FOA MISSION:
To advance public awareness and outreach, education and research in the fields of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.
FOA GOALS:
TO SPONSOR AND PROMOTE:
- Academic research in the field of Oriental medicine;
- Educational public forums, conferences and workshops in AOM for students and the practitioner community;
- Educational public forums, conferences and workshops for the public to enhance awareness and understanding of AOM and associated complimentary medicine modalities;
- Public awareness and outreach campaigns and activities in the field of AOM and associated complimentary medicine modalities;
- Print, media, and web-based activities designed to educate and promote public awareness and understanding for the purpose of advancing societal access and use of AOM and associated complimentary medicine modalities.
- Integrative and integral medical delivery activities to enhance patient care and health outcomes;
- Charitable activities that promote understanding, use and access to AOM and associated complimentary medicine modalities.
FOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FOA President:
Rebekah Christensen serves as the president of Friends of Acupuncture. She is past executive director of the California State Oriental Medical (2001-04) and current ED of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (2004-present). Ms. Christensen brings 30 years of professional experience in business start-up, marketing and business management. She has worked with the UCLA Department of Family Medicine, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and with CSOMA in conducting acupuncture research, “The Licensed Acupuncturist Collaborative Study.” Ms. Christensen was president of the Institute of Environmental Solutions (IES), a California-based 501(c)(3) organization, from 1990-1998. IES designed and managed a whole-systems approach to restoring productive use to environmentally impaired Brownfield sites. Under IES, Rebekah was responsible for drafting amending text (AB2610) to California’s Mello-Roos law for the purpose of providing multi-million dollar funding for cleanup of contaminated sites based upon a life-cycle systems approach to risk management. Reporting to the undersecretary of science and technology for the U. S. Department of Energy (US-DOE), she served as the national director of the LandTech™ technology transfer program for sustainable development. Comparative to acupuncture’s approach of enhancing the body’s inherent ability to heal, LandTech™ scientists developed biological remedial approaches to enhance the Earth’s ability to heal. Working consistently with the U.S. Department of Defense, DoD, LandTech™ facilitated projects in collaboration with DOE laboratories nationwide.
FOA VP/Treasurer:
Karen Reynolds, MS, RN, LAc has 20 years advanced practice nursing in
specialties including critical care, cardiovascular intensive care, trauma,
continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (modified hemodialysis) and surgery.
She blends the skills of her conventional training with her love of Oriental
medicine and Chinese herbology. Her clinical experience with endocrine
dysfunction fueled her passion for treatment of dysglycemia, fertility, and
adrenal dysfunction using acupuncture, herbs, and neutraceuticals. Karen is
a graduate of Meiji College of Oriental Medicine in Berkeley, CA, is
licensed in California, and carries national certification as a diplomat of
the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
(NCCAOM). She is co-owner of Balance Restored Center for Integrative
Medicine in Mill Valley, California.
FOA Secretary:
Bill Reddy, BS, MS, LAc received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in
Aerospace Engineering in 1987 and worked on masters degrees in robotics and
systems engineering. He studied TCM at Maryland Institute of Traditional
Chinese Medicine and was elected as the first student member of the board of
directors of his acupuncture school. Bill is former president of the
Acupuncture Society of Virginia, serving on the board for four years. He
currently has a private practice in Alexandria and Annandale, Virginia. In
his free time, Bill trains in the Chen style of Tai Qi and designs and
builds furniture.
FOA Directors-at-Large
Jeannie Kang, LAc has studied at Sussex University in Brighton, England, and received a BA from UC Riverside. She completed a psychology residency at Patton State Hospital in Highland, California. She received her MA from South Baylor University. From 2002-2006 Ms. Kang sat on the board of directors of the California State Oriental Medical Association (CSOMA) where she served on the Executive Committee and as immediate past-president. She currently serves as the chair of the AAAOM's Korean Advisory Council and as international advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO). Ms. Kang has had a successful practice in Los Angeles, California, since 1998 and finds her work very rewarding! Dr. Kang’s focus for FOA is research and development.
Leslie McGee, LAc received her BS in nursing from the University of Washington in 1978. In working with acutely ill hospital patients, she was drawn to Chinese medicine. In 1993 she received her master’s degree in Oriental medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in New Mexico. Leslie is in private practice in Tucson, Arizona and is a diplomate in acupuncture and Chinese herbology (NCCAOM). She teaches at the Asian Institute of Medical Studies (an ACAOM accredited school) and for the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Leslie is president emeritus of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM).
YOUR INVITATION TO JOIN THE FOA:
We invite you to join Friends of Acupuncture (FOA). Membership is Free. By joining, YOU, the consumer, will assist in guiding the future of this website, and, more importantly, acupuncture and Oriental medicine’s (AOM) use in the U.S. FOA’s outreach programs and services are designed to bring exposure to not only the traditions and modalities that comprise AOM, but, equally, they will provide you state-of-the-art information on the practice of and access to AOM in the U. S.
Please join by completing and submitting the enclosed interactive form. It takes just a few minutes and will greatly assist FOA in guiding education, awareness and use of AOM in the U. S.
We welcome you to the FOA family! Together we shall expand education, research, public awareness, outreach, access and use of AOM in the US!
