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, LAc
I grew up in North Carolina with a small-business owner mom from Mississippi and an acupuncturist pop from Japan. From an early age I had an interest in healing work.
In 2002 I completed the Reiki II training in Ohio. After moving to the Bay Area in 2003 I attended the Acupressure Institute and obtained my certification with a focus in Emotional Healing. I began practicing bodywork in 2003, utilizing techniques from Tui Na (Chinese massage), acupressure, and Reiki. More recently I finished my studies at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley and have become a licensed acupuncturist.
Along the way, I have spent time volunteering with the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic in Oakland and the Lyon-Martin Health Clinic in San Francisco, a clinic that provides low/no cost healthcare to women and transgender people. I have also become passionate about 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 pups.
Sarah Liners, Massage Therapist
I grew up in Salinas , California and Brainerd , Minnesota. In my immediate family, we have a chiropractor, a massage therapist, a saucier, a pastry chef, a hair stylist, four artists, and three musicians - and that's just my mom, dad, brother and me. My main influences have come from my family.
I graduated from the Tui Na program at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in downtown Oakland and will graduate with my Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine in December 2010. In addition to school and my work at Sarana Community Acupuncture, I volunteer as a massage practitioner at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic.
At home in North Oakland, I am also a violinist and a baker. In my spare time, I like to read, rest, spend time with my wife, dogs, and cats, and practice Qi Gong at the beach."