice since 2001 and has found that the use of heated and cooled stones is a simple and effective tool that augments all other massage techniques.
Sharon Puszko, PhD, CMT is a graduate of the University of California with a major in education. After teaching Biology internationally in Europe, Asia, Central America and the Eastern United States, Sharon made a career change into the wellness field in 1986. She attended massage school in Northern California and then graduated from the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy and Healthbuilders School of Massage Therapy in St. Augustine, FL. Along with overseeing the function of DAY-BREAK Geriatric Massage Institute, she has a private practice, does volunteer work, and travels extensively throughout the US and internationally teaching the DAY-BREAK Geriatric Massage Level 1 and Level 2 workshops in massage schools and community colleges.
Dr. Puszko has published 12 articles in Massage & Bodywork as well as Advanced for Rehab Directors Magazine. She has also been a contributor in numerous textbooks and has appeared on public television shows such as Age Wise in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been interviewed on radio talk programs and in magazines for her insights.
Sharon Puszko is the owner/director/educator of Day-Break Geriatric Massage Institute.
Kathy has been active in the field of massage therapy and bodywork since 1991. She currently lives near Madison, Wisconsin, where she is in private practice. Kathy has completed advanced training in the Hakomi method of body-centered experiential therapy. She has been offering courses in ethics both locally and nationally since 1999, and is an approved provider with NCBTMB. Kathy is on faculty with two local massage schools where she offers both ethics and business courses. She has served on the NCBTMB Ethics and Standards committee since 2002. Kathy is a member of the Right Use of Power teachers’ guild ~ a group of passionate educators committed to the often fragile and dynamic area of ethics education. Kathy is dedicated to the process of learning and healing through greater self awareness and disciplined practice.
Debbie earned her BS degree from Northern Illinois University and received her massage therapy education at East West College of the Healing Arts in Portland, Oregon. After 20 years of dedicated professional and managerial work in the insurance industry, Debbie's passion for healing and helping others led her into the field of massage therapy. She owns and operates a home based private practice, Massage Solutions, LLC. Debbie has over 13 years of massage experience and is a professional member of the American Massage Therapy Association.
In 2008, in addition to her massage work, Debbie began working as a teaching assistant and marketing manager to Lolita Knight, founder of Fijian Massage. During this time she worked closely with Lolita, assisting in the development of new techniques such as those found in Soft Touch Island Massage, Chinese Facial Massage, and Massage Tools. Now a certified instructor of NCBTMB approved continuing education courses, Debbie plans to continue Lolita's legacy by bringing unique and beneficial classes to the massage community as Lolita prepares for retirement. Debbie's blend of technique, knowledge and sense of fun translates well into a creative hands-on class environment.
Nationally Certified Asian Bodywork Therapist (ABT) through NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine)
State Licensed/Certified Bodyworker in WI
Authorized Jin Shin Do® Bodymind Acupressure® Practitioner & Senior Instructor
AOBTA (American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia) Registered Instructor
B.S. in Child & Family Studies, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Modalities include: Jin Shin Do® : Bodymind Acupressure®, Reiki, MariEL, Crystal Energy Balancing
Teaches: Jin Shin Do® : Bodymind Acupressure®, Eastern Philosophy, Crystals
Cheri has been in private practice for 20 years & has been teaching for over 10 years.
"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water; but to walk on the earth."
- Chinese Proverb
To learn more about Cheri Haines and Jin Shin Do® : Bodymind Acupressure® visit her website: jinshindo1.com
Elaine Stillerman, LMT
Licensed in New York since 1978, Stillerman began her pioneering work with pregnant women in 1980. She has been teaching the professional certification course "MotherMassage(R)" at prestigious massage schools, spas and resorts across the country since 1990. She has written MotherMassage: A Handbook For Relieving the Discomforts of Pregnancy (Dell, 1992) and The Encyclopedia of Bodywork (Facts on File, 1996), Prenatal Massage: A Textbook of Pregnancy, Labor and Postpartum Bodywork (Mosby, 2008) and Modalities for Massage and Bodywork (Mosby, 2009). She has written numerous articles for magazines and journals and her work has been featured in dozens of national magazines. She has appeared on numerous local and national television and radio programs, including several appearances on Live! With Regis and Kelly.
For more information about Elaine Stillerman or MotherMasage(R), go to www.mothermassage.net
Lolita Knight, BS, LMT, NCTMB
Lolita Knight, with a love of teaching, received her Bachelor of Education degree in 1968. She became a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) for Washington State in 1979. During 1985 she began her massage teaching career in addition to her clinical practice. In 1997 she travelled to Fiji and learned a barefoot technique -- which she further developed and now calls Fijian Massage. Since 1998, Lolita has taught over 600 massage therapists Fijian Massage and was a presenter at the 2004 National AMTA Nashville Convention. In 2001 Lolita became NCBTMB approved for CE Hours with the Fijian Massage. Lolita lived for 25 years in New Zealand, practicing massage therapy (giving over 25,000 massages), and now resides back in the States teaching Fijian Massage, as well as Chinese Facial Massage, Indian Head Massage and Vision Improvement Exercises.
Midwest takes great pride in a staff of highly qualified instructors. For a detailed bio of each instructor, please visit: www.NMTMidwest.com
Isabel Adkins, BA, CMT
Isabel Adkins is considered an expert in the field of Oncology Massage. She has been a keynote speaker at the UC Davis Cancer Center forums on complementary medicine and she was a presenter at the first Oncology Massage Healing Summit in 2007 and again at the second Summit in 2010. Isabel collaborated on the second edition of Medicine Hands, released in January 2007, with a chapter on an Eastern approach to strengthening the body during cancer treatment and disease.
Isabel is the primary instructor for the 300-hour certification program in Oncology Massage at the Massage Therapy Institute in Davis, California (the only state certified Oncology Massage training program in California). She directed and supervised the Oncology Massage Program at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital and is currently developing an Oncology Massage Program at Alta Bates Cancer Center in Berkeley.
Isabel’s original studies were in adult education, psychology and art therapy. She has studied with two of the cutting-edge oncology massage therapists in the United States, Gayle MacDonald at Oregon Health Science University, and Dr. Sandy Canzone. She is also certified in Ayurvedic massage, reflexology, shiatsu and acupressure.
Through bodywork, Isabel seeks to alleviate physical and emotional pain and to create a space for healing and presence. Isabel's interest in massage comes from understanding the need to address the experience of illness in a way that explores the body-mind relationship and the body's energetic systems.
