Meet the JTS acupuncture interns for the 2023-2024 school year. Coming from a variety of backgrounds and places, they are eager to learn and to help you feel your best.
Andrew Anders
Andrew Anders, a Michigan native, holds a Bachelor of Science in Technology Management and a Master of Science in Technology Studies. He is an accomplished martial artist, with a 5th-degree black belt in Kukkiwon Taekwondo and a 4th-degree black belt in Hoijeon Moosool. In 2014, he excelled at the World Hoijeon Moosool Championships in San Antonio, Texas, securing 1st place in sparring and 3rd place in weapons.
Since 2005, Andrew has practiced Japanese Folk Medicine (Usui Shiki Ryoho) and taught it since 2010. He conducted research on this method in Japan in 2015 and 2022. He also completed a one-week internship at a traditional acumoxa clinic in Tokyo in 2022.
Andrew’s primary focus is assisting individuals with chronic physical and mental conditions to enhance their quality of life naturally with East Asian Medicine.
Catherine Angel
My mission is to help people release stress from their body and mind. By relieving the burden on the body, your life-force can be rejuvenated, leading to greater happiness and renewed creativity. I have been a medical massage therapist since 1997. I truly love what I do, and I am pleased to share that joy in my work with patients.
Both massage therapy and acupuncture require good observation, strong technical skills, and deep listening to the patient and the patient’s body. Both are built on a foundation of compassion, love and caring. My goal is to help you release stuck patterns in your body, restore physiological function, and lighten your emotional burden.
I graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Psychology. I worked for 5 years in a Chiropractic office, where I began to explore more deeply the interface between mental, spiritual, and physical health. While there, I became a Certified Chiropractic Assistant, which aided me greatly in my understanding of musculoskeletal dysfunction. I graduated from Potomac Massage Training Institute in 1997 with a certification in Swedish and Deep Tissue Massage. My continuing education has included: St. John Neuromuscular Therapy (including Trigger Point therapy), Active Isolated Stretching with Aaron Mattis, and Assessment and Treatment of Common Injuries with Ben Benjamin, Ph.D.
When I’m not giving massages, I enjoy dancing, hiking, weight training, and reading.
Rachel Batt
Katie Bradle
Matthew Branstetter
Heather Doyle
Heather Doyle is grateful to be studying East Asian Medicine in southern Appalachia. She brings lifelong experience with dance and somatic movement education to her practice. Through collaborative creative process and street medicine training, she has learned to trust in the power and wisdom of each of our bodies/minds to be our best teachers. Heather considers it a privilege to accompany patients on each of their autonomous paths, honoring the different goals each person brings to the clinic. She is committed to continuous learning towards a liberatory body-positive, trauma-informed and gender-affirming treatment approach. When not in the JTS Clinic, Heather leads class as an artist educator with Bodywise Dance, teaches Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis, studies taiji and qigong with Sifu Alex King, and takes long walks through the woods with her family.
Ricki Draper
Ricki Draper, based in Knoxville, TN, has a background in community organizing and non-profit consulting. Ricki is interested in integrative healthcare that recognizes structural barriers to health and wellness and honors the individual and their experience. Ricki is particularly interested in using acupuncture to support queer and trans healthcare.
In their free time, Ricki enjoys hiking with their little dog, Fiddle, spending time with their niblings, and reading all the books.
Tamera Firnbach
Tamera Firnbach began her pursuit of natural healthcare while attending Life University’s College of Chiropractic in Marietta, Georgia. After graduating with honors from Life University with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, Dr. Firnbach moved to Seattle, Washington to learn from a well-established Family Chiropractic Practice. After getting great results while adjusting, she felt there must be more avenues to achieve results in areas other than muscular-skeletal pain and discomfort.
Over the next twenty years, she studied and researched techniques that focused on clinical nutrition, hormone imbalances and allergy elimination. Through her alternative therapies, she has been successful in helping countless patients with their healthcare needs.
Dr. Firnbach’s passion to expand her knowledge of alternative care to ensure her patients get the results they desire, led her to pursue the amazing field of acupuncture. Her studies at Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine will open up a whole new path of natural healthcare for her current and future patients, and she is excited to bring acupuncture to her practice in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Away from her office, Tamera is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with her husband Bill and her two pups Remi & Roxy.
Melanie Hatch
Melanie Hatch is a native of Georgia, now residing in Asheville, North Carolina. Being raised by a chiropractor, she has been fascinated by holistic healing her whole life. As a child, she spent most of her time in the southern woods, gaining a deep appreciation for the cycles of nature and how our bodies are reflective of the world around us. In the past decade, Melanie spent dedicated time studying energy medicine, before being led to Chinese Medicine through her own health journey. A decade plus of severe endocrine issues began to be addressed in only a few months with herbs and dedicated acupuncture sessions. It was incredibly exciting and took her on an entirely new path. She currently works at the Alternative Clinic in Asheville, NC, where she has been working as an herbal pharmacist and taking classes with international teachers Andrew and JulieAnn Nugent-Head since 2021. When she is not studying, she enjoys being in nature, reading, and cuddling her two cats. Melanie is thrilled to be a part of the Jung Tao clinic and be of service to its wonderful community.
Eric Little
Austin Mitchell
Hi! My name is Austin. I am from Laurel, MD and currently live in Asheville, NC. I love spending time outdoors, whether hiking with my dog, white water rafting, rock climbing or playing sports.
Acupuncture came into my life when I was playing lacrosse in college. I had chronic injuries that were not healing through Western treatment, and as a last-ditch effort decided to give Chinese Medicine a try. That is where my healing journey began. Not only did I find relief from treatments, but I gained a greater awareness of what health truly looks like for me. I learned about how my physical pain was also tied in with my sleep, diet, stress levels, movement, and much more. After finding relief, I decided to dedicate myself to doing for others what so many practitioners have done for me.
As a former athlete, I must say that treating injuries and pain has always been an interest of mine — after all, it is what brought me here. That being said, the whole-person treatment approach is what truly inspires me, and is why I love Chinese Medicine so much. I look forward to both using what I have learned so far and gaining new knowledge as I walk alongside you through your unique healing journey.
Rebecca Nicholson
Becca Nicholson lives in beautiful Marshall, NC. She has a background in art, languages, nonprofit management, and historic restoration work. She hopes to bring her creativity to patient care, honoring the uniqueness of each individual and their needs and goals. She is especially interested in using acupuncture to support pain management, emotional balance, menstrual cycle health, and headache disorders such as migraine disease. She loves the beauty, simplicity, and completeness of Chinese Medicine and feels grateful and excited to be learning and offering it.
When she isn’t studying, you might find her hiking, playing guitar, knitting, or working in her ever-expanding garden.
Beth Owoc
Sally Pennington
Callie Pierce
Alecia Protentis
Lizzie Rodriguez
Tracy Salsman
Tracy Salsman served in the US Air Force where her medical career first began in 1997. She went on to earn her Associate’s Degree in Radiography in 2005, following a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management in 2010. During the past 11 years, she has worked as a cardiovascular technologist and is currently working at Watauga Medical Center in Boone, NC.
My goal as an acupuncturist is to help the overwhelming number of veterans that suffer with post military service-related issues at a VA hospital.
My hobbies include macramé, being outdoors, and spending time with my husband and son.
Sarah Steele
Brandon Tester
Brandon Tester, a Virginia native earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology in 2007 from The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. He then went on to earn his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in 2011. He currently owns and operates his own Clinic in Wise, Va.
Being able to pursue Acupuncture Studies at Jung Tao has deepened my understanding of the human body and ignited a passion to bring this incredible medicine to remote areas and integrate it into my current practice.
If I’m not at my office or Jung Tao, you’ll likely find me outdoors. Hobbies include photography, music, and gardening. My wife and I also love to travel and spend time with our fur babies.