Verve. Original etching by Lithuanian artist Valdas Misevicius.

I deeply believe that acupuncture has the power to transform lives.

After college I worked in homeless shelters with women and children for nearly a decade. It was work I dearly loved but my efforts to relieve suffering in the lives of the people I cared for felt grossly inadequate. I craved a tool - something that would make more of a profound and lasting impact. So when I landed in an acupuncturist’s office after years of failed medical intervention for chronic digestive issues and finally felt relief, I knew I had found my tool.

As soon as I was licensed I began volunteering at the Charlotte Maxwell Integrative Cancer Clinic – an incredible organization that offers free acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine, and other support services to low income women with cancer. My first patient there had been living for nine very long years with severe back pain due to cancer in her spine. She had never had acupuncture before and was skeptical it would make a difference. After her treatment she stood up and started d a n c i n g – saying she couldn’t remember the last time she had experienced such relief.

That was a moment I will never forget. A moment that entirely validated my commitment to practice this medicine.

Again and again I see the transformative effects that acupuncture has on people (body, mind and spirit) and feel overwhelmingly grateful to have found my tool.