Tatyana Ryevzina, LAc
I grew up in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States as a teen, living in New York and Chicago before moving to the Bay Area in 1998. I have been involved with various Eastern healing and spiritual traditions for almost 20 years. I began as a Yoga instructor and as a practitioner of Ohashiatsu bodywork and have been practicing Chinese Medicine since 2003. In addition to private practice, I have worked as an herbal pharmacist and as an herbs instructor and as a volunteer at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic in Oakland, serving low-income women with cancer.

My discovery of Community Acupuncture practice model transformed and revived me. I see this type of acupuncture practice as the most sustainable and most fitting to my values. It makes sense to me from the point of view of healthcare access, social justice, spirituality, and as an antidote to isolation. I am currently teaching Community Acupuncture practice development at AIMC Berkeley. I am also on the Board of Directors of Community Acupuncture Network.

I live in Albany with a wonderful partner and three cats. I am a student of Dayan Qigong and a somewhat sporadic practitioner of Buddhist meditation. I enjoy swimming, knitting and reading books in Russian.

Pamela O’Malley Chang, LAc
I grew up in Massachusetts, daughter of a Chinese immigrant biologist father and an American-born librarian mother whose father was a Chinese herbalist. Initially rejecting medicine as a career, I became an architect/civil engineer specializing in eco-friendly residential renovation. After side-trips into the nonprofit world, and a bout with early-stage ovarian cancer, I received a Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland, California and am licensed to practice acupuncture in California.

Having a deep-seated desire for a world with ample resources for people to create their own solutions to everyday problems, I am delighted to be a founding partner of Sarana Community Acupuncture and a member of the growing Community Acupuncture Network.

Outside of work, I am a volunteer at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic—a free alternative therapies center for low-income women with cancer, and am a contributing editor to Yes!Magazine, journal of the positive futures network. I practice a variety of tai chi and qi gong forms, am an enthusiastic if mediocre violinist, and have dreams of creating a deer-free organic vegetable garden in my Berkeley backyard. I am also a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School, a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Micronesia), and the owner of a solar-electric roof.

Ellie Schafer, LAc
I was born in New York City and have lived in Wisconsin, Maine, Massachusetts, and Arizona prior to moving to the Bay Area. I graduated from Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in printmaking in 1985, then worked for several years as a cook and baker—including 6 years at Acme Bread—before finding my calling as an acupuncturist. I received my Master&s degree in Chinese Medicine at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley in 2003 and my California Acupuncture license in 2004.

I am passionate about connecting with people and making acupuncture widely accessible. I have provided acupuncture to staff and students of Oakland&s Civicorps program (a special education program that combines school and paid community work) and I am a volunteer at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, a no-fee clinic for low-income women with cancer. In my free time I enjoy hiking, biking, and camping. Someday, I&d like to tour the country in an airstream camper.

Mari Kubota, Acupressure Therapist
I grew up in North Carolina, child of a small-business owner mom from Mississippi and an acupuncturist pop from Japan. I always had an interest in healing work. I began my studies with Reiki. I completed the Reiki II training in Ohio, and eventually found myself in California attending acupuncture school, massage school, and working at a macrobiotic restaurant.

I have since graduated from a massage program at the Acupressure Institute and obtained my certification with a focus in Emotional Healing. I use Tui Na (Chinese massage), acupressure, and Reiki in my bodywork practice. I have been practicing bodywork privately since 2003.

I have spent time volunteering with Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic in Oakland and Lyon-Martin Health Clinic in San Francisco, a clinic that provides low/no cost healthcare to women and transgender people.

Currently I am finishing my Master of Science in Asian Medicine at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley. I am also studying transformative justice as a path to healing on an individual, community, and global level. I yearn for the day that all people can feel safe in their own bodies and within our healthcare systems.

Outside of the clinic I enjoy art, the outdoors, and spending time with my partner and pup.