McKinnon Faculty

Selena Lee, MA

Selena’s passion for integrated health and an understanding of the importance of healing has been at the core of her work at the McKinnon Institute. Her work ethic, strong communication skills and dedication led her to her current position as the backbone of the McKinnon Institute. Her undergraduate degree in Cross-Cultural Healing Systems and Communication provided the foundation for her Masters Degree in Holistic Health Education. Her education and her life experience allow Selena to thrive in a role that creates, serves and participates in the community. She teaches the Advanced Business & Ethics course at McKinnon. In addition to her roles at McKinnon, Selena is the Director of Touch Health Association, a non-profit that offers services to pregnant and parenting teens in Alameda County. Touch Health Association

Carl Johns, CMT

Carl is a graduate of the McKinnon Institute. He made the transition from financial district work to a successful career as a massage therapist and teacher. His practice includes Swedish massage, shiatsu, reflexology, and craniosacral therapy. He is part of the wellness program at the Cerebral Palsy Center in Oakland, and is very passionate about working with chronically ill and disabled clients and the benefits that touch work can provide. Carl has a strong background in the arts. He is a graduate of the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, is a life-long jazz musician, and is a great believer in the creative process of intuition and improvisation in bodywork. As current co-owner of McKinnon Body Therapy Center, his goal is to continue to bring touch into as many lives as possible, and to continue to provide the best education for future bodyworkers.

Linda Aldridge, MA, CMT

Linda has been practicing massage since 1981 and teaching in the field since 1983. She is licensed by Arkansas and has studied a wide range of modalities. She holds a BA in English and an MA in Holistic Health Education. As an instructor in the Swedish certificate program at McKinnon she brings enthusiasm for caring through touch and commitment to student's personal growth through bodywork education. www.lindaaldridge.com

Doug Blanc, CMT

Doug has been a massage therapist since 2003. He is trained in Acupressure, Craniosacral, Swedish, Reflexology, Chair Massage and Deep Tissue. He has worked at the Center for AIDS Resources, Bodywork Central and Transcendentist where he performed foot massage for patients receiving dental work. Doug has worked at McKinnon since 2003, in the front office, doing graphic design, teacher scheduling and most recently in McKinnon’s Professional Massage Clinic. He now teaches in our Acupressure, Swedish and Reflexology programs. www.zendoug.com

Stacey Brown, CMT

Stacey has been practicing massage since 1987, when she graduated from a program in Virginia. in 1989, she continued her training in Sports and Deep Tissue at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Moving to the Bay Area in 1992, she has enjoyed working for local chiropractors, fitness centers, spas and establishing a private clientele. But something was missing...teaching! After 20 years of bodywork, Stacey now shares her passion and experience with others. She teaches Swedish, Deep Tissue and Sports, with a commitment to bringing compassion and humor to the classroom.

Holly Edson, BSN RN

Holly teaches craniosacral therapy at McKinnon and has special interest in anatomy and physiology. She works as a nurse in San Francisco at UCSF and St Mary’s Hospital integrating western medicine with a holistic approach. Holly has over 1000 hours of training in massage modalities including Thai, Shiatsu, myofascial release, and therapeutic touch. Her skilled touch has deepened with Upledger Institute seminars and an apprenticeship with an osteopath. She is a volunteer for Zen Hospice Project, a student of permaculture, and a life long lover of the environment. www.iahp.com/Holly--Edson/

Keith Eric Grant, Ph.D.

Keith has trained extensively at Esalen Institute in many holistic modalities including sports massage, deep tissue, trigger point, Ericksonian hypnosis and metaphor, and working with trauma survivors. He has studied orthopedic massage with Tom Hendrickson, Onsen technique with Rich Phaigh, and Lymphatic Drainage Technique with the Upledger Institute. He holds a BA in Physics and a Ph.D. in Applied Science and presently works as an atmospheric physicist and numerical mathematician. Keith has trained in Tai Ji and martial arts and has co-taught women's self defense classes. Avocationally, he is a dancer, runner, and backpacker. He has also developed our sports and deep tissue classes as well as teaching in them. www.ramblemuse.com

Susanne Fluer, MA, CMT

Susanne has been practicing massage since 2001. A native of Austria, her interest in and passion for health brought her to the Bay Area to study Holistic Health Education. During a summer class at McKinnon, she fell in love with bodywork. Since then she has worked with chiropractors, in spas, and has built up a successful private practice. Her modalities include Swedish, Thai Massage, On-Site Chair Massage, and Hot Stone Therapy. In her sessions, she aims to provide bodywork that is both therapeutic and relaxing. Susanne teaches Swedish here at McKinnon.

Jason Frye,

Jason is a graduate of the Acupressure Institute . His focus of study has been Traditional Chinese theory. Tui Na is his major medium of application although he is trained in Jin Shin Jyutsu. He has been practicing Tai Chi and Qigong since he began his acupressure practice in 1999. He is teaching in our Acupressure program, both level one and two.

Jason Garcia, CMT

Jason Garcia has been a massage therapy instructor and practitioner throughout the Bay Area for the past eleven years and is owner of Hands-On Massage & Wellness Center in Millbrae. www.handsonwell.com. He has trained numerous instructors and hundreds of practitioners in Deep Tissue, Sports Massage, Trigger Point Therapy, Myofascial Release and Neuromuscular Techniques. His skills in working with carpal tunnel syndrome, athletic injuries, sciatica, muscular pain and recovery, neck impingement’s, tendonitis, tennis elbow, headaches and many other pathologies are highly respected in the field. He’s also a certified Awareness Through Movement (ATM) teacher in the Feldenkrais Method and nearing completion of the 4-year program as a Feldenkrais practitioner.

Jason is passionate about bringing his unique insight of massage and other manual therapy techniques into a variety of environments. He works with the Touch Health Association by teaching teenage mothers how to massage their babies and build close bond’s through positive touch. He coordinates the Cancer Awareness Resources and Education (CARE) program and brings over fifty volunteer practitioner’s to the SF General Hospital to massage and educate cancer patient’s and survivors about massage’s role in their health. He also has designed the curriculum of a number of deep tissue courses at various massage schools and actively participates with the schools in maintaining a high standard in their curriculum.

Lucia Knight, BA

Lucia graduated from McKinnon in 1985. She is a Rosen Method Practitioner since 1991 and a Rosen Method Introductor teacher. She has also studied Reiki, soft tissue mobilization, sports and myofascial release. Her interests are in the connections between thoughts, beliefs and the impact of the health of the body. Lucia includes Hand Analysis and shamanic dreamwork in working with the unconscious. She teaches in the Sweidsh and Touch for Diverse Populations programs.

Paula Koepke, MA

Paula is a senior instructor here and has taught since 1982. Paula holds an MA in Somatic Psychology from Antioch. She has studied various modalities of bodywork including craniosacral therapy at Upledger. In private practice she works with trauma survivors. She teaches Swedish, Reflexology, and Subtle Systems here at McKinnon.

Jennifer Lanett, DC

Dr. Jennifer Lanett, DC obtained her Chiropractic degree in 2001 from the National University of Health Sciences in Illinois. During her years at National, she was a teaching assistant for the gross anatomy and neuroanatomy labs. She relocated to the Bay Area in 2002 to practice chiropractic in San Francisco, and in 2006 she moved her practice to the East Bay. Dr. Lanett believes in a safe, gentle & effective whole body approach for the treatment of many health conditions and she promotes wellness care in her office. She loves her work and enjoys helping others find health & balance in their lives. Her practice, Chiropractic Naturally Wellness Center is located in Berkeley, California. www.drlanett.com

Fred Lewis,

Fred graduated from McKinnon in 1990. He teaches Shiatsu and chair massage. He is especially interested in Asian systems. His private practice is made up of On-Site massage as well as individual clients.

Joan Lohman, CMT

Joan is a Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner and massage therapist who has a 20-year practice providing touch for elders in the Bay Area. She has clients in retirement and convalescent homes and teaches seated stretching and movement for frail seniors, based on Tai Chi Chuh. Her photo-essay on elder massage is available online at the link below.

In Nicaragua and Guatemala, Joan has trained and taught with Capacitar, an international organization that brings healing arts to marginalized and traumatized women, men and children in the U.S. Latin America, Europe and Africa. With Capacitar, she co-facilitated a healing Tent at the NGO Women’s Forum in China in 1995. Joan’s teaching is informed by twenty years of Buddhist meditation practice, a belief in the innate healing gifts of every person, and a commitment to bringing touch to the undertouched. Joan finds renewal in wilderness experience and recently spent 17 days backpacking and river rafting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Janice Oikelmus,

Janice began studying massage in 1978. She graduated from Swedish massage here at McKinnon in 1992 and went on to complete her raining in Asian, Sports/Deep Tissue, and Subtle systems. Janice has been working for Piedmont Springs since 1996. Janice teaches Swedish for McKinnon.

Chris Pearson, BA, HHP, CMT, OBT, L.Ac

Christopher Pearson has been a body worker since 1996. His bodywork & wholistic health studies have brought him to: the International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, the Academy of Chinese Culture & Health Sciences in Oakland, and the Acupuncture & Integrative Medical College in Berkeley. Along the way he has obtained a CMT, HHP, OBT, and upon his completion of Acupuncture school his L.Ac. The journey toward whole being healing started at San Diego State where he obtained a BA in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies. He has been teaching at the McKinnon Institute since the summer of 2003. Teaching in the Asian Systems Program, the Sports & Deep Tissue Program, and the Advanced Modalities Program he is blessed with an opportunity to express himself in many mediums and in many ways. Christ is a happily married father of two amazing young boys named Kaya & Ade.

Debra Rubin, MA, CMT

Deb is a Holistic Health Counselor, Integrative Bodyworker, Somatic Educator, Yogi, and Professional Dancer. She has a private bodywork and health counseling practice in Oakland, CA, specializing in Thai-yoga Massage, Integrative Table work, and Yoga therapy. Deb has been a certified massage therapist for over 7 years, trained in numerous Western and Eastern styles. She studied Thai-Yoga massage and vipassana meditation in Thailand, and completed her teacher training from IYT (Integrative Yoga Therapy) summer, 2004. Deb fuses her gifts and passions in inspiring people to live more fully and consciously in and through their bodies as a key to personal and planetary healing. She has a MA degree in Holistic Health Education from JFK University, and a BA in Pre-med and Psychology from Princeton University. Currently, Deb teaches the Thai Massage course at McKinnon.

Kate Sadowsky, CMT

Kate was trained in bodywork, movement education, and natural vision improvement by Meir Schneider at the School for Self-Healing in SF. Her work with end-of-life clients at Zen Hospice Project and her own experiences with chronic illness have greatly informed her touch practice, as well as her love for movement and meditation. Kate believes that our attention and presence is of equal importance as our understanding of technique and enjoys supporting students in developing their innate and intuitive touch vocabulary. She regularly incorporates movement, visualization, and energetic medicine to inspire both students and clients to discover their own sense of wholeness.

Heather Schlachter, MA

Heather combines an educational background with extensive experience in massage and physical therapy. Her bodywork includes techniques ranging from subtle to deep and incorporates postural deficits and habitual tension. Heather teaches Swedish and Sports here at McKinnon.

Valerie St. Louis, CMT

In 2002 Valerie traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand where she first trained in the Eight Essential Postures of Tai Chi Chuan. Upon her return she enrolled at the McKinnon Institute of Massage where she studied the Swedish style and was introduced to Acupressure. Valerie has over 1000 hours of training in a variety of massage and acupressure techniques. She received her advanced training in acupressure at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA. Valerie enjoys her private acupressure practice in Berkeley and continues to study Tai Chi and Qi Gong.

Barbara M. Tapella, NCBTMB

Barbara has a BA in Psychology and Studio Art. She graduated from McKinnon Institute in 1984. She has studied many modalities, they include: Swedish, Shiatsu, Sports, Deep Tissue, Looyenwork, Chair-massage, Reiki, Hot Stones, Subtle Touch and Jahara (aquatic bodywork). Barbara has a thriving practice in Oakland. She has taught in our Swedish program since 1991. An exciting and loving inspiration has been swimming with dolphins in the wild. One profound message she has received from swimming with these sensitive beings is about "calming the nervous system". This has become the foundation that translates in her style of bodywork and touch.

Craig Toonder, MFT

Craig Toonder is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He received his master’s degree in somatic psychotherapy at John F. Kennedy University. He received his certificate in Swedish massage at McKinnon. He has studied Craniosacral therapy and Chi Nei Tsang (Taoist Abdominal Massage) as well. Craig teaches Anatomy and Physiology and leads workshops in psychosomatic education. His background in mind-body integration offers students an alternative understanding of anatomy as a living, interconnected, and Self-directed system. www.craigtoondermft.com