I have worked in healthcare for a dozen years. My experiences have included rehabilitation of the sick in rural Nepal, patient care coordination at Seattle’s Central District Planned Parenthood, and bereavement counseling at Providence Hospice of Seattle.

In 2003, facing my own serious medical concerns, my hospice colleague Gail, a registered nurse, recommended her Chinese doctor. The efficacy and nurturing quality of being treated with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine both healed and inspired me. After this, I went on to earn a clinical Masters degree from the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (SIOM) in Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and tuina medical massage.

In my clinical practice, I resolve all kinds of pain. While acupuncture is one of my primary therapeutic tools, it is only one of many healing modalities. For back pain, I often combine acupuncture with tuina massage, and a prescription for stretching and core strengthening exercises. For digestive problems, treatment includes dietary and lifestyle counsel. Anxiety, insomnia or stress management might include a prescription for increased dietary protein and daily meditation.

Critical assessment of physical, mental and emotional health is the foundation of my practice. I support patients in taking an active, educated and empowered role in their health care. East Asian medicine is a comprehensive medical system and I treat a broad spectrum of conditions, bringing a full doctor’s bag of skills and sensibility to each patient.

During the course of receiving treatment, or in the process of resolving the pain which brought them into my clinic, many of my patients begin to make significant changes. One of the most precious moments in my work is seeing the light in the eyes of someone who has begun to claim responsibility and empowerment in their health and life. I absolutely love the work I do.

Traveling and learning from other cultures have been essential components of my life education. With extended periods of months or years in Australia, Belgium, Nepal, Scotland, and Taiwan, I’ve learned a great deal about humans’ commonalities and differences. I have participated in or witnessed how people tend gardens, harvest crops, celebrate holidays, share meals and leisure, raise children, resolve conflict, value family, grieve loss, and attend to the health of body and mind. From my viewpoint, there is no single right way. Each person and culture has their own unique way.

Outside of the clinic, I find joy in gardening, regular exercise, hiking, reading and writing poetry, and other creative work. Meditation, in the Zen Buddhist tradition, has played an important role in my life for a dozen years. Since 2006, I have volunteered facilitating a meditation group for Buddhist inmates at Monroe’s Washington State Reformatory. All these activities bring me nourishment and joy which I aspire to carry with me to the clinic everyday.



Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (Seattle, WA)
MAcOM completed August 2007

Colby College (Waterville, ME)
BA completed December 1996

University of Glasgow & Glasgow School of Art (Glasgow, Scotland)
January – June 1995

Pitzer in Nepal (Balkot, Nepal)
August – December 1994

Rotary Exchange Student (Tournai, Belgium)
August 1990 – July 1991