Biographies for 2010 Featured Speakers

Brian Bender
Bender earned his B.S. in education/mathematics from the University of Colorado, and received a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. After earning his MSTOM from Pacific College in 1996, he completed his certification in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture at the Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Santa Monica, CA. Bender has over 20 years of training and teaching in the martial arts of Aikido and Iaido, and is currently an instructor and clinical supervisor of Oriental medicine theory, point location and needle technique, and acupressure at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He has been in private practice in Del Mar for over a decade, and joined the DREAM Team at DREAM Wellness in March 2010.

Barbara Berger
Barbara Berger, L.Ac., began her acupuncture apprenticeship in 1976, and received her California license in 1979. In 1981, she received a degree in acupuncture after completing a one-year program at Colombo South Hospital in Sri Lanka. Upon returning to San Francisco in 1982, she began using micro-current to speed the healing of injuries, and incorporated the benefits of this modality for facial rejuvenation. She is currently a continuing education instructor on this subject of micro-current therapy at acupuncture schools throughout the United States, and maintains a private practice in San Rafael, California.

Lillian Pearl Bridges
Lillian Pearl Bridges is an internationally renowned author and lecturer. Best known for being the world’s foremost authority on Face Reading, she is credited for bringing the subject back to the field of Chinese medicine, and introducing it to Western medicine. She instructs complimentary and allopathic health practitioners how to utilize Facial Diagnosis in the clinic, and teaches Face Reading to business people to enhance their interpersonal communication skills. Lillian learned her skills from a long line of Chinese practitioners in her family. She is the founder of the Lotus Institute, Inc., trains students in her apprenticeship program, teaches continuing education courses at universities and colleges, and is a featured speaker at conferences and symposiums around the world.

Frank Butler
Frank Butler has been involved in Chinese medicine since 1990, and Chinese Taoist meditation since 1978. He received a master’s degree in TCM, completed a seven-year apprenticeship with a traditional Chinese “bone-setter,” and has studied with some of the most famous TCM masters both in the U.S. and China. Butler has taught both Chinese medicine and martial arts all over the world, and he has a practice in New York City where he specializes in injury and musculoskeletal pathology. Butler has many clients, including professional athletes, several of whom travel across the country to receive his care. His reputation and skill have earned him features in several publications and television shows as well. Butler took the last year off to travel around the world and do aid work, delivering Chinese medicine to those in need.

Marie-France Collin
Marie-France Collin, L.Ac., MSTOM, has spent over 20 years in Asia. She began learning acupuncture and shiatsu in Japan, and from there, worked in various Chinese hospitals, apprenticing in the tui na and acupuncture departments. While in China and Taiwan, she learned contemporary and classical Chinese, as well as various aspects of Chinese arts and philosophy. She learned Chi Nei Tsang, qi gong, and Taoist meditations in the U.S. and Thailand from Master Mantak Chia. In Hong-Kong, Collin began her practice, and integrated all of these modalities. Collin graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego, and teaches at the Chicago campus.

John Chen
Dr. John Chen is a recognized authority in both Western pharmacology and Chinese herbal medicine. He has taught herbology and pharmacology at several prestigious universities including University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy, and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego. He has also given seminars on herb-drug interactions for several regional and national organizations. Dr. Chen is currently a member of the Herbal Medicine Committee for the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, an herbal consultant for the California State Oriental Medical Association, and is on the review/editorial committee for the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Program, and the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture.

Nigel Dawes
Nigel Dawes has been involved in the field of East Asian medicine for over 25 years. He is known for his work in Zen shiatsu, founding and directing the London College of Shiatsu, lecturing internationally, and publishing two books on the subject. Recently, Dawes dedicated his teaching and practice to Kanpo, Sino-Japanese Herbal Medicine, and has lectured widely on the subject, publishing numerous journal articles and a translation of a modern Kanpo classic.

Jake Fratkin
Jake Paul Fratkin, OMD, Dipl.Ac., Dipl. CH, has studied Korean and Japanese acupuncture since 1975, and Chinese herbal medicine since 1982. He is the author of Chinese Herbal Patent Medicines, The Clinical Desk Reference, a compendium of 1,250 Chinese herbal products available in the United States. He was the recipient of the Acupuncture of the Year 1999 AAAOM award, and the Teacher of the Year 2006 American Association of Teachers of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AATAOM) award. Currently, Fratkin practices in Boulder, Colorado, and specializes in internal disorders, infections, and pediatrics.

Andrew Gaeddert
Andrew Gaeddert began his studies with master herbalists from both the U.S. and China. He is the founder and president of Health Concerns, the first company in America to produce traditional Chinese formulas for professionals. In addition to being an internationally recognized authority on herbal medicine, Gaeddert is a lecturer and the author of several books. Since 1992, Gaeddert has been involved in researching the effects of herbs on gastrointestinal and immune functions. He was also regional coordinator for Citizens for Health, which was instrumental in the passage of DSHEA and saving Chinese herbs from extinction in the U.S. In his professional practice, he has helped thousands of people with herbs and nutritional therapy.

Magnolia Goh
Goh graduated from Guangzhou Medical School, and worked as an Internal Medicine physician before coming to the United States in 1985. She worked as an acupuncturist in Cabriri Hospital, North Shore Hospital, Queens Hospital, and Elmhurst Hospital, and is now on the advisory board at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York.

Rick Gold
Rick Gold is a 1978 graduate of NESA. Since that time, he has devoted his professional life to studying, practicing, teaching, and researching Asian healing arts. His study of Traditional Thai Massage began in 1988 at The OZA Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Dr. Gold is the author of the book, Thai Massage: A Traditional Medical Technique, first published in 1998. Dr. Gold is also one of the founders of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Currently, he is in private practice in San Diego, and serves as the president of the International Professional School of Bodywork.

Holly Guzman
Holly Guzman began her acupuncture studies in 1972 at age 13 in Afghanistan. At age 17, in 1977, she traveled to mainland China to study, observing acupuncture anesthesia, herbal formulas, community health systems, and a deaf mute school daily acupuncture treatment program for student recovery. By her early 20s, she completed clinical apprenticeships under the directions of Ted Kapchuk, Efrem Korngold, Yat Ki Lai, Miriam Lee, and Kiiko Matsumoto. She then completed her doctorate in TCM in China in 1988, and has been
training at Five Branches University since 1984.

Bill Helm
Bill Helm is an ordained Taoist priest, and has been studying Chinese martial and healing arts since 1965. He specializes in tai ji quan, tui na, Chinese bodywork, qi gong, and herbal medicine. Helm is a 20th-generation inner disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowan. He studied traditional Chinese medicine in China at the Shanghai College of Medicine and the Beijing Olympic Training Center. Helm’s studies in the United States continued with Taoist Master Share K. Lew and Dr. Yu Da Fang. Helm is the director of the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego, and the Dean of Allied Arts at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego.

Ed Lamadrid
Dr. Edward Lamadrid, DAOM, L.Ac., LMT, is an acupuncturist and massage therapist with over 25 years of body work experience. He graduated from Swedish Institue, and specializes in shiatsu, neuromuscular therapy, and Swedish massage. From 1991 through 2001, Lamadrid owned and operated the largest massage therapy practice in Manhattan, and he also created the first massage management-consulting firm in New York City. Dr. Lamadrid graduated with a master’s degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York. He also successfully completed his doctoral studies at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego. Lamadrid is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago.

Mark Kastner
Mark was raised in San Diego, and attended UCSD as an undergraduate. Attracted to alternative medicine in his early twenties, he began studying with Bernard Jensen and Ran Das. In 1983, Mark entered the California Acupuncture College, and was able to perform his clinic internship in Beijing at Guan An Men Hospital. He has been in practice now for over 20 years, specializing in sports medicine. Currently, he is treating a number of professional athletes including members of the LA Lakers, and former members of the San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers.

Giovanni Maciocia
Giovanni Maciocia has practiced acupuncture in England since 1974, and has presented at numerous workshops at the post-graduate level for colleges of Chinese medicine in the U.S., England, Australia, and Europe. He is also a practicing Chinese herbalist, having studied with Dr. Ted Kaptchuk. Maciocia has been a regular contributor to the Journal of Chinese Medicine, and also authored several Chinese medicine textbooks. In 2006, the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China appointed Maciocia as honorary professor.

Kiiko Matsumoto
Kiiko Matsumoto is internationally known for her scholarly work on acupuncture, and the interpretation of Chinese classic texts. She has published three fundamental texts on acupuncture in the United States, and has another in press. Matsumoto regularly publishes articles in the Ido-No-Nippon acupuncture magazine in Japan, and has made two video series for the company. She is best known for her ability to integrate the work of very important Japanese Masters such as Master Nagano, Master Kawai, and Dr. Manaka, into a coherent and clinically effective style. Matsumoto routinely teaches acupuncturists around the world, including the United States.

Robert Nations
Robert Nations began his study of self-cultivation, herbs, and energetic healing in 1983 under the tutelage of Warren Gold. He furthered his education at the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego, where he earned his tui na massage certificate, and was trained in the philosophy and practices of Taoism. This included learning from Grand Master Abraham Liu (Yang Style Tai ji quan), Grand Master Chen Xiao Want (Chen Family Tai ji quan), Taoist Priest Sifu Share K Lew (Taoist Elixir System), and Ted Kardash, Ph.D., MFT. In 1995, Nations received the honorable title of Tao Shi. He currently teaches at Pacific College, is a member of the National Qi Gong Association, and maintains a private practice in San Diego.

Miki Shima
At age 15, Miki Shima began his lifelong study of classical Chinese. Before coming to America, Shima was trained in acupuncture by Irie Tadashi, L.Ac., Terutane Yamada, M.D., and in the art of the Yijing by Grand Master Sango Kobayashi. During the 1980s, he served on the California Acupuncture Board, and was elected President of the California Acupuncture Association in 1989. He obtained his Doctorate of Oriental Medicine from the American Graduate School of Oriental Medicine, and earned the Life Time Achievement Award by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) in 2004. Shima is an author, a teacher, and is now in private practice in Corte Madera, California.

Alex Tiberi
Alex Tiberi has been a student of traditional Asian philosophy, arts, and sciences since he was a teenager. He has now been in clinical practice for 30 years. Tiberi is a founder and vice-president of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, and is also on the faculty of the Qing Bai College of Chinese Medicine in the Netherlands. He lectures internationally on various aspects of traditional Chinese medicine including pediatrics, nourishing life (Yang Sheng), orthopedics, treatment during pregnancy, and Korean acupuncture. He regularly leads study groups to China to participate in the “Master’s Classical Studies Program,” and also co-founded the Traditional Chinese Medicine Literature Research and Translation Academy.

Mary Elizabeth Wakefield
Mary Elizabeth Wakefield, AAOM Educator of the Year, is an internationally recognized author, teacher, Oriental medical practitioner, musician, licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, Zen shiatsu and cranio-sacral therapist, and opera singer. An advocate of Oriental medicine, she is a creator of innovative treatment protocols, and a writer for acupuncture periodicals. She has contributed significantly to raising public awareness of facial acupuncture as a viable, holistic treatment modality. Wakefield teaches seminars around the world, and was the only North American acupuncturist invited to present at an international TCM Forum sponsored by Shanghai Shuguang Hospital.

Jeffrey C. Yuen
Jeffrey Yuen comes from two Taoist lineages: the Complete Reality and Jade Purity traditions. He trained at an early age under his grandfather, Taoist Master Yu Wen, in all aspects of Taoism. Mr. Yuen is recognized internationally as a master of classical Chinese medicine, Taoism, acupuncture, Chinese herbology, tai ji chuan, and qi gong. Mr. Yuen has served as a guest lecturer at various colleges and universities, and is the only non-M.D. acupuncturist on the faculty for the American Association of Acupuncture Physicians. He founded the acupuncture program at Swedish Institute’s School of Acupuncture and Oriental Studies, and is currently directing and teaching the Classical Chinese Medicine master’s degree program at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.