Women's Voices in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Interviews were originally recorded in 2019.

We are celebrating women's health and the fabulous contributions that women are making in traditional Chinese medicine!

Yvonne Lau, President of Mayway

Here are interviews with 5 women who are making a difference in the world of Chinese medicine today:

Yvonne Charles, CEO of the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic
In 1989, friends of Charlotte Maxwell, including acupuncturists, doctors, and homeopaths, came together with the mission to provide complementary integrative medicine, free of charge to underserved, low-income women with cancer. They specifically wanted to treat women because of the particular social, economic, and political inequalities women face in our society and healthcare system. Today, the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic provides integrated medical services primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties, through a volunteer base of healthcare practitioners. For Over 25 Years they have provided complementary integrative cancer care and safety net services free of charge to low-income, underserved women with cancer. CMC welcomes volunteers, see their website for more details! https://www.charlottemaxwell.org/

Valerie Hobbs, L.Ac.
Valerie specializes in herbal medicine and acupuncture for women's health, including infertility. She has been a health care provider since 1979, and maintained her midwifery practice until 1995, when she became a licensed acupuncturist. Seeking additional skills, she became an EMT-Paramedic from 1983-86. She earned a diploma from the Colorado School of TCM in 1995 and a Master of Science from Southwest Acupuncture College in 2007. She later completed her Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at ACTCM in 2017. As professor at many schools and later the Director of Postgraduate Doctoral Programs at ACTCM at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she has taught and developed curriculums about women’s health. Most recently she has developed curriculum for the specialty of TCM OB/Gyn. She is currently the Director of Postgraduate Doctoral Programs at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the California Institute of Integral Studies and an Associate Professor. She has a second specialty in sports acupuncture and pain management. She treated athletes at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and was on the medical support teams for professional beach volleyball events.

Susan Johnson, L.Ac.
Susan has been studying and practicing acupuncture since 1982 and graduated from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, CA, in 1984. By then, she’d begun an internship with Dr. Miriam Lee, whose influence was life changing for Susan. Together they traveled to Hefei, China, to study bleeding techniques with Dr. Wang Su-Jen. Susan became Dr. Lee’s primary student and trained extensively with her for many years. Susan is an esteemed teacher of Master Tung’s Magic Points, a potent system of acupuncture handed down as a treasured family secret for generations and made public by Master Tung Ching Chang. Susan studied Master Tung’s Magic Points with both Dr. Lee and Dr. Wei-Chieh Young. Since 1988, Susan has maintained an acupuncture practice in Santa Cruz, California. She specializes in difficult and challenging cases, and in helping those with special needs to receive quality health care. Throughout her career Susan has relied extensively on Master Tung’s Magic Points, and she has been teaching classes on Tung’s Magic Points since 1985. Susan has lots of information on Master Tung’s Magic Points, study tools, DVDs and more on her site: https://tungspoints.com/

Sally Rappeport, L.Ac.
Sally has been practicing acupuncture and East Asian Herbal Medicine since 1998. She graduated from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York, after which she continued her education with many practitioners including Elaine Stern and Jeffrey Yuen. She is Board Certified in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology from the NCCAOM. She then trained at Lutheran Hospital from 2007 through 2008 in obstetrics, and subsequently became part of a study to reduce the number of c-sections by using acupuncture during labor. She is also a labor doula. For years she has had a particular affinity for medicinal herbs and support the movement to grow Chinese herbs organically in the U.S. She is a founding member of the Shen Nong Society, an organization formed to support the vital and committed community of practitioners of East Asian medicine who design and recommend individualized formulations of herbs and natural products for their patients. For more information about Sally please see her website: http://sallyrappeport.com/ More information about the Shen Nong Society: https://www.shennongsociety.org/

Ravyn Stanfield, Executive Director of Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB)
AWB provides disaster relief, recovery and support for building resiliency – to communities affected by disasters, human conflict, environmental devastation, poverty and social injustice. Unresolved trauma affects not only the health of individuals, but the well-being of families, communities and entire nations. Trauma often has repercussions for generations, preventing cooperation, co-existence and peace among the world’s people. AWB’s mission is to interrupt the devastating effects of trauma by reducing suffering and helping individuals and communities find greater balance and resiliency. They use community-style ear acupuncture as a powerful, simple, safe way of helping people “reset” their nervous systems to a greater state of calm, quiet and clarity. When a group experiences this relief from chaos, hope, determination and resiliency can begin to be restored, which allows communities to move forward. AWB is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. AWB welcomes your desire to get involved, whether as a volunteer or with a donation: http://www.acuwithoutborders.org/