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Our Team

Learn more about our knowledgeable and experienced team members.

The faculty and staff at LHAA are second to none! The experienced, supportive school administration team are here to help you pursue your passion and succeed. Our experienced, passionate faculty are here to educate, guide and coach you through an incredible journey of professional and personal growth. In our massage program our experienced, dedicated faculty combined have over 200 years as licensed massage therapists and over 175 years teaching massage therapy. The Yoga faculty members have been teaching Yoga for over 20 years. That level of experience brings quality and a depth of learning you can count on. Join us in learning from the best and rest assured you are receiving a quality education.

Meet Our Staff

Bill Booker
Executive Director, has owned the school since December 2003. Prior to owning the school Mr. Booker had several successful careers in the information technology industry and the finance industry. A graduate from George Washington University, with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Masters Degree in Business Administration, Mr. Booker has a very diverse and well rounded background in business management.
Debra Booker
Co-Owner of LHAA (with her husband Bill), Debra grew up in her family’s health food store and has always been interested in health and wellness, exercise and nutrition. She discovered her love for movement and strength in high school, enjoying weight lifting, aerobics, kickboxing, dance and running. Bill and Debra moved to Lexington from Boulder, CO and bought LHAA in 2003. She discovered yoga while in Boulder and it deepened her understanding of the complete mind/body connection. Yoga has brought her such transformation both physically, mentally, and spiritually, and she is continually inspired to share this incredible practice with others.
Robyn Hardy, LMT
MLD-C Clinic Education Director, is responsible for guiding the students through their internship experience. She also helps mentor the LMT’s and helps them navigate treatments for their clients. She graduated from LHAA Massage Program in 2001 and has practiced massage and craniosacral therapy since then. In 2008 Robyn took a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training to deepen her study of how the human body moves. She started training in Lymphatic Therapy in 2012 and is a Certified Manual Lymph Therapist. She continues her study of advanced courses in both modalities. Robyn Loves to see the “connection” that happens for students when they are able to integrate what they learn in the classroom to the treatment of clients in the clinic. As a therapist she loves to see clients gain perspective of the mind/body connection and help their nervous system reset itself from fight or flight (stress) to rest and digest (relaxation).
Cynthia Petitt
Bookkeeper
Responsible for applying all charges, payments and financial aid received to student accounts. Cynthia has worked in the area of Bookkeeping for over 30 years and has been at LHAA for 4 years. Also, she participates in handling account receivables and auditing school financial systems. Cynthia enjoys working with students on tuition, so they can be successful and keep engaged with their program of study!
Carol Rajchel

Admissions & Financial Aid Manager, comes from a background of Administration. She started with Lexington Healing Arts Academy in 2005 as a receptionist in our clinic. She moved to Office Manager in 2006 and then to Director of Admissions/Financial Aid in 2008 to 2013. She relocated to Nashville in 2013 and was employed by Moltow State Community College where she worked in the Admission/Records office and the Business Office. She then returned to the Lexington area in 2018. Carol was elected as a Tennessee Promise Mentor from 2014-2018. Carol has received training in FERPA, Identity Theft Prevention, GLBA Information Security, Discrimination and Harassment Prevention for Higher Education, Title VI, Title IV Administration, and IT Security.

In her spare time, Carol enjoys hiking and spending time with her family and friends. Carol has two sons and lives in Nicholasville, KY.

Kate Rodgers, LMT
Assistant Manager of LHAA massage Clinic
Responsible for ensuring that our clinic is running properly to meet the needs of our customers along with the needs of our therapists. Kate also helps educate students in their clinic internship of the massage program. Kate has 14 years experience in management and has been a licensed massage therapist since 2016. She loves being apart of the LHAA community and enjoys watching students thrive in the clinic setting.
Patricia Seaman
Registrar, has a background in Archives and Records Management with a Masters degree in Library and Information Science. She has over 15 years’ experience in higher education administration and records management. She is originally from Long Island, New York. She lives with her husband and their two dogs in Lexington. Patricia enjoys hiking, camping, and reading.
Meadow Smith
Career and Social Media Coordinator. Meadow grew an appreciation for LHAA in 2008, while hearing exclamations from her little sister who was attending the massage program, such as: “this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done” and “these are the best people I’ve ever met”. In 2021 Meadow started as a receptionist for LHAA. Meadow uses her music industry liaison experience to provide clients/students/staff with star quality attention and has led to her position as the schools social media and career services coordinator. In this role Meadow is responsible for developing relations with students, graduates, and employers and helping LHAA graduates succeed.
Zack Sneed

Zackery Sneed, Assistant Registrar. Zack is pursuing his bachelor’s in science degree in psychology at the University of Kentucky. He is new to the LHAA team & is excited to learn more about massage therapy and yoga. Zack’s hobbies consist of gaming, anime, tennis, working out and going to his weekly bowling league!

Meet Our Educators

Ann Boone

Ann-Boone

Ann has been practicing massage therapy and bodywork since 1979. After many years of practice as a self-taught therapist, Ann continued her education in a more traditional setting at Lexington HealingArts Academy, graduating in 2003. Her advanced training includes Neuromuscular/Trigger Point Therapies, Lymph Drainage (MLD-C), Visceral and Neural Manipulation, Craniosacral Therapy, Pre- and Postnatal Sports Massage, and Active Isolated Stretching. Ann has over 3,500 hours of experience in physical therapy settings (Outpatient Orthopedic, Acute Care, Sports Medicine), as well as having served as a Team Massage Therapist for the University of Kentucky track team (co-ed) and the men’s basketball team for 11 years.
 
As a member of the AMTA, she has served as co-founder/co-chair of the AMTA-KY Sports Massage Team, delegate to the National Convention for Kentucky, and Kentucky State Government Relations Chair since 2018. She is also the newly elected (2023) President of the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists (NAMTPT). She has a private practice in Lexington, Kentucky, and currently teaches Kinesiology and Ethics at LHAA in the Massage Therapy Training Program.
Matt Branstetter

Matt was a member of the first class to graduate from Lexington Healing Arts. He has been practicing massage professionally for 20 years and is an instructor of Massage Fundamentals. He also graduated from the first Yoga Teacher Training offered by LHAA and now teaches yoga philosophy and meditation in this program. A long-time student of meditation and the martial arts, Matt has taught classes in Yoga and Tai Chi at the college level and is a certified qigong Instructor through Rising Lotus Qigong. He assists Master Ding Mingye in designing and teaching the Tai Chi workshops at LHAA. He has explored perspectives on the relationship between the body, healing and spirituality from a variety of cultures and is a professor of World Religions and Ethics at Midway University. Matt brings a passion for teaching and a love for the somatic arts to his various roles at LHAA.

Shane Burry
shane-burryShane is a 2013 graduate of the Lexington Healing Arts Academy Personal Fitness Training program and he graduated from the Dayton School of Medical Massage in 2019. Shane has been helping others with their wellness goals for over 20 years. Using both personal training and massage therapy, Shane helps clients with strength, mobility, pain reduction, and mindset management.
Joseph Cinquina

Joe Cinquina is a licensed and Board Certified massage therapist and a graduate of the Lexington Healing Arts Academy, where he has been a faculty member since 2010. He teaches Fundamentals of Massage 1 and 2, Career Development, and Thought Patterns for a Successful Career, and he also assists in Kinesiology. Joe is certified in Integrated Manual Therapy and Orthopedic Massage by James Waslaski’s Center For Pain Management, and he co-owns Soular Massage Pain Management with his wife, Cynthia. As a hot stone specialist, he teaches continuing education courses in hot stone massage at LHAA and has also taught deep tissue therapeutic massage for the KY chapter of the AMTA.

Aside from massage, Joe also has a second career as a professional freelance musician and church music director. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition and a Master’s Degree in Music Theory from the University of South Florida. He is the author of “The Practical Fundamentals of Music Theory.” Joe says one of his great passions is for teaching, whether it be massage or music.

Beth Connors-Manke, E-RYT 200
beth-connors-2Beth has been practicing yoga since 2000 and graduated from LHAA’s first 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2009. An Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) with Yoga Alliance, Beth began teaching studio classes in January 2010 and has taught continuously since then. Beth’s teaching specialties include back health, the subtle body, yoga philosophy, ethics, and Ayurveda.

Beth joined the LHAA teaching team for the yoga teacher training in 2017, taking on the role of co-lead trainer. Since that time, Beth has helped update the curriculum to make it more integrated and learner-focused. During the Covid pandemic, she was responsible for adapting the curriculum when the program had to shift temporarily to instruction over Zoom.

Beth’s pedagogical experience extends beyond the studio. She has a doctorate in English and has taught college-level writing, rhetoric, public speaking, and literature since 2001. In that capacity, she has trained and mentored new teachers for more than 15 years.

Rebecca Elliott

Rebecca Elliott Headshot
Rebecca Elliott, a native of Lexington, KY, relocated to Georgetown six years ago with her husband, Dave. They share their home with two children, Kaitlyn and Chase, both residing in Lexington. Kaitlyn recently blessed Rebecca with the title of GiGi upon the arrival of sweet Ryleigh Kate, while Chase pursued a finance degree in UK as a senior. Married for nearly eight years, Rebecca and Dave also share their lives with two dogs, Bailey and Lady, four cats – Boopie, Fred, Little Miss, and Ittles – and a 60-gallon fish tank.

With over 25 years in the home mortgage industry, Rebecca acknowledges the stress inherent in her career, seeking solace and balance through yoga. She finds respite on her deck and patio, enjoys family time, indulges in music, and relishes bourbon distillery tours.

Rebecca’s journey toward becoming a yoga instructor commenced in early 2022. Despite sporadic yoga practice in her 30s and 40s, she had yet to fully appreciate its transformative potential. Motivated by a health journey initiated in 2020, resulting in a significant weight loss, Rebecca still felt physically and mentally unfulfilled. Encouraged by the positive impact of yoga and meditation classes at The Studio, especially in improving her sleep quality and alleviating aches and pains, Rebecca embraced yoga wholeheartedly. Recognizing the opportunity to become an instructor as a chance to deepen her practice and share its benefits, she embarked on an enlightening journey. Now equipped with a profound understanding of yoga’s history, its diverse forms, and its holistic benefits, Rebecca is eager to impart the gift of yoga to her students, aspiring to foster wellness in both body and mind.

Justin Gibson

Justin Gibson received his master’s degree in Biomechanics and his Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Kentucky and has been a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association since 2012. During this time, he has worked with stroke survivors, multiple sclerosis patients, back pain sufferers, post-op knee replacements, and a host of other factors needing quality training and guidance to let people live and perform at their best. He has taught science courses for LHAA graduates of the Fitness and Nutrition Training Program, and now teaches for both the Massage Therapy and Fitness & Nutrition Coaching programs. He has competed in both bodybuilding and powerlifting and has a fondness for racket sports despite his sore lack of coordination.

Gregory Goodson
gregory-goodson-2Gregory is an intuitive, holistic bodyworker. His energy is relaxed, humorous and focused, which comes out in his teaching. He can work with people of all ages, experience, backgrounds, and body types in his practice and in his teaching.

Gregory has over twenty-eight years in the bodywork industry and is a true student of many modalities. He is a seasoned teacher and practitioner of Shiatsu, CranioSacral Therapy, Reiki, Polarity, Tai Chi Chih, Lomi Ha’a Mauli Ola (traditional Hawaiian body work). His passion is in education and is evidenced by his life’s trail. The trail includes: Co-creating Crystal Mountain Apprenticeship in the Healing Arts in Albuquerque, NM and Lexington Healing Arts Academy in Lexington, KY.

For 18 years, Gregory has provided classroom instruction in Anatomy and Physiology and in CranioSacral Therapy, specific therapeutic treatments (e.g., whiplash, sciatica), active and passive stretching techniques, and integrating various modalities into a customized treatment. For 30 years he delivered movement classes as a certified teacher in Tai Chi Chih, Yoga, and Qi Gong and this enable students to reach centering, flexibility, improved health. Currently he is a practitioner and trainer of Lomi Ha’a Mauli Ola and Cranial Sacral Therapy.

Robyn Hardy

Robyn began her career with Lexington Healing Arts Academy in May of 2000 as an Office and Clinic Manager. In her time with LHAA, Robyn has served in many capacities. She graduated from the Massage program in 2001 and the Yoga program in 2008. In 2003 she added Fundamentals Instructor and Ethics Instructor to her duties. She is now the Clinical Director. Robyn has a full-time private practice in Lexington. Her practice includes Craniosacral and Lymphatic modalities.

Scott Jordan

Scott Jordan has been practicing massage since 1999, after graduating from the Flint School of Therapeutic Massage. Having worked in spa and clinical settings he enjoys creating a blend of the two in order to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of his clients. In 2016 he graduated from the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher training at Om Bodies yoga studio in Mount Pleasant, MI. He ran a successful massage and yoga business in his home town of Saginaw, MI before moving to Lexington in 2018. He currently runs a small startup studio with plans to expand in early 2021. His other passions include caring for his dog and cat, as well as growing and breeding orchids.

Jen Patterson
Jen-PattersonAs an athlete from a young age, Jen developed a love and passion for exercise and movement. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology – Exercise Science from the University of Kentucky, she completed a massage therapy training program and has been a practicing massage therapist since 2002. Her first experience with yoga was a prenatal yoga class when she was expecting her first child and she fell in love with the calmness and balance that yoga offered for the body and mind. In the fall of 2020, she decided to further her study of the body and attended a YTT-200 with Amanda McMaine at the Essence of Yoga. Jen is passionate about teaching body alignment and mindful movement through yoga and breathwork. She developed a specialized, one-of-a-kind class at the YMCA of Central Kentucky teaching Yoga for Osteoporosis, patterning the class after the work and research of Dr. Loren Fishman’s on yoga vs osteoporosis.

Jen previously taught on faculty at LHAA in the massage therapy program for 10 years prior to the covid pandemic and left to focus on homeschooling her boys. She is very excited to come back home to LHAA as a yoga instructor. When she is not teaching yoga and seeing clients in her private massage practice, you can find her out on hiking trails around KY, SUP boarding and kayaking in the summers, spending time with her family, and pursuing learning of all kinds related to health, nutrition and movement. Her goal is to be teaching and practicing yoga until 100!

Connie Payne
connie-payne-2Connie has been teaching yoga classes since 2013. Her classes ranged from all levels, intermediate levels, yoga with weights, yoga for strength/flexibility and yoga for the pelvic floor. She has assisted the LHAA Yoga Teacher Training program since 2018. Connie has been a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of yoga since the 90’s when she was seeking relief from chronic back and hip pain. She found that yoga helped strengthen and heal her body, and it offered a calming, centering experience. Connie completed her 200 RYT at Lexington Healing Arts and her 300 RYT in Rishikesh, India.
Teresa Rogers

​Teresa has more than 30 years’ experience as a health care professional and educator. She began her career as a registered nurse in 1980. After 12 years clinical practice, Teresa began teaching Health Sciences. She completed her bachelor’s degree, with an emphasis in Vocational Education, at Morehead State University, a master’s degree in Special Education at Campbellsville University before earnings a Rank I.

Additionally, Teresa is a Registered Yoga Teacher and is certified by both Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She completed her 200-hour certification at Evansville Yoga Center and her 300-hour certification at the Yoga Teacher’s School of Excellence in Jackson, Tennessee. Teresa currently teaches at Falling Springs in Versailles, KY.

Joyce Shirazi

Joyce was an instructor at LHAA when it was first founded in 1999. She received her massage training from the New Hampshire Institute for Therapeutic Arts. Joyce has advanced training in Reflexology and Neuromuscular massage. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with students. Joyce teaches Kinesiology.

Tomme Sturm BS, LMT

With two decades of dedicated service in the US Army, including graduation from the US Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science and his command of a company of infantry and tanks in Mosul, Iraq, Tomme learned to persevere through physical and emotional challenges, often pushing beyond his limits. It was during his early years as a young private, struggling to adapt, that he discovered the therapeutic benefits of massage, and throughout his global military journey, from South Korea to Saudi Arabia, he continued to embrace regular massage as a means to maintain his physical well-being, recover from injuries, and cope with the rigors of military life. In 2020, he graduated from Lexington Healing Arts Academy, and his transition to becoming a massage therapist revealed the profound capacity of massage to help him overcome the debilitating effects of PTSD and C-PTSD in his own life. Tomme now operates his own practice, Alive and Well Bodywork, specializing in deep tissue and myofascial release techniques. He began teaching at LHAA in 2024.

Lauren Ward

Lauren is a Licensed Massage Therapist and a 4th generation organic baker. She’s been involved with the Healing arts and holistic therapies since 2002 and has taught holistic modalities since 2003. She is a Certified Teacher for the Vedic Conservatory, as well as a Certified Reiki and Yoga instructor. Lauren offers a variety of therapeutic modalities including Movement Re-Education, Visceral Manipulation, Visionary Cranial Sacral therapy, Vedic Thai Yoga Massage, Acupressure & a variety of Eastern modalities, Zero-Balancing, and more. Since childhood, Lauren has wanted to help people feel better, and through her own challenges sought alternatives to traditional allopathic practices and traditions. Being told she had a “gift” with her hands, she went to massage school. That experience opened many doors and began a wonderful journey for her own inner healing and ability to help others. Anything that helped her in her own healing process, she went and got more training. “I am honored to be in service,” says Lauren.

Jason Washburn

jason-washburnJason graduated from the Louisville School of Massage in 2009 and started practicing massage in 2010. Since then he has continued his education and attended Eastern Kentucky University, graduating in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Science, and then again in 2018 with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. He has continued his massage career throughout the entirety of this time, completing extensive training in a variety of modalities. He currently specializes in injury rehabilitation and oncology. He is now a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and began teaching at Lexington Healing Arts Academy in 2022.

Dindy Yokel
Dindy-Yodel-HeadshotA yoga practitioner for more than 25 years, Dindy Yokel deepened her practice by studying at the Azul Yoga Institute of Boca Raton – 200-hour RYT training, graduating in May 2016 and at Yoga Journey, completing 500 hours in September 2019. She specializes in Yin, Hatha, Vinyasa, Gentle and Restorative styles incorporating mindful meditation, Reiki, chakra balancing, and yoga philosophy into her teaching. Ms. Yokel has received trauma-sensitive yoga and mindfulness certification from Connected Warriors and is certified in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness by David Treleaven. She recently received her CMT-100 in meditation from the World Meditation Alliance.
Jeff Zutaut

jeff-zutautJeff graduated from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy in 2015. During his professional career as a massage therapist, Jeff has worked in a variety of employment settings. Jeff has managed his own practice and he currently works for Massage Envy where he was the therapist of the year in 2021. Jeff brings his wealth of his experiences enthusiastically to our Career and Business class. Jeff was born and raised in southern West Virginia. Residing in Lexington now he shares his home with his 400 house plants!

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Lexington Healing Arts Academy
272 Southland Drive
Lexington, KY 40503

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