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 McKinnon BTC. 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 Business and Ethics courses at McKinnon as well as Infant Massage. 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, Professional Bodyworker

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, MT

Linda has been practicing massage since 1981 and teaching since 1983. She holds a massage license from Arkansas and has studied a wide range of modalities including Swedish Massage, Kripalu Meditative Massage, Polarity Energy Balancing, Orthobionomy, and Manual Lymphatic Drainage. In addition, Linda holds a BA in English (Carnegie-Mellon University) and an MA in Holistic Health Education (John F. Kennedy University). Linda's interests include the healing/helping relationship, the features of sustainable practice, and the opportunities for students' personal growth through bodywork education. As an Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology instructor, she enjoys exploring and sharing the wonders and mysteries of the human body. On a different note, she also enjoys teaching Taxes for Bodyworkers, too!
[ www.eastbayalternativemedicine.com ]
[ www.lindaaldridge.com ]

Stacey Brown, MT

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 in our Swedish Certificate with a commitment to bringing compassion and humor to the classroom.

Maeve Jordan

Maeve Jordan has been practicing massage and the healing arts since 1999, and has completed certification in Advanced Massage and Bodywork, Craniosacral Therapy, Clarity Breathwork, Acupressure and Pilates as well as a number of trainings specific to pregnancy and childbirth including, among others, Heart and Hands and Birthing From Within. Deep listening, with skill and curiosity, is at the heart of Maeve's work. Both her bodywork and teaching are centered in deep honoring and recognition of the astounding intelligence of the human body. She is proud of her versatility as a practitioner, which has developed through extensive hands on experience with a great variety of people, including pregnant and post-partum women, athletes, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Her current work as a Doula and student midwife make her especially attuned to the needs of childbearing women and their families.

Marlene Elbin

After graduating with a B.S. in dance, Marlene Elbin started her study of massage and bodywork in 1974 in Washington D.C. where she practiced and taught massage for 15 years. In 1986 she received an M.A and was licensed as an acupuncturist. Soon afterwards she moved to California where she established a practice as a massage therapist and acupuncturist. Special interests are connection between mind and body demonstrated in her long time involvement with yoga, mediation, stress management and qigong. She also specializes in facial rejuvenation massage. At McKinnon she teaches in our acupressure courses and Swedish.

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 a freelance research writer in atmospheric physics and numerical mathematics. Keith has trained in Tai Qi 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, MT

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, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Thai Massage, On-Site Chair Massage, Pregnancy Massage, and Hot Stone Therapy. In her sessions, she aims to provide bodywork that is both therapeutic and relaxing. Susanne teaches Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports, Hot Stone, and Pregnancy Massage here at McKinnon.

John Norikane

John has been training in bodywork for more than 10 years. Much of his study was at Body Therapy Center. He has extensive training in Sports Massage and Clinical Deep Tissue. He served as an assistant for many years in various courses before becoming part of the teaching team. He teaches in our level one Sports and Deep Tissue courses as well as advanced Clinical Deep Tissue, Sports Training and Recovery and Sports Events and Rehabilitation.

Jason Frye, L.Ac

Jason is a graduate of the Acupressure Institute and The Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences(a.k.a. the Oakland School). His focus of study has been Traditional Chinese theory. Tui Na is his major medium of application although he is trained many other traditions. 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 has a thriving acupuncture/bodywork practice in Oakland.


[ www.oaklandacupuncture.net ]

Matt Green, DC

Matt Green is a massage therapist, chiropractor, and teacher. In 1994, Matt received his first massage in the clinic at the Advanced Training Institute in Santa Barbara. Immediately after the massage, he put down his tuition for the 200 hour course they were offering the following week. Bodywork was his purpose and he knew it right away. For the next six years, he was a massage therapist for Club One, Body Kinetics, Piedmont Chiropractic, and for his own massage clients in San Francisco. Eventually, Matt realized that he wanted more tools to help people in pain and discomfort. Due to the fact Matt had been seeing chiropractors since he was twelve and the fact that the chiropractor he worked with was so successful with healing people; he decided to become a chiropractor himself. Matt has been a licensed chiropractor since 2002. His practice is in Berkeley at Ashby Chiropractic and Health Center. Due to his experience as a massage therapist, his specialty is dealing with soft tissue injuries. Finally, Matt has been teaching anatomy and physiology for the past five years at Life Chiropractic College West, Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences, and McKinnon Institute. He has found a real passion in translating the language of the body to students in a way that has them feel more confident with taking care of people on their table.

Jason Garcia, MT

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 impingements, 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 has worked with the Touch Health Association by teaching teenage mothers how to massage their babies and build close bonds through positive touch. He coordinates the Cancer Awareness Resources and Education (CARE) program and brings over fifty volunteer practitioners to the SF General Hospital to massage and educate cancer patients 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.

[ www.handsonwell.com ]

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.

Fred Lewis, Bodywork Specialist

Fred graduated from McKinnon Institute in 1990 with an Asian Systems Massage Certification. He is an On-Site Chair Massage Instructor at McKinnon BTC. Fred also runs a full body Shiatsu practice. He is an independent contractor who works with several massage companies providing event planners with on-site chair massage services. His other modalities and interests include Trigger Point, Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release, and Soft Tissue Stimulation. He volunteers for the American Heart Association and The Leukemia Society of America.! Fred received his BS degree in Education from Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan. He is also a California Licensed Contractor.

Felix Payomo, MT

Defined by his passion and love for family, community, the visual arts, and in the creation of music and melody, Felix's natural lure into massage was a merger destined to intertwine... The spark into the world of massage began in 2004 when he finally gathered the necessary strength and courage for a career and lifestyle change. His leap of faith and desire to refine his interest landed him at Mckinnon where he continues to evolve, learn, instruct and share his passion for Massage and Bodywork.

Irene  Smith

Irene Smith introduced massage into hospice care in 1982. Since that time she has worked with hundreds of people in home and facility care settings. She is founder and director of an educational outreach program called Everflowing, teaching touch as an integral component to end of life care. Irene has been acknowledged by the media the health care community and by the ABMP for outstanding contributions to the somatic community. As a west coast assistant for over 10 years to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross, the foremost authority in the field of death and dying, Irene brings extraordinary depth and wisdom to her field. She is an internationally acclaimed author, educator, and healer having taught in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Irene's classes are intimate in nature, personal in approach, and spiritual in essence.
[ www.everflowing.org ]

Helen Morgan

Helen Morgan is a Rosen Method bodywork practitioner, massage therapist, and Comfort Touch practitioner with a private practice in Berkeley. Helen works mostly with elders. Her interest in healing-especially the forms where mind, body, and spirit meet-began when she discovered the Bach Flower Remedies in the 1980s. She volunteers at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland and has been a hospice volunteer and a crisis line volunteer. She is a long-time meditator, an experienced editor, and loves to dance and tell stories.
[ www.helenmorgan.us. ]

Rose Foronda, MT

Rose loves to explore working with the mind-body connection and sees clients wholly. She came to the massage field with experience in suicide prevention and counseling for severely emotionally disturbed youth. Rose transitioned to a career in bodywork by volunteering as a massage therapist for organizations like Project Homeless Connect. Rose has a thriving private practice at Be Well Integral Health Center. She currently teaches Shiatsu and Swedish at McKinnon.

Ellen Mossman

Ellen Mossman has been practicing a wide range of bodywork modalities since 1985. She had the great fortune of working with an innovative neurosurgeon for the first seven years of her career. This inspired her ongoing work with chronic pain and traumatic conditions. After graduating from NHI's 1000-hour program, she continued trainings including orthopedic massage, deep tissue, Lomi Somatic work (one of the original body-mind approaches), lymphatic and visceral massage, trauma recovery, and Aikido based energy work. In 2001 Ellen shifted her focus to craniosacral therapy. She began studies with the Upledger Institute, completed a Biodynamic cranial training with Scott Zamurut, and is a certified practitioner of the Milne Institute's Visionary Craniosacral program. She continues to explore and synthesize these different perspectives in craniosacral therapy, is passionate about anatomy, and brings a sense of inquiry and humor to her teaching.

Craig Toonder, MFT

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

Nina Stavinga

Coming from a family of medical professionals with a BA in Studio Art/Art History, Nina was drawn to bodywork as a place to further explore the poetry and mystery of the body. She began at the San Francisco School of Massage, studied at the Sunshine Massage School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and then was drawn to with McKinnon's Touch For Diverse Populations, Asian Systems, and Cranio-sacral programs. Although most of her practice is based in Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Shiatsu, her approach and deep listening style is informed by these more subtle modalities, and she loves having the opportunity and challenge to learn from different kinds of bodies. She has volunteered massage for sex workers at the St. James Infirmary in SF, and for developmentally disabled adults at Claussen House in Oakland, and has also been a regular volunteer with the Touch Health and CARE programs. She teaches Swedish and Deep Tissue and balances her massage practice with her love for costume, performance, art, writing and cooking.

Char Pias

Char facilitates individuals and groups in learning new skills, discovering their sacred nature and cultivating pathways to aliveness. On the faculty at Esalen Institute since 1980, certified to teach Esalen Massage and Reiki, Char is also a Movement and Expressive Arts facilitator and a Raja Yoga teacher. She teaches various workshops, certification courses, and retreats nationally and internationally.
[ www.piasoma.com ]

Katie Lewis

Katie Lewis is a yoga teacher, movement therapist & healthcare educator. She is interested in nourishing well-being in herself & others. She has over ten years experience teaching groups publicly & working one on one privately. Katie is a skilled practitioner of craniosacral therapy & the Anat Baniel Method. She has studied touch & movement extensively working both with children & adults. Katie has also studied Feng Shui & Mantic Arts with Liu Ming & is a Feng Shui Apprentice to him for the past two years.

Bhaskar Banerji

Bhaskar Banerji started his journey as a healer twenty years ago at the University of Michigan where he was introduced to Polarity Therapy - a form of energetic healing that involves the infusion and balancing of life force. In recent years he has studied Shiatsu, Swedish and Sports massage at the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville, CA, and Thai Yoga Bodywork with the Sunshine Network in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He received his Masters in Holistic Health Education from JFK University with an emphasis on Dream Studies and is currently pursuing a PhD in Mind Body Medicine at Saybrook University. His vision involves helping people to recognize the integral role bodywork plays in self-care and the need for loving touch therapy for the maintenance of health and well-being.

Diana Maxwell, MT

I have been practicing bodywork and the healing arts since 1985 and teaching since 1998 in state certified schools. I still love learning new techniques and developing the ones I have.

I really love teaching and practicing bodywork. I am committed to helping my clients in whatever way I can. I teach and practice Massage Therapy, Deep Tissue, Jin Shin Do Acupressure, Reflexology, and Reiki. I am also trained to do Specialized Kinesiology, Regenesis and Craniosacral Therapy. In my spare time I am a VJ and create sound light immersion experiences. I also go for long walks and practice yoga.

Lisa  Huey, CMT

Lisa has a Bachelor's degree in Social Science from CSUS and an Associate's degree in Massage. She is CAMTC and NCTMB certified as a massage therapist. In the past 7 years Lisa has practiced massage in a variety of settings; onsite chair, event massage, sports club/gym, chiropractic office and spa. For the last 4 year she has been the sole proprietor of "Lisa Huey, Therapeutic Massage" in Walnut Creek. Lisa's practice focuses on Swedish, deep tissue and sports massage modalities. Lisa has been a massage instructor in the East Bay for 7 years, teaching Swedish, deep tissue, sports massage and anatomy. She enjoys being in the classroom as a student and an instructor. She describes herself as a lifelong learner.

Mike LaCroix

The bodywork style I have come to use draws from both an orthopedic approach as well as from principals observed in Chinese medicine. Using modalities such as clinical deep tissue, Hendrickson's method, and neurokinetic therapy my aim is to correct structural imbalances, address myofacial pain, and aid in the recovery of injuries. I have been practicing energy arts such as Aikido and Qi Gong for the past 10 years. More recently I began studying Chi Nei Tsang which is a form of applied Qi Gong that focuses on the energy of the internal organs and their systems to promote functionality.

Mike  Grunwald, CMT

After careers as a data processor and as an attorney, Mike became a massage therapist in 2005. He has studied at the McKinnon Institute of Massage, the Maui Institute of Therapeutic Massage, the Upledger Institute and the Institute of Health & Healing. His exposure to massage for diverse populations at McKinnon convinced him to pursue a career providing massage for people with special needs. He pursued this path at Marin General Hospital, the California Pacific Medical Center, Kaiser and with a small private practice, providing massage for patients in pre and post op surgery, pre-natal patients, and especially cancer patients and survivors, and the elderly in addition to the general community. He has attempted to incorporate into his practice the lessons learned from a lifetime of pursuing the martial arts judo, ju-jitsu, aikido and tai chi. He is pleased and grateful to be able to share his passion and knowledge with McKinnon students.

Jen Worth, CMT

Jen left behind a career in advertising to pursue work that felt more personally meaningful. She discovered the benefits of massage and yoga while training as an outdoor athlete and rehabilitating multiple knee surgeries, so it was no surprise that Jen dove deep into the study of both. Jen is a graduate of McKinnon Body Therapy Center. She has a thriving private practice in Oakland, where she works with active people to help them prevent and recover from pain and injury. Jen delights in teaching, and has taught indoor cycling, road and mountain biking skills to women, as well as yoga. She is continually excited to share the benefits of skilled touch with her clients and students alike, as well as continuing to learn from both.

Gene Muto

Gene has been practicing the healing arts for over 30 years in a part time capacity while balancing the demands of family and a career. As of 2007, she has dedicated herself to full time bodywork including Craniosacral Therapy, Lymphatic Drainage, Acupressure and Advanced Bodywork. In addition to her training at McKinnon/BTC, Gene studied Visionary Craniosacral Therapy at Milne Institute. Being and instructor in the healing arts is the perfect blend of her knowledge and experience of adult learning as a corporate trainer and her love and passion of bodywork. Her work centers on connecting with the body's inherent wisdom to heal itself and listening deeply to that source to facilitate healing. In her spare time, Gene enjoys working with and growing herbs, reading just about anything in print, music and her latest secret vice - angry birds.

Marion Christ

Marion came to massage after a career as a ceramic artist and a journey into motherhood. She made the switch from working with clay to working with the soft tissue of the body as away to help in the process of healing. After lots of traveling and living for a time in India and Southeast Asia, She felt all the more convinced that she wanted to use her hands and touch to connect with people on their journey toward recovery from injury, trauma and pain.

Robyn Scherr

With a background in health education, and Western herbal medicine, Robyn started her career in bodywork in 1999, completing certificates at McKinnon in Swedish, Sports & Deep Tissue, and Asian Systems. She began studying Craniosacral therapy with the Upledger Institute in 2001, completed advanced training in 2005, and is now a teaching assistant for all levels of the UI curriculum. She continues to hone her Craniosacral skills and add new tools to her skill-set, and mentors new therapists. With a busy private practice in Lafayette, Robyn is committed to helping her clients connect with their bodies' innate wisdom, resilience, and capacity for joy.

Kristan  Trunzo

Kristan graduated from a 650-hour massage program on the East Coast in 97'. For the past 13 years, she studied several modalities of massage, including Swedish, Shiatsu and Jin Shin Jujitsu Accupressure, Deep Tissue & Trigger Point, Pregnancy Massage, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Water Massage and Thai. In addition, Kristan has studied Western Herbal Medicine and alternative birthing, and has been a doula for the past nine years. Kristan is a mother of two children and is always active with them. She taught here at McKinnon from 2001 to 2006, then took a break to become a mother. She is currently teaching the Swedish, Deep Tissue and Pregnancy classes.

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