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“The Meaning of Life is to Find Your Gift. The Purpose of Life is to Give it Away.”
– Pablo Picasso
Renée
Renée began studying alternative medicine options when her daughter became ill over ten years ago. When traditional medicine could not provide answers about what was happening, nutritional changes and acupuncture began offering great help to alleviate her daughter’s symptoms. Slowly, Renée began deeply studying the body’s natural desire to heal itself, and she began seeking out ways to enter the profession of acupuncture.
Lo and behold, an acupuncture school in Northern Virginia earned its accreditation in acupuncture shortly before Renée decided to begin working toward her acupuncture licensure. She earned her Master of Science in Acupuncture and Professional Doctorate at the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine in 2021 and is also a Licensed Acupuncturist. While being in school, she has also sought out specialty training in Auricular Medicine.
In addition, Renée earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. She grew up in Texas and has lived in Missouri, California, Oklahoma, and Virginia.
She loves working with kids and adults and is passionate about the Community Acupuncture business model to expand access to alternative healing.
Before she began spending all her free time on school, Renée enjoyed teaching and making art, sewing, creating new recipes in the kitchen, rock climbing, and camping. She has been married for 20+ years, has one daughter, and tutors two kiddos full-time. She also is a Girl Scout Advisor to a Cadette troop. Renée is grateful for her pets: a 30-gallon fish tank full of fish that her husband maintains! Renee works primarily on Mondays and Thurdays.
Charlotte
Before Charlotte’s journey into acupuncture, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Technical Theater from George Washington University. Realizing she didn’t love the work-life balance of that career path, she began studying website design and desktop publishing. A chance encounter with an acupuncture advocate led Charlotte to pursue a degree in acupuncture. She earned her Master of Science in Acupuncture from the Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts (now the Maryland University of Integrative Health) in Columbia, MD, in 2003. In 2004, she became Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture (Diplomate, Ac.) by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is a Licensed Acupuncturist.
Charlotte loves learning and attending seminars and has spent hours upon hours in further study. She has completed advanced studies in life coaching through the Coaches Training Institute, Dr. Tan’s Balancing method under master teacher Tyme Gigliotti, Cranial Sacral certification through the Upledger Institute, Level I Reiki certification, and stress-informed care under Alaine Duncan.
For two years, Charlotte held the contract for group acupuncture under the Integrative Health and Wellness Program at the Washington, DC, Veterans Affairs Medical Center. For the past few years, her primary learning passions have been stress-informed care, trauma recovery, and Auricular Medicine. She loves integrating all her learning into her patients’ care in order to achieve very personalized appointments.
When she is not treating patients, Charlotte spends time with her daughter, husband, and two cats. She recently began practicing Krav Maga, and she has been learning how to mosaic. She also enjoys walking outdoors, kayaking, and road trips! If life had no boundaries, you would find Charlotte traveling the world and eating every cuisine she could find. Char works mainly on Tuesday and Thursdays with some availability on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Ralph
Ralph grew up on Long Island and graduated from West Point with a degree in engineering. After serving in the Army full-time for many years, he switched to serve in the Reserves while he grew his career in private industry. He’s been stationed across the globe for tours of duty. Toward the end of his career, he began serving on the board of directors for a veteran’s charity, Operation Homefront, at the facility near Walter Reed.
As a Veteran, Ralph was struck by wanting to do more for Veterans and their families than offer housing help. He had been receiving acupuncture for years to treat a back injury and began exploring how acupuncture and herbs could help soldiers and their families manage the stress of deployment and injuries.
Ralph started his journey into Oriental Medicine at Maryland University of Integrative Health, and then he switched to Virginia University of Integrative Medicine in 2018. He is currently pursuing his Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine concurrently with his Professional Doctorate in Acupuncture. During his retirement, Ralph has chosen to stay off the golf course and step into the classroom because of a deep passion to serve. While he is passionate about supporting active-duty service people and Veterans, he also enjoys treating civilian adults struggling with all conditions.
When Ralph has his head out of his books, he enjoys traveling America to spend time with family. As a father of four grown daughters and a brother to five, he has plenty of opportunities to go visit family members! He also travels across Canada and America for seminars specializing in scalp acupuncture, auricular medicine, and trauma/stress-informed care. He is currently doing a two-year study on Somatic Experience work.
Amber
We are thrilled to announce that Amber Gold, L.A.c., Dipl. O.M. has joined the Feeling Better Together team!! She is a skilled acupuncturist and herbalist who has been studying acupuncture and Chinese Herbs for over 5 years.
Amber earned her Professional Doctorate in Oriental Medicine from the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine and is a life-long learner of all modalities that help the body heal and stay healthy. She is passionate about listening to patients before making a treatment plan so that every appointment meets the needs of individual patients.
Amber is seeing patients on Saturdays and the occasional Wednesday.
Robert
Robert is our behind-the-scenes business partner who makes it possible for the rest of us to spend more time treating patients. In his day job, he works as an Aviation Meteorologist at a private consulting firm. He studied at Texas A&M where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology. He earned his MBA at Oklahoma City University. During his time in business, he has felt a strong pull to work more to help others and to make a difference in people’s lives.
He hopes to transition into patient care and patient support gradually, as the business grows and he moves closer to retirement age. In the meantime, he is supporting our practitioners and learning about the business practices of an alternative care clinic. He passionately believes that there are multiple paths to healthcare, having benefitted greatly from receiving alternative care options when traditional Western medicine did not have options to help him feel better.
If Robert is not in the office, he is probably looking up at the sky, working on puzzles, building something, spending time with his family, or exercising. He loves camping and being away from the daily grind of regular life. He rarely shies away from a great road trip!
Feeling Better Together 