National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork
CONSUMERS
APPLICANTS
CERTIFICANTS
VOLUNTEERS
SCHOOLS/EDUCATORS
CE PROVIDERS
STATE BOARDS & LEGISLATORS


Stay Connected:
Facebook      Twitter
    LinkedIn
 
Breaking News
New York Approves NCBTMB As Continuing Education Sponsor
   
NCBTMB Announces 2011 Board Election Results and Officers
   
NCBTMB Welcomes New Managers
   
NCBTMB Announces Change in Leadership
   
NCBTMB Announces NCAP Test Specifications
   
NCBTMB Compliance Program Works to Identify Fraudulent Schools
Home             Certification             Recertification             Handbooks & Forms             About NCBTMB             Media             Links
About NCBTMB

Board of Directors


The nine members of the NCBTMB Board of Directors supervise, control and direct the affairs of the national certification program, its committees, publications and examinations. They also determine NCBTMB policies and procedures. Click Here to view minutes from NCBTMB Board meetings and calls.

Chair
Alexa Zaledonis, LMT, CPT, NCTMB
Annapolis, MD (term ends December 31, 2012)


Alexa Zaledonis is the owner/operator of Even Keel Wellness Spa, a therapeutic massage and skin care center in Annapolis, Maryland. Even Keel employs seven full-time and several part-time employees who specialize in Thai, sports and rehabilitative massage.

A graduate of the Baltimore School of Massage, she passed the NCE in 2002 and has spent the past seven years building her practice in the community.  Zaledonis is a certified Lotus Palm Thai Yoga Massage practitioner and a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength Professionals Association. Zaledonis currently is completing her Yoga Teacher Training (RYT200). She also teaches Thai Massage seminars at Even Keel Institute for Continuing Education and is an NCBTMB-approved provider.

A former Certified Public Accountant, Zaledonis specialized in healthcare and nonprofit organizations for more than 15 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.

Chair-Elect
Susan S. Toscano, BA, NCTMB
Groton, CT (term ends December 31, 2012)


Susan Toscano has a long history of supporting – and serving – NCBTMB. She was first elected to the Board of Directors in 1997, named Treasurer for 1998-1999 and held the position of Chair from 2000-2001. In addition, she was a member of NCBTMB’s Strategic Planning Committee from 1999-2001 and served as an NCBTMB School Outreach Coordinator from 2001-2002.

Toscano has worked with the former AMTA Council of Schools and been an on-site team evaluator for the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. She has worked for 25 years in massage therapy school administration, primarily with The Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy, as well as the former New York College for Holistic Health Education and Research. She is currently the Director of Enrollment for Steiner Education Group/CCMT region.

In 1999, Toscano earned a bachelor’s degree in Holistic Studies from Norwich University. She earned a diploma in massage therapy from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in 1987. Toscano has been a licensed massage therapist with a small private practice in Connecticut for 16 years.

Public Member

Treasurer
Ronni Burns
New York, NY (term ends December 31, 2014)


Ronni Burns is a professor of communications at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland and at the Stern School of Business, New York University. Burns served as a senior executive with Citigroup for 17 years, where her positions included consumer advocate, director of national sales, lobbyist and spokesperson.

Burns is also a certified profession coach, as well as a communications consultant. She develops and delivers sales, management, ethics and communications courses to major corporations.

She earned an undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Connecticut.

Members

Michele Baker, LMT, NCTMB, CVA
Jackson, MS (term ends December 31, 2014)


Michele Baker is owner/operator of To Your Health! Therapeutic Massage Associates, an exclusive, referrals-only outcall service in the deep South. Her practice offers Swedish massage, pregnancy massage, reflexology treatments, deep tissue, neuromuscular therapy, aromatherapy, Reiki and ear candling. For the past five years, she has also taught at two schools of therapeutic massage and mentored dozens of therapists.

In 2008, Baker was awarded a Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA), the only international professional certification in the field of volunteer resources management. 

Baker received a bachelor's degree from University of Arkansas and graduated at the top of her class from the Mississippi School of Therapeutic Massage.

Baker divides her time between massage therapy, volunteering and growing her new business, Treasures of Egypt Tours, LLC.  When not traveling internationally or teaching massage, she spends her time baking and working on a reference manual of massage and healthcare treatments for common ailments.

Bruce Baltz, LMT, NCTMB
Poughquag, NY (term ends December 31, 2013)

Bruce Baltz is a licensed massage therapist in New York and Florida. He is an internationally recognized educator with over 28 years of experience in the fitness and bodywork industry. An NCBTMB volunteer since 2007, Baltz has served on the Approved Provider Committee.

He has also held volunteer positions with the Florida State Massage Therapy Association and American Massage Therapy Association.

In 1994, Baltz founder of SpiriPhysical, received his massage diploma from Swedish Institute in New York City. In 1999 he developed and started to teach Deep Tissue Stone Massage workshops with LaStone Therapy. In 2007, Baltz  added Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) to his teaching repertoire and developed AIS The Spa Method. SpiriPhysical is now involved in developing massage education for spa trade shows and bringing more depth into spa menus.

Leena Guptha, D.O., NCTMB
Oklahoma City, OK (term ends December 31, 2013)

Leena Guptha, D.O., is the Dean of Academic Affairs and Acting Director for ITT Technical Institute in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where she has taught, developed curriculum and managed the education department. Her professional career spans more than 20 years and has encompassed traditional medical practice, academic appointments and practice of complementary alternative therapies. She is active in a number of professional organizations, including the American Massage Therapy Association, where she presided as national president in 2007-2008. As a driving force in the massage industry, Dr. Guptha is passionate about education, regulation and advancing the profession toward global recognition.

Dr. Guptha was formerly the Dean of Massage Therapy at Lehigh Valley College in Pennsylvania and taught at the National University for Health Sciences Lombard, Illinois, for eight years. She received her degree in Osteopathic and Naturopathic Medicine from the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy in London and her Masters degree in Complementary Therapy from the University of Westminster. She graduated from the British College of Acupuncture with a Licentiate in Acupuncture and is a Board Certified Hypnotherapist. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Business Administration.

Dr. Guptha’s personal mission for more than 20 years has been to facilitate the integration of complementary alternative therapies into primary healthcare settings. Her addition to the NCB Board of Directors brings an awareness of the conventional healthcare community that will help form a bridge to the next level for massage

Christy Schumacher, NCTMB
San Diego, CA (term ends December 31, 2012)


Christy Schumacher is a medical ethicist and massage therapist who works with integrative health care practitioners to improve access to and utilization of professional massage therapy within conventional medicine. She has a strong background in public health, evidence-based medicine and outcomes-based models of care. 

Schumacher has worked with Survivors of Torture International, where she developed a massage integration program, as a clinical team member for ShaktiRising, a center for young women in recovery, Center for Community Solutions, Creative Living Options, and California Child, Family and Youth Coalition. Her work is often directed toward expanding access to massage therapy for low-income and under-served populations. Schumacher has consulted with several San Diego organizations regarding creating and expanding their Massage Therapy programs. Most recently, she has taken on a position as Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the Alternative Healing Network and the Adams Avenue Integrative Health project in San Diego.

Schumacher is a 2007 graduate of the University of California San Diego in Critical Biomedical Ethics. She completed her initial massage training at the School of Healing Arts in 2003, and received her NCTMB in 2005.

Judy Silcock, NCTMB, CNMT, BA
Twin Falls, ID (term ends December 31, 2014)

Judy Silcock is a full-time massage therapist and bodywork practitioner. Since 1995, she has served NCBTMB as a volunteer on various committees including the Government Relations Committee, Approved Provider Committee and Recertification Subcommittee.

She has also held state-level offices in Idaho with the Massotherapy Association and American Massage Therapy Association.

Silcock received an undergraduate degree and completed graduate studies from the University of Arizona. She also attended Esalen Institute and Magic Valley Massotherapy Institute. In addition, Silcock has studied sports massage in Russia at the Physical Culture and Science Institutes of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

 
Opportunities at NCBTMB   Contact Us   Site Map
Inquiries or general information, call customer care at 1-800-296-0664 (M-F, 8am-5pm CT).