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Health Coaching

Program Advisor and Core Faculty

Stephen T. Wegener, Ph.D., ABPP (Program Advisor)

Stephen Wegener is an Associate Professor and Director of Rehabilitation Psychology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also holds an appointment as Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Wegener received his doctorate from St. Louis University and completed his residency in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, where he also served on the faculty.

Tom Balles, M.Ac., L.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

A practicing acupuncturist since 1985, Tom Balles teaches in all three of Tai Sophia Institute’s master’s degree programs. He also facilitates one-on-one and group business workshops in team building, communication skills, improving work habits, conflict resolution, and leadership development. Mr. Balles is the author of Dancing with the Ten Thousand Things: Ways to Become a Healing Presence and “Cultivating a Healing Presence,” a guide.

Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

Robert Duggan is president and co-founder of Tai Sophia Institute and a leading international voice on wellness and integrative medicine. A practicing acupuncturist since 1973, Mr. Duggan was a national leader in the development of the acupuncture profession and the emerging healing arts community.  He has served as a White House advisor, lectures throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts. In 2009, Duggan testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and was among 20 leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers selected to present at the first TEDx MidAtlantic Conference. He holds a master’s degree in Human Relations and Community Studies from New York University and a master’s degree in Moral Theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary.

Katherine Johnson, Ed.D., M.A.T., PCC

Katherine Johnson is a life coach, a teacher-facilitator, and a consultant.  She holds doctorate in Professional and Organizational Development in Education from University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from George Washington University.  Dr. Johnson has had a 25-year career in the field of professional development and university teaching.  She coordinated leadership development for Howard County, Maryland public schools, and taught graduate level courses for The Johns Hopkins University and Loyola College in Maryland.  She is an adjunct faculty member at Tai Sophia Institute as well as at Anne Arundel Community College.  Johnson is a Master Certified Life Coach through Coach for Life's accredited coach trainig program, and she is credentialed by the International Coach Federation (ICF) as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Cheryl Walker is Program Manager for Tai Sophia Institute’s Health and Wellness Coaching graduate certificate programs, a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program, and an independent leadership development consultant. Ms. Walker has a Master of Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a Master Certified Coach (MCC) certification from the International Coach Federation.

Featured Program Faculty and Guest Lecturers

Karl Ardo, M.F.A.

Karl Ardo is a certified Five Element teacher of Qi Gong and a National Qi Gong Association-certified Qi Gong clinical therapist, a Level III Advanced Qi Gong Instructor as well as a certified Zero Balancer®. He has studied, practiced, and taught several types of Chinese disciplines including Medical Qi Gong, meditation, and Tai Chi since 1974. In addition, Karl teaches advanced Qi Gong healing techniques and offers Zero Balancing services and individual Qi Gong sessions through his private practice.

James S. Gordon, M.D., FACP

Jim Gordon is a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma.  He is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Dean of the Graduate School of Mind-Body Medicine at Saybook University, a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School, and recently served as Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.  Dr. Gordon has created ground-breaking programs of comprehensive mind-body healing for physicians, medical students, and other health professionals.  He and his colleagues have trained 3,000 health and mental health professionals in the U.S. and overseas to more effectively address the psychological trauma within their communities, as well as to deal with chronic illness. Dr. Gordon’s most recent book is Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression (Penguin).   He’s also the author of Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary and Conventional Therapies (with Sharon Curtin) and Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies.

Arlene Dalcin, R.D., L.D.

Arlene Dalcin is a Research Program Manager at Johns Hopkins ProHealth, a clinical trial research center for The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a registered dietitian, Ms. Dalcin’s focus is assisting groups and individuals to make healthy lifestyle changes.  Her projects incorporate health education and cognitive behavioral therapy and rely on the use of Motivational Interviewing. Ms. Dalcin is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

Marta E. Hanson, Ph.D.

Marta Hanson writes on the history of disease, Chinese epidemiology, the geographic imagination, and arts of memory in Chinese Medicine. She completed her dissertation "Inventing a Tradition in Chinese Medicine: From Universal Canon to Local Medical Knowledge in South China, The Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century" in 1997 in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her first academic position was as a historian of late imperial China in the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. She currently holds a position as an historian of East Asian medicine in the Department of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Hanson is currently finishing her book manuscript entitled The Geographic Imagination in Chinese Medicine. All of her publications are available on her Web site.

Richard Silver, M.D., M.P.H.

Richard Silver is Founder and Director of THRIVE Center for ADHD and Compehensive Mental Health Care of Central Maryland and has been delivering mental health care for over 35 years. He received both his doctorate and his psychiatric training at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  He earned a master’s degree in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Karl Ardo, M.F.A.

Karl Ardo is a certified Five Element teacher of Qi Gong and a National Qi Gong Association-certified Qi Gong clinical therapist, a Level III Advanced Qi Gong Instructor as well as a certified Zero Balancer®. He has studied, practiced, and taught several types of Chinese disciplines including Medical Qi Gong, meditation, and Tai Chi since 1974. In addition, Karl teaches advanced Qi Gong healing techniques and offers Zero Balancing services and individual Qi Gong sessions through his private practice.

Elizabeth Bartlett M.S., LDN, CNS

After receiving her Masters of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, MD in 2006, Liz Bartlett founded the Joy of Herbs, LLC, in New Market, Maryland and developed a successful 6-week seminar series on eating for health (Detox and Renewal Seminar Series).  Ms. Bartlett has been a Master Gardener with Frederick County for the past 11 years, and she is a licensed nutritionist and a Certified Nutrition Specialist through the American College of Nutrition.  Ms. Bartlett holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Foods from Virginia.

David M. Blaiwas, M.A., M.Ac., Dipl. Ac.(NCCAOM)

Division chair for the Theory Division of the Master of Acupuncture program at Tai Sophia Institute from 2002 to 2007, David has been a primary instructor for Institute students over the past ten years. A graduate of the Traditional Acupuncture Institute, he also holds a certificate in Chinese herbology and received an M.A. in English literature from the University of Leeds. For seven years David served as president of the Maryland Acupuncture Society. He maintains private clinical practices in Takoma Park and Columbia, Maryland.

Jillian Borchard M.S., RH(AHG)

Jillian Borchard is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Maryland. She is on the faculty at Tai Sophia Institute and also is a visiting teacher for The Mountain Spirit School of Herbalism in Asheville, North Carolina. Ms. Borchard is a graduate of Tai Sophia Institute’s Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program. Prior to her studies at Tai Sophia, Ms. Borchard studied at the California School of Herbal Studies on Roots of Herbalism, Foundations of Health, and Clinical Herbalism.

James A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D.

As an economic botanist with a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina, Jim Duke had a 32-year career with the United States Department of Agriculture. While at the USDA, Dr. Duke developed the agency's Phytochemical and Ethnobotantical Databases.  Today, Duke is a world-renowned ethnobotanist, owns and operates the Green Farmacy Garden, serves as distinguished lecturer in the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia Institute, and continues to compile data on medicinal plants and update several of his 30 published books. Fluent in Spanish, Dr. Duke leads ethnobotanical trips to ecologically rich areas of the world. Duke is a Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), where he was elected distinguished alumnus some 50 years after his degree was conferred.

Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

Robert Duggan is president and co-founder of Tai Sophia Institute and a leading international voice on wellness and integrative medicine. A practicing acupuncturist since 1973, Mr. Duggan was a national leader in the development of the acupuncture profession and the emerging healing arts community.  He has served as a White House advisor, lectures throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts. In 2009, Duggan testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and was among 20 leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers selected to present at the first TEDx MidAtlantic Conference. He holds a master’s degree in Human Relations and Community Studies from New York University and a master’s degree in Moral Theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary.

Sara Eisenburg, M.S.

Sara Eisenberg is a clinical herbalist practicing at Ruscombe Community Health Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where she offers herbal consultations, healing work, and workshops based in the Jewish wisdom tradition. With more than 30 years of experience as a guide, facilitator, and educator in the healing arts, Ms. Eisenberg also holds a Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute.  Prior to her studies at Tai Sophia she served for six years as Director of The Center for Health Enhancement, a full-service complementary care center at St. Joseph Medical Center.

Rosemary Gladstar

Rosemary Gladstar is a pioneer in the herbal movement and has been called the "godmother of American Herbalism."  She has been practicing, living, teaching, and writing about herbs for more than 35 years. Over the years, she has founded the California School of Herbal Studies, United Plant Savers -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and cultivation of at risk North American medicinal plants, and co-founded Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center, a 500-acre botanical preserve in central Vermont.  Ms. Gladstar is also the co-founder of Traditional Medicinal Tea Company and did all of the original formulations for the company.  She is the co-director of the International Herb Symposium and The New England Women's Herbal Conference. Gladstar is the author of nine books, including the bestseller Herbal Healing for Women and the newly released Gladstar Family Herbal.

James S. Gordon, M.D., FACP

Jim Gordon is a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma.  He is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Dean of the Graduate School of Mind-Body Medicine at Saybook University, a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School, and recently served as Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.  Dr. Gordon has created ground-breaking programs of comprehensive mind-body healing for physicians, medical students, and other health professionals.  He and his colleagues have trained 3,000 health and mental health professionals in the U.S. and overseas to more effectively address the psychological trauma within their communities, as well as to deal with chronic illness. Dr. Gordon’s most recent book is Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression (Penguin).   He’s also the author of Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary and Conventional Therapies (with Sharon Curtin) and Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies.

Marta E. Hanson, Ph.D.

Marta Hanson writes on the history of disease, Chinese epidemiology, the geographic imagination, and arts of memory in Chinese Medicine. She completed her dissertation "Inventing a Tradition in Chinese Medicine: From Universal Canon to Local Medical Knowledge in South China, The Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century" in 1997 in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her first academic position was as a historian of late imperial China in the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. She currently holds a position as an historian of East Asian medicine in the Department of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Hanson is currently finishing her book manuscript entitled The Geographic Imagination in Chinese Medicine. All of her publications are available on her Web site.

Jamiel Hafiz, M.Ac., RYT

Jamiel Hafiz studied with Dr. Vasant Lad and at the Ayurvedic Institute, practiced Panchakarma at Maharishi International University, and apprenticed in naturopathy with Vaidya Agam Baghel.  He also holds a Master of Acupuncture from the Tai Sophia Institute as well as a degree in evolutionary biology.  Hafiz has taught ayurveda, yoga, bodywork, and physiology since 2002.  He has a private practice in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D.

Leena Hilakivi-Clarke is a Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine, as well as Co-Chair, Division of Molecular Endocrinology, Nutrition & Obesity, Director, Tumor Biology Master’s Program, and Co-Director, Animal Shared Resource. Dr. Hilakivi-Clarke completed her dissertation at the University of Helsinki, Finland in 1987. Her current research interests include understanding the importance of timing of exposure to estrogens, phytoestrogens, and other dietary/nutrition components on the programming of mammary gland development and its effects on breast cancer susceptibility.

Paige Lescure, J.D., LL.M., M.S.

Paige Lescure is a health-care attorney with the Health Care Law Group of Miles & Stockbridge, a large regional law firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Lescure is a 2009 graduate of Tai Sophia Institute’s Herbal Medicine master of science program and teaches law and ethics at Tai Sophia Institute and Goucher College.  Her 20-year health-care practice has included representation of a diverse variety of clients in issues related to state and federal health regulatory law, healthcare contracting, HIPAA and state privacy law, as well as research and health law ethics.  Increasingly, her work involves integrative medicine joint ventures with hospitals, physicians, and alternative and complementary health-care providers.

Tricia McCauley, M.S.

Tricia McCauley uses her creativity and passion for plants to inspire people to take charge of their health through food and herbs. She earned a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute and is a certified health coach. McCauley aspires to forge relationships between plants and people through her work with clients and her work as the resident herbalist at Common Good City Farm in Washington, D.C.

Helen Metzman, M.S.

Helen Lowe Metzman is the director of Jim Duke’s Green Pharmacy Garden.  The Green Pharmacy Garden is an educational garden situated in Fulton, Maryland, that contains approximately 300 plants that have been researched and/or used traditionally for medicinal purposes. Ms. Metzman also works part-time for the Howard County Maryland Department of Recreation and Parks in the Natural Resources Division as a Natural Resource Specialist and an Environmental Educator. The study of natural history, plants, gardening, and art has been her lifelong passion, and she is able to integrate these passions in her work in the garden and for Howard County. Metzman is a graduate of the University of Vermont and of Tai Sophia Institute's Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program.

Andrew Pengelly Ph.D., RH(AHG), FNHAA

Andrew Pengelly completed professional training programs in botanical medicine, naturopathy, and homeopathy in 1983 at the Southern Cross Herbal School in Australia and obtained his doctorate in Food Science from the University of Newcastle in Australia in 2009. During this period, he practiced as a clinical herbalist, lectured widely in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and was nominated a Fellow of the National Herbalists Association of Australia. Dr. Pengelly is the director of Tai Sophia’s herbal dispensary and is the principal investigator of a current Tai Sophia clinical trial on the medicinal qualities of culinary herbs.

Rebecca Snow M.S., LDN, RH(AHG), CNS

Rebecca Snow has been working in the field of herbal medicine since 1998. She is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.  She completed coursework at the Dreamtime Center of Herbal Studies with herbalists Kathleen Maier, Matthew Wood, and Stephen Buhner. After receiving a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute in 2004, Ms. Snow practiced as an herbalist and nutritionist at an integrative medical practice for 5 years. Ms. Snow is certified as a nutrition specialist (CNS) through the American College of Nutrition and is a licensed nutritionist in the State of Maryland.

James Snow, RH(AHG)

James Snow is the director of the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia Institute and a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild (AHG). He has been working in the field of herbal medicine since 1986, completing the herbal residency program at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in 1991. Mr. Snow has been in private clinical practice since 1994, blending traditional herbal wisdom with modern research perspectives. He has recently served as a reviewer for the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

Kevin Spelman, Ph.D., RH(AHG), MCPP

Dr. Spelman is a research scientist and core faculty member in the Herbal Medicine Program at Tai Sophia Institute. His work has included molecular biology and proteomics research investigating the activity of medicinal plants, as well as research that has included the analysis of nutrient levels in women of early childbearing age in West Africa, and malaria research at the University of Paris. Dr. Spelman has practiced an eclectic blend of clinical herbal medicine for 15 years, drawing on the medical sciences and Ayurvedic medicine. He is a member of the prestigious College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy in the United Kingdom and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health(NIH).

Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Cheryl Walker is Program Manager for Tai Sophia Institute’s Health and Wellness Coaching graduate certificate programs, a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program, and an independent leadership development consultant. Ms. Walker has a Master of Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a Master Certified Coach (MCC) certification from the International Coach Federation.

Karl Ardo, M.F.A.

Karl Ardo is a certified Five Element teacher of Qi Gong and a National Qi Gong Association-certified Qi Gong clinical therapist, a Level III Advanced Qi Gong Instructor as well as a certified Zero Balancer®. He has studied, practiced, and taught several types of Chinese disciplines including Medical Qi Gong, meditation, and Tai Chi since 1974. In addition, Karl teaches advanced Qi Gong healing techniques and offers Zero Balancing services and individual Qi Gong sessions through his private practice.

Jerry Cott, Ph.D.

Jerry Cott is a researcher, writer, lecturer, and scientific consultant for conventional and complementary health care and academia. He has lectured at major universities and international meetings for more than 25 years. His research interests include psychotherapeutic drug development and the treatment of mental disorders by the rational use of conventional drugs and/or nutritional and botanical supplements. Dr. Cott has more than 80 scientific publications and was most recently Chief of the Psychopharmacology Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Dr. Cott has also done research in the pharmaceutical industry and currently reviews new drugs with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Peg Cushman Ph.D., RN, FHHC, FAAN

Peg Cushman is currently a Research Associate at The Pennsylvania State University, School of Nursing, University Park. A graduate of Tai Sophia Institute's Herbal Medicine master’s degree program and The  John’s Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, her primary research interest is in the use of complementary therapies, particularly herbs, from both health services research and clinical perspectives. Dr. Cushman has served as adjunct faculty at Yale University's School of Nursing, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services' School of Pharmacy, and University of Texas - San Antonio, School of Nursing. She has guest lectured at University of Massachusetts-Boston and University of Southern Maine. A former home care executive, she is a Fellow of Hospice and Home Care and of the American Academy of Nursing. 

Steven Dentali, Ph.D.

Steven Dentali is Chief Science Officer at the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). He has 17 years of post- graduate experience in the U.S. herbal and dietary supplement industry and earned his doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in Natural Products Chemistry from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He is a U.S. Pharmacopoeia Convention delegate and a member of the USP Committee of Experts, Dietary Supplements – General Chapters. He is also Editorial Board Chair of AOAC and Secretary of the AOAC Presidential Task Force on Dietary Supplements, and an advisory board member of the American Botanical Council and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

James A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D.

As an economic botanist with a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina, Jim Duke had a 32-year career with the United States Department of Agriculture. While at the USDA, Dr. Duke developed the agency's Phytochemical and Ethnobotantical Databases.  Today, Duke is a world-renowned ethnobotanist, owns and operates the Green Farmacy Garden, serves as distinguished lecturer in the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia Institute, and continues to compile data on medicinal plants and update several of his 30 published books. Fluent in Spanish, Dr. Duke leads ethnobotanical trips to ecologically rich areas of the world. Duke is a Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), where he was elected distinguished alumnus some 50 years after his degree was conferred.

Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

Robert Duggan is president and co-founder of Tai Sophia Institute and a leading international voice on wellness and integrative medicine. A practicing acupuncturist since 1973, Mr. Duggan was a national leader in the development of the acupuncture profession and the emerging healing arts community.  He has served as a White House advisor, lectures throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts. In 2009, Duggan testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and was among 20 leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers selected to present at the first TEDx MidAtlantic Conference. He holds a master’s degree in Human Relations and Community Studies from New York University and a master’s degree in Moral Theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary.

Margo Gladding, M.S., CNS, LDN

Margo Gladding is an herbalist and nutritionist whose knowledge base is the result of a unique blend of educational and professional experience. She received a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute in 2005.  In 2009, she became certified as a Nutrition Specialist through the American College of Nutrition and licensed as a nutritionist in Maryland. Since 2005, she has been working at an integrative pharmacy in Bethesda, MD, where she has been providing individual wellness counseling, conducting lectures, and writing health education materials.  In February 2010, she also started practicing at the Center for Integrative Medicine in Baltimore.

James S. Gordon, M.D., FACP

Jim Gordon is a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma.  He is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Dean of the Graduate School of Mind-Body Medicine at Saybook University, a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School, and recently served as Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.  Dr. Gordon has created ground-breaking programs of comprehensive mind-body healing for physicians, medical students, and other health professionals.  He and his colleagues have trained 3,000 health and mental health professionals in the U.S. and overseas to more effectively address the psychological trauma within their communities, as well as to deal with chronic illness. Dr. Gordon’s most recent book is Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression (Penguin).   He’s also the author of Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary and Conventional Therapies (with Sharon Curtin) and Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies.

Marta E. Hanson, Ph.D.

Marta Hanson writes on the history of disease, Chinese epidemiology, the geographic imagination, and arts of memory in Chinese Medicine. She completed her dissertation "Inventing a Tradition in Chinese Medicine: From Universal Canon to Local Medical Knowledge in South China, The Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century" in 1997 in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her first academic position was as a historian of late imperial China in the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. She currently holds a position as an historian of East Asian medicine in the Department of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Hanson is currently finishing her book manuscript entitled The Geographic Imagination in Chinese Medicine. All of her publications are available on her Web site.

Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D.

Leena Hilakivi-Clarke is a Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine, as well as Co-Chair, Division of Molecular Endocrinology, Nutrition & Obesity, Director, Tumor Biology Master’s Program, and Co-Director, Animal Shared Resource. Dr. Hilakivi-Clarke completed her dissertation at the University of Helsinki, Finland in 1987. Her current research interests include understanding the importance of timing of exposure to estrogens, phytoestrogens, and other dietary/nutrition components on the programming of mammary gland development and its effects on breast cancer susceptibility.

Paige Lescure, J.D., LL.M., M.S.

Paige Lescure is a health-care attorney with the Health Care Law Group of Miles & Stockbridge, a large regional law firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Lescure is a 2009 graduate of Tai Sophia Institute’s Herbal Medicine master of science program and teaches law and ethics at Tai Sophia Institute and Goucher College.  Her 20-year health-care practice has included representation of a diverse variety of clients in issues related to state and federal health regulatory law, healthcare contracting, HIPAA and state privacy law, as well as research and health law ethics.  Increasingly, her work involves integrative medicine joint ventures with hospitals, physicians, and alternative and complementary health-care providers.

Helen Metzman, M.S.

Helen Lowe Metzman is the director of Jim Duke’s Green Pharmacy Garden.  The Green Pharmacy Garden is an educational garden situated in Fulton, Maryland, that contains approximately 300 plants that have been researched and/or used traditionally for medicinal purposes. Ms. Metzman also works part-time for the Howard County Maryland Department of Recreation and Parks in the Natural Resources Division as a Natural Resource Specialist and an Environmental Educator. The study of natural history, plants, gardening, and art has been her lifelong passion, and she is able to integrate these passions in her work in the garden and for Howard County. Metzman is a graduate of the University of Vermont and of Tai Sophia Institute's Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program.

Simon Mills, M.A., FNIMH, MCPP

Simon Mills has practiced as a medical herbalist since 1977. He holds a degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University and also completed the four-year professional training provided by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK). In 1987, he co-founded the Centre for Complementary Health Studies at the University of Exeter. Since 1997, Mr. Mills has been Secretary of the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy, the major European body working to ensure quality, safety, and efficacy for herbal medicinal products in collaboration with European medicines regulators. In 2000, he became special adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In 2005, he was appointed a professional member of the new Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee charged with advising the government of the United Kingdom.  He is the author of Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy and The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety, two authoritative textbooks in herbal medicine.

Gerard Mullin, M.D.

Gerard Mullin is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University, as well as Director of Integrative GI Nutrition Services at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.  An internist, gastroenterologist, and nutritionist, Dr. Mullin is internationally renowned for his work in integrative gastroenterology and nutrition, having accumulated over 15 years of clinical experience in the field.  Dr. Mullin is the only physician in the United States who is board- certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine for Gastroenterology, the American Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, the American College of Nutrition, and the American Board of Nutrition Physician Specialists.  He is an associate editor of Integrative Medicine: a Clinicians Journal and has recently been selected by Dr. Andrew Weil to serve as a senior editor for the first book for physicians on integrative gastroenterology by Oxford Press.

Andrew Pengelly Ph.D., RH(AHG), FNHAA

Andrew Pengelly completed professional training programs in botanical medicine, naturopathy, and homeopathy in 1983 at the Southern Cross Herbal School in Australia and obtained his doctorate in Food Science from the University of Newcastle in Australia in 2009. During this period, he practiced as a clinical herbalist, lectured widely in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and was nominated a Fellow of the National Herbalists Association of Australia. Dr. Pengelly is the director of Tai Sophia’s herbal dispensary and is the principal investigator of a current Tai Sophia clinical trial on the medicinal qualities of culinary herbs.

Rebecca Snow M.S., LDN, RH(AHG), CNS

Rebecca Snow has been working in the field of herbal medicine since 1998. She is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.  She completed coursework at the Dreamtime Center of Herbal Studies with herbalists Kathleen Maier, Matthew Wood, and Stephen Buhner. After receiving a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute in 2004, Ms. Snow practiced as an herbalist and nutritionist at an integrative medical practice for 5 years. Ms. Snow is certified as a nutrition specialist (CNS) through the American College of Nutrition and is a licensed nutritionist in the State of Maryland.

James Snow, RH(AHG)

James Snow is the director of the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia Institute and a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild (AHG). He has been working in the field of herbal medicine since 1986, completing the herbal residency program at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in 1991. Mr. Snow has been in private clinical practice since 1994, blending traditional herbal wisdom with modern research perspectives. He has recently served as a reviewer for the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

Kevin Spelman, Ph.D., RH(AHG), MCPP

Dr. Spelman is a research scientist and core faculty member in the Herbal Medicine Program at Tai Sophia Institute. His work has included molecular biology and proteomics research investigating the activity of medicinal plants, as well as research that has included the analysis of nutrient levels in women of early childbearing age in West Africa, and malaria research at the University of Paris. Dr. Spelman has practiced an eclectic blend of clinical herbal medicine for 15 years, drawing on the medical sciences and Ayurvedic medicine. He is a member of the prestigious College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy in the United Kingdom and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health(NIH).

Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Cheryl Walker is Program Manager for Tai Sophia Institute’s Health and Wellness Coaching graduate certificate programs, a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program, and an independent leadership development consultant. Ms. Walker has a Master of Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a Master Certified Coach (MCC) certification from the International Coach Federation.

Anne Huyler Baker, M.A.

Anne Huyler Baker, a graduate of the first Applied Healing Arts master's degree class, came to Tai Sophia Institute from a lifelong career in education where she taught mathematics and science and served as a school administrator. In these roles, she also implemented community service and outdoor education programs, and directed creative arts camps. At Tai Sophia, in addition to serving as director of the Transformative Leadership and Social Change (formerly Applied Healing Arts) program, Anne is a teacher, advisor, and Transformative Practice Group facilitator. Beyond her work for Tai Sophia, she is a practitioner of Aquatic Integration Therapy, Reiki, Zero Balancing, Craniosacral Therapy, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and other energy modalities. In addition, she holds retreats at her farm/retreat center in Maryland and has taught numerous workshops on topics including: stillness, meditation, the sacred Labyrinth, EFT, and psychokinesis. Anne is a lifelong educator whose passion is empowering people of all ages to find their own personal stillness. She brings a promise to life of “joyful grounded nurturing of infinite possibilities.” Anne is the mother of Margaret Huyler Baker, of New York, and Catherine Baker Boyd, of Boston.

Tom Balles, M.Ac., L.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

A practicing acupuncturist since 1985, Tom Balles teaches in all three of Tai Sophia Institute’s master’s degree programs. He also facilitates one-on-one and group business workshops in team building, communication skills, improving work habits, conflict resolution, and leadership development. Mr. Balles is the author of Dancing with the Ten Thousand Things: Ways to Become a Healing Presence and “Cultivating a Healing Presence,” a guide.

Dianne M. Connelly, Ph.D., M.Ac. (UK), Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM)

A practitioner of traditional acupuncture since 1973 and cofounder and chancellor of the Institute, Dianne Connelly received her master’s qualification from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK) in 1979. She obtained a Ph.D. in cross-cultural medicine from Union Graduate School in 1975, an M.A. from New York University School of Education in 1970, and her B.A. from Le Moyne College in 1967. Chancellor of the Institute and an international lecturer (she lectures regularly in Italy and Germany), she is the author of Traditional Acupuncture: The Law of the Five Elements, All Sickness is Homesickness, Medicine Words: Language of Love for the Treatment Room of Life,  and with Katharine Hancock Porter, Alive and Awake: Wisdom for Kids. She is the mother of Blaize, Jade, and Caeli, as well as grandmother to Tamar, Lennox, Rianna, Roman, and Maxim.

Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

Robert Duggan is president and co-founder of Tai Sophia Institute and a leading international voice on wellness and integrative medicine. A practicing acupuncturist since 1973, Mr. Duggan was a national leader in the development of the acupuncture profession and the emerging healing arts community.  He has served as a White House advisor, lectures throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts. In 2009, Duggan testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and was among 20 leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers selected to present at the first TEDx MidAtlantic Conference. He holds a master’s degree in Human Relations and Community Studies from New York University and a master’s degree in Moral Theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary.

Susan Duggan, M.Ac.

A graduate of Skidmore College with a specialization in Health and Human Services, Susan has practiced bodywork since 1986 and taught at the Potomac Massage Therapy Institute in Washington, DC. She holds a Master of Acupuncture degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (now Tai Sophia Institute) and teaches classes on the arts of living and dying. Prior to her studies of acupuncture and bodywork she coordinated educational programs at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Susan is an alumna of the Academy for the Love of Learning.

John G. Sullivan, J.C.D., Ph.D.

John Sullivan is Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Elon University in North Carolina. He holds two earned doctorates: a J.C.D. (canon law) from Lateran University in Rome (1966) and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1985). A long-time participant in the work of Tai Sophia, he is the principal designer of Tai Sophia's Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program (formerly Master of Arts in Applied Healing Arts).  Dr. Sullivan is the author of three books: To Come to Life More Fully, Living Large: Transformative Work at the Intersection of Ethics and Spirituality, and The Spiral of Seasons: Welcoming the Gifts of Later Life. His abiding interest is the place where philosophy, psychology, and spirituality - East, West, and beyond - intersect and mutually enhance one another. He is currently working on issues of spirituality and later life.  See his essays here.

Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Cheryl Walker is Program Manager for Tai Sophia Institute’s Health and Wellness Coaching graduate certificate programs, a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program, and an independent leadership development consultant. Ms. Walker has a Master of Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a Master Certified Coach (MCC) certification from the International Coach Federation.

Program Advisor and Core Faculty

Stephen T. Wegener, Ph.D., ABPP (Program Advisor)

Stephen Wegener is an Associate Professor and Director of Rehabilitation Psychology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also holds an appointment as Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Wegener received his doctorate from St. Louis University and completed his residency in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, where he also served on the faculty.

Tom Balles, M.Ac., L.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

A practicing acupuncturist since 1985, Tom Balles teaches in all three of Tai Sophia Institute’s master’s degree programs. He also facilitates one-on-one and group business workshops in team building, communication skills, improving work habits, conflict resolution, and leadership development. Mr. Balles is the author of Dancing with the Ten Thousand Things: Ways to Become a Healing Presence and “Cultivating a Healing Presence,” a guide.

Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)

Robert Duggan is president and co-founder of Tai Sophia Institute and a leading international voice on wellness and integrative medicine. A practicing acupuncturist since 1973, Mr. Duggan was a national leader in the development of the acupuncture profession and the emerging healing arts community.  He has served as a White House advisor, lectures throughout the United States and abroad, and is the author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts. In 2009, Duggan testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and was among 20 leading thinkers, innovators, artists, philosophers, and entertainers selected to present at the first TEDx MidAtlantic Conference. He holds a master’s degree in Human Relations and Community Studies from New York University and a master’s degree in Moral Theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary.

Katherine Johnson, Ed.D., M.A.T., PCC

Katherine Johnson is a life coach, a teacher-facilitator, and a consultant.  She holds doctorate in Professional and Organizational Development in Education from University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from George Washington University.  Dr. Johnson has had a 25-year career in the field of professional development and university teaching.  She coordinated leadership development for Howard County, Maryland public schools, and taught graduate level courses for The Johns Hopkins University and Loyola College in Maryland.  She is an adjunct faculty member at Tai Sophia Institute as well as at Anne Arundel Community College.  Johnson is a Master Certified Life Coach through Coach for Life's accredited coach trainig program, and she is credentialed by the International Coach Federation (ICF) as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Cheryl Walker is Program Manager for Tai Sophia Institute’s Health and Wellness Coaching graduate certificate programs, a faculty member in the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change program, and an independent leadership development consultant. Ms. Walker has a Master of Leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and holds a Master Certified Coach (MCC) certification from the International Coach Federation.

Featured Program Faculty and Guest Lecturers

Karl Ardo, M.F.A.

Karl Ardo is a certified Five Element teacher of Qi Gong and a National Qi Gong Association-certified Qi Gong clinical therapist, a Level III Advanced Qi Gong Instructor as well as a certified Zero Balancer®. He has studied, practiced, and taught several types of Chinese disciplines including Medical Qi Gong, meditation, and Tai Chi since 1974. In addition, Karl teaches advanced Qi Gong healing techniques and offers Zero Balancing services and individual Qi Gong sessions through his private practice.

James S. Gordon, M.D., FACP

Jim Gordon is a world-renowned expert in using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma.  He is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Dean of the Graduate School of Mind-Body Medicine at Saybook University, a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School, and recently served as Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.  Dr. Gordon has created ground-breaking programs of comprehensive mind-body healing for physicians, medical students, and other health professionals.  He and his colleagues have trained 3,000 health and mental health professionals in the U.S. and overseas to more effectively address the psychological trauma within their communities, as well as to deal with chronic illness. Dr. Gordon’s most recent book is Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression (Penguin).   He’s also the author of Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary and Conventional Therapies (with Sharon Curtin) and Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies.

Arlene Dalcin, R.D., L.D.

Arlene Dalcin is a Research Program Manager at Johns Hopkins ProHealth, a clinical trial research center for The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a registered dietitian, Ms. Dalcin’s focus is assisting groups and individuals to make healthy lifestyle changes.  Her projects incorporate health education and cognitive behavioral therapy and rely on the use of Motivational Interviewing. Ms. Dalcin is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

Marta E. Hanson, Ph.D.

Marta Hanson writes on the history of disease, Chinese epidemiology, the geographic imagination, and arts of memory in Chinese Medicine. She completed her dissertation "Inventing a Tradition in Chinese Medicine: From Universal Canon to Local Medical Knowledge in South China, The Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century" in 1997 in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her first academic position was as a historian of late imperial China in the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. She currently holds a position as an historian of East Asian medicine in the Department of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Hanson is currently finishing her book manuscript entitled The Geographic Imagination in Chinese Medicine. All of her publications are available on her Web site.

Richard Silver, M.D., M.P.H.

Richard Silver is Founder and Director of THRIVE Center for ADHD and Compehensive Mental Health Care of Central Maryland and has been delivering mental health care for over 35 years. He received both his doctorate and his psychiatric training at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  He earned a master’s degree in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.