Our faculty is comprised of experienced practitioners who share the desire to carry out the mission of the college and to help each student excel. All of the licensed acupuncturists and physicians on our faculty are also practicing clinicians who bring their real life professional experience into the classroom and clinic.

Leanne Apfelbeck, DC, MS, has been involved in education for over 25 years covering topics in biology, massage therapy, sports medicine, and Chiropractic Medicine. Dr. Apfelbeck began her Chiropractic career after graduating from the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois in 1988. During that time, she maintained a private practice, taught in the Lincoln Post Graduate Department of Chiropractic, and was also on the faculty at the National University of Health Sciences. Recently Dr. Apfelbeck earned a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah where she published a paper in The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine. Currently, Dr. Apfelbeck has a private practice in Asheville, North Carolina, and is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina Asheville.

Patricia Bernarding, M.Ed., A.A.S. in Business Administration., CMT, Accreditation Coordinator, has been involved in the field of adult education for twenty-five years. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Education from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. Ms. Bernarding has been involved in the public school system and in proprietary colleges both as an educator and administrator. She has continued her graduate studies in English and Teaching English as a Second Language at Western Carolina University, North Carolina. In 2003, she received her Associate Degree in Business Administration from South College-Asheville. While in Tucson, she attended the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts and received certification as a Massage Therapist.

Stuart Bonner, M.D., completed his undergraduate work in Chemistry at Furman University in 1977. He continued his education and received his M.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1982. From 1983 to 1998, Dr. Bonner practiced emergency medicine in the Greenville, SC hospital system. In 1998 he began private practice in Integrative Medicine, co-founding Integrative Medical Associates in 2000. Dr. Bonner continues to pursue education by taking courses in nutritional and integrative medical support for health care issues.

Ed Entmacher, M.D., graduated from UNC medical school in 1978 and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill residency program in 1983. He is board eligible in both adult and child psychiatry. He has been in private practice in Asheville, NC since 1983. Dr. Entmacher sees a wide variety of clients in his private practice. He enjoys doing psychotherapy, especially in-depth therapy, which allows for deep and transformative changes. He consults with various agencies, ranging from community mental health clinics, to working with pregnant women with substance abuse issues, and troubled youth, as well as college students at university mental health clinics. Dr. Entmacher has also enjoyed teaching opportunities, such as supervision of colleagues, supervision and training of psychiatric and family practice residents.

Lori Fendell, M.Ac., L.Ac., P.A., M.P.H., earned her B.S. at the State University of N.Y. at Stony Brook as a Physician Assistant, and spent thirteen years as a P.A. in primary care, gynecology, emergency medicine, health education, AIDS research, and nutritional education. Ms. Fendell also worked at a large Cambodian refugee camp for one year doing medical training and supervising the clinic. This dramatically shifted her perspective on wellness and healing especially after exposure to traditional healing and herbalism. Ms. Fendell was inspired to return to study for her Master’s in Public Health (International Health) at the University of Hawaii in 1984. As a result of her introduction to acupuncture, she attended and graduated from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland, and has been in full-time private practice since 1991 in Durham, North Carolina. She has also studied Chinese and Western herbs and has incorporated them into her practice for ten years. Ms. Fendell is a guest lecturer at Duke University Medical Center, UNC-Chapel Hill and other university medical centers.

Mark A. Fortney, L.Ac., began his studies of Chinese culture and medicine in 1987 when living in Beijing, China.  He spent several years living in China and Taiwan.  In 1990 graduated with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies.  In 1994 he completed a Masters in Anthropology from the University of Iowa that focused on food and health systems in China.  In 1996 he graduated with a Masters in Teaching from the University of Iowa. Mr. Fortney completed his education in Chinese Medicine at The Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Florida in January 2005.  He has run a private practice, Pulse Chinese Medicine, in Asheville since 2005. Mr. Fortney continues his study of Chinese Medicine with classes from Jeffrey Yuen, Lori De Char, David Crow, and in western science.  His research interests include Peruvian shamanism, local herbalism, essential oils, and the spirit of the medicine.

Jean Hardesty-Prater, M.Ac.O.M., L.Ac., obtained her Master’s degree at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in 2000; at the same time she was certified as a teacher of Soaring Crane Qi Gong and certified by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA). Since 2000, she has worked in both group and private practices in Asheville, Virginia, and Arizona, in traditional acupuncture clinic and community clinic settings. She was a faculty member and Dean of Admissions at the Arizona School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and a substitute instructor at the Asian Institute for Medical Studies, in Tucson, AZ. Mrs. Hardesty has studied advanced pulse techniques of Dr. John Chen and Dr. Leon Hammer, acupuncture styles of Dr. Tan and Master Tung, and Classical Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen. She is certified with Acupuncturists Without Borders and was previously certified by NCCAOM as a continuing education instructor for Facial Renewal Acupuncture. Mrs. Hardesty earned a B.F.A. from Smith College in 1993 and has had a 13 year career in graphic design. She has been an Associate in Polarity Therapy since 1994. Her special interests are herbalism, essential oils, gemstones for healing, quantum physics, and Matrix Energetics.  She currently has a private practice in Asheville.

Lorraine Harris, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M., received her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2001 and is nationally certified in Oriental medicine. Ms. Harris has specialized in women's health and fertility during most of her practice in Asheville. She is a charter member of the Clinical Excellence of Fertility Professionals, an international organization of fertility specialists, started by fertility expert, Dr. Randine Lewis, and is a Fertile Soul clinic. She continues to study with Randine Lewis and Jeffrey Yuen. Prior to studying Chinese Medicine, Ms. Harris’s other health-related studies included nutrition, exercise physiology and biomedicine. Ms. Harris also holds a Masters degree in business administration and had a prior career in marketing research.

Joshua Herr, Lic. Ac., M.S., pursued undergraduate studies at Warren Wilson College with interests in agriculture and natural science. He received his Master’s of Science in Acupuncture and Certificate in Herbal Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, in 2000. While studying at Bastyr, he managed and expanded the university’s medicinal herb garden, introducing over 80 species of Chinese medicinal plants. Mr. Herr completed this phase of his studies by traveling to Seoul, Korea, to study at Kyung Hee University. From 2000-2004, he provided health services in an integrated healing center in Seattle, WA, working collaboratively with other healthcare professionals. He moved to Asheville, NC in 2004 and became a faculty member at the Atlantic University of Chinese Medicine. In 2006, Mr. Herr joined the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic and became an instructor at Daoist Traditions. He continues his studies in Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen and Dr. Richard Tan.

Joe Hollis received his BA degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965. In 1972, he founded Mountain Gardens as a botanical garden of economic plants, specializing in Eastern North American and East Asian medicinals. Mountain Gardens cultivates several hundred Chinese herbs and incorporates a seed business, retail nursery, and herb shop/pharmacy, filling prescriptions and preparing tinctures and salves from Chinese and native herbs. Since 1980, Mr. Hollis has lectured, consulted, and taught workshops in herb cultivation and processing at Mountain Gardens, community colleges, and conferences. Mountain Gardens continues to pioneer Chinese herb cultivation in America, trialing several hundred species per year of seeds obtained from botanical gardens and research institutions in China and Japan.

Dr. Tammy S. Koch, PT, D.P.T., M.P.T., M.S., I.M.T.C., C.N.S, holds a B.A. in Biology from Luther College. She received her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Iowa in 1988 and a second Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in 2005.  She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Shenandoah University in 2010.  Dr. Koch is certified as an Integrative Manual Therapist and is board certified by the American College of Nutrition as a Nutrition Specialist. She has worked in the field of physical therapy for 24 years in a variety of settings including private hospitals, outpatient centers, and the United States Army Hospital in Aurora, CO.  She has taught nationally and internationally and held a faculty position at The Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy. She served as Research Director for the CenterIMT incubator team and served 8 years on the Functional Medicine team at CenterIMT in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Dr. Koch is president and founder of Nourish Wellness and Physical Therapy in Asheville, NC.

Karen Litton, Lic. Ac., Dipl. OM (NCCAOM), has practiced Oriental Medicine at the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic since 2008 following her graduation from Daoist Traditions.  Prior to studying acupuncture, she worked as a massage therapist for twenty years, specializing in sports injuries. Ms. Litton also holds a degree in social work from Hunter College in New York, where she worked with mentally handicapped adults and their families. As a graduate of Daoist Traditions, Ms. Litton has a deep understanding of the program as a whole and is excited to be able to guide students through their coursework. She actively continues her studies in Oriental Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen.

Mary Cissy Majebé, O.M.D., Lic. Ac., DOM (New Mexico), College President, began her educational pursuits with a BA in Sociology from the University of New Orleans in 1975. She continued her education at the University of Southern Mississippi where she received an MA in Exercise Physiology in 1980. She pursued her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia before deciding to attend the American College of Chinese Medicine, completing her studies in 1985 with a Master’s in Chinese Medicine. In 1990 she received her O.M.D. degree from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine. In 1985, Dr. Majebé founded the Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic in Asheville, NC. She was the first chair of the North Carolina Acupuncture Licensing Board and was instrumental in helping to write the laws governing the practice of acupuncture in NC. Dr. Majebé has continued her study of Chinese Medicine in China and Korea and in Classical Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen.

Junie Norfleet, Lic. Ac., M. Ed., Clinical Observation Director, holds a Master’s Degree in Chinese Medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Santa Fe, NM. Prior to attending the International Institute of Chinese Medicine, she completed a one-year tutorial in 1996 with Ms. Majebe. She has practiced acupuncture at the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic in Asheville, NC since 1999. Before studying acupuncture, she served for ten years as office manager at the Asheville clinic. Ms. Norfleet also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master’s Degree in Education from Western Carolina University. She taught in the North Carolina public schools for ten years, as well as at Asheville Country Day School and Asheville-Buncombe Community Technical College. Ms. Norfleet has taught Qi Gong since 2000 and is continuing her studies in Classical Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen.

Rachel Nowakowski, Lic. Ac, Dipl. CH (NCCAOM), CMT, Administrative Director, earned her Master’s Degree in Chinese Medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Santa Fe, NM, following a one-year tutorial with Ms. Majebe in 1996. She was awarded her Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1999 following the completion of an internship at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is nationally certified in Acupuncture and Herbology. Ms. Nowakowski has practiced acupuncture at the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic in Asheville, N.C., since 2000. She also holds an Associate Arts Degree from Ocean County College (NJ) and earned her certification in massage therapy in 1993 from the Garden State Center for Holistic Health. She is continuing her studies in Classical Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen.

Liliane Papin, Ph. D. Dipl. Ac.(NCCAOM), Dipl. Ac. CH (NCCAOM), received her Master’s Degree in Chinese Medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Santa Fe, NM. Ms. Papin’s entree to Oriental Medicine coincided with seven years of study of macrobiotics under Michio Kushi beginning in 1991. Prior to her arrival at Daoist Traditions, she was a faculty member at Atlantic University of Chinese Medicine in Mars Hill, NC, where she also served as the Dean of Student Affairs. She has undertaken intensive studies in Tai Chi and Qi Gong in both China and Thailand. She completed an Oriental Medicine internship in Chengdu, China in 2002 and private apprenticeship with Dr. Xin Lin. She has published several articles on the topics of macrobiotics, travel, cultural and women’s issues.

Tracy Peck, M.Ac., L.Ac., studied acupuncture, bodywork, taijiquan & Qi Gong at the Bio-Balance Institute from 1981-1986. He then attended and graduated from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland. Mr. Peck co-founded East Gate Healing Arts Center in Greensboro in 1990 and continues to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine there. He has a life-long interest in Daoist philosophy, mysticism and Internal Alchemy, all of which sparked his initial interest in Chinese Medicine. Mr. Peck is a certified teacher and healer in the Emei Linji tradition as well as in several Wudang Qi Gong forms. He is a 25th generation Daoist Initiate in the Wudang Longmen Nei Dan Pai (Internal Elixir School) under Master Yun Xiang Tseng and has been a senior student and teaching assistant of Master Yong Zhou for twelve years. He continues his education in Classical Chinese Medicine with Jeffrey Yuen, Daoist Priest.

Kathy Robinson, M.D., graduated from UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine in 1989. She did her residency in family medicine at Duke University. She worked in private practices in Cary NC and Durham NC then went on to teach in the family medicine residency program at Duke. In 1998 she moved back to her hometown of Asheville. Since then she has worked in public health, first at the Buncombe County Health Department and presently at WNC Community Health Services. Dr. Robinson teaches healthcare at local prisons, serves on the Ethics Committee of Mission Hospital and volunteers at Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry medical clinic. She is a past president of Asheville Toastmasters and loves to read and garden.

Sarah Robinson, Lic. Ac, Dipl. CH (NCCAOM), graduated from Five Branches Institute in Santa Cruz, California, with a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2003. She is nationally certified in Acupuncture and Herbology. In addition to North Carolina, she is licensed to practice acupuncture in South Carolina and California. Ms. Robinson is the founder of White Pine Acupuncture, where she practices privately in Asheville, North Carolina. She appreciates of the abundance of medicinal herbs growing in Western North Carolina and incorporates locally grown and ethically wildcrafted herbs into her herbal dispensary. Ms. Robinson continues her studies with Miki Shima and Jeffrey Yuen.

Connie Ross, M.D., Dean of Students, completed her undergraduate work in Chemistry at Furman University in 1981 and received her MD degree at the University of South Carolina in 1985. She completed her residency in 1998 in Family Medicine in the Greenville, SC hospital system. She began a private family medicine practice in 1988. From 1989 to 1998, Dr. Ross worked in emergency medicine. During this time, Dr. Ross coordinated training programs for medical personnel in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Pediatric Life Support. She also taught resident physicians in training for Family Practice. In 2000 she co-founded Integrative Medical Associates in Tryon, North Carolina. Dr. Ross continues to pursue education by taking courses in nutritional and integrative medical support for health care issues.

Margot Rossi, M.Ac., Lic. Ac., received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College where she was a zoology major with a premedical objective. After interning in the neonatal ward at Norwalk Hospital and working as an ecologist, she turned her interests from Western medicine to Chinese medicine. In 1994, Ms. Rossi graduated from the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Seattle where she studied intensively under the tutelage of Five Element practitioner, Eliot Cowan, interned in Japanese acupuncture and auricular medicine, and worked at the Kang Wen HIV/AIDS clinic. Ms. Rossi started Cloud Gate Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture which is housed in the Celo Health Center. In 1997, she underwent a three-month-long independent study in herbal medicine and Qi Gong in China at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. An avid movement and meditation student since 1986 and certified yoga teacher, she teaches hatha yoga from the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and Tantric Shaivism, incorporating her experience in Tai Ji Chuan, Qi Gong, and Feldenkrais movement.

Peter Shea, L.Ac., M.S., earned his B.A.in Secondary Education in 1992.  He graduated from the American Institute of Massage Therapy in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl in 1996.  He received his M.S.in Oriental Medicine in 2003 from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Santa Fe, NM.  Peter ran his own practice in Western NY, specializing in orthopedic conditions, from 2003-2008 before selling his practice and moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  He has pursued extra training in Qigong, Tui Na, Daoist Philosophy and Northern Wu Tai Chi and actively explores the relationship between movement arts and spirituality.  He continues his studies of the Dao with Jeffrey Yuen. 

Josephine K. Spilka, M.S., L.Ac., Clinical Internship Director, received her Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine from Samra University in Los Angeles in 1994.  Ms. Spilka has studied intensively with Jeffrey Yuen since 1999, using the 5 meridian system view of the body and classical-style treatments in her private practice.  Appreciating both the poetry and practicality of Chinese Medicine, Ms. Spilka enjoys finding the principles of Chinese Medicine reflected in the world around her and sharing it in her teaching and work with clients.

Scott Tower, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., Dean of Faculty, has been involved with Chinese Medicine and education for over 25 years.  After graduating with a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale in 1982, he spent two years on a teaching fellowship in China where he also began his study of Chinese Medicine.  Mr. Tower continued his training in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the UK and in California where he was licensed in 1988.  During the next fifteen years, he ran a multidisciplinary clinic and coordinated a wide variety of educational programs for health professionals and the public.  He studied extensively with John Shen and Leon Hammer, and has a particular interest in pulse diagnosis, which he has been teaching internationally since 2001.  After living and practicing in the UK for eight years, he joined the faculty and administration of Daoist Traditions in 2010. He has a private practice in Asheville.

Ann Wolman, L.Ac., Dipl. CH (NCCAOM), earned her B.S. in History at the University of Colorado. In 1987, she earned a professional teaching certificate and taught secondary school for five years. She graduated from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1996 and began practicing in Denver and Boulder Colorado. She maintained a private practice specializing in Women’s Health Fu Ke (Chinese Medine OB/GYN) and Tieh Tah (martial arts injury treatment and prevention). After completing an extensive internship with Amelia Greacan, Dipl. Ac., CH (NCCAOM) in Japanese Acupuncture, she integrated this approach into her practice. She has studied and taught martial arts for twenty-five years. Ann is currently in practice at the Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic in Asheville.

Jeffrey Yuen, Director of Classical Studies, is an 88th generation Daoist Priest of the Yu Qing Huang Lao Pai (Jade Purity School, Yellow Emperor/ Lao Tzu Sect), ordained by Master Yu Wen, and 26th generation of the Quan Zhen Long Men Pai (Complete Reality School, Dragon Gate Sect), ordained by Master Lu Xin-Xu. Mr. Yuen is recognized internationally to be a Master of Classical Chinese Medicine, Taoism, Acupuncture, Chinese Herbology, Tai Ji Chuan, and Qi Gong. He has served as a Guest Lecturer at Rockefeller University, City University of New York, San Francisco State University, Vassar College, and is the only non-M.D. acupuncturists on faculty for the American Association of Acupuncture Physicians. Mr. Yuen was the first recipient of the Oriental Medicine Educator of the Year Award presented by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 1995. Currently the President of the International Tai Chi Institute, he is responsible for the development of programs to preserve and promote the teaching of Tai Chi Chuan and other Chinese healing arts in the U.S. and abroad. Mr. Yuen was the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Acupuncture and Oriental Medical Studies program at the Swedish Institute of Health Sciences, New York. He was a key figure in the development of the first Ph.D. program in the field of Classical Chinese Medicine, now offered at the American University of Complementary Medicine in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Yuen willingly shares his knowledge of Classical Chinese Medicine through lectures nationally and internationally.

Weixing Zhao, Lic.Ac., Dipl. CH (NCCAOM), M.D. (China), graduated in 1983 from Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wuhan City, China, after five years of study. He then became a teacher and Chinese Medical Doctor, working in the schools and teaching hospital for ten years. In 1991, he moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, where for the next six years he was a faculty member and clinic supervisor at the Israeli College of Complementary Medicine. In 2000, he moved to Minnesota where he opened his own private practice. Prior to his arrival at Daoist Traditions, he was a faculty member and Clinical Director at the Atlantic University of Chinese Medicine in Mars Hill, NC for four years. He joined the faculty of Daoist Traditions in 2006 and maintains a private practice in Asheville.