Who’s Who at COMTA
The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) consists of twelve elected Commissioners, including two public representatives. COMTA staff offices are located at 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015.
Melissa Wade, COMTA Chair (Administrator) – Term ends 2012
Melissa has been employed with the Steiner Education Group since 1989, and is currently Vice President of Compliance. In this position, she oversees compliance, regulations, licensure and governmental relations for Florida College of Natural Health, Baltimore School of Massage, Virginia School of Massage, Utah College of Massage Therapy Family of Schools, and Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Melissa is a Team Leader with ACCSCT and has conducted visits since 1995; she has also served as a member of the standing Appeal Panel. She has been a Board Member of Florida Association of Post-Secondary Schools and Colleges (FAPSC), since 1998, served as President in 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. She has been a member of the Rules Committee for the State of Florida Commission for Independent Education since 2006. First elected to the Commission in 2001 and re-elected in 2006, Melissa holds a BS in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing from Appalachian State University.
Bernadette Della Bitta Nicholson, COMTA Vice Chair (Educator) – Term ends 2012
A massage educator for the last eighteen years, and Director of the COMTA accredited Associate Degree Program in Massage Therapy at the Springfield Technical Community College since 1998, Bernadette has been responsible for administration, curriculum development, faculty supervision of the program, as well as teaching. She has served as a COMTA On-Site Team Member and Team Leader. She holds a Masters Degree in Health and Wellness promotion from Springfield College is a certified yoga instructor and maintains a private bodywork practice in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Erika Baern, Commissioner (Educator) – Term ends 2010
Erika is the Director of Education at East-West College of the Healing Arts. In this role, Erika has primary oversight for the faculty, students and curriculum at the school. She has focused on developing structures, policies, procedures and curriculum that incorporate regulations while maintaining the warmth and humanity of the massage profession. Erika also works with massage instructors throughout the country on learner-centered education. She has been a massage therapist since 1990, and is an experienced On-Site Team Member for COMTA and ACCET.
Wayne Blankenship, M.A., Commissioner (Practitioner) - Term ends 2010
Wayne serves as a massage therapist and meditation teacher at Miraval Life in Balance Resort (Catalina, AZ). He has also worked individually with many elite athletes, including two Olympic gold medalists. He is also a faculty member of Cortiva-Tuscon. In past years, he has created education campaigns for San Francisco Aids Foundation; presented at international health education conferences (Paris, Berlin), and served as program Director at Zen Hospice (San Francisco).
Gregory Y. Harris, Commissioner (General Public) - Term ends 2014
Greg is a member of the Business Practice Group of Lewis and Roca LLP. He practices primarily in the areas of administrative and regulatory law and government relations. Before joining Lewis and Roca, Greg worked as the Executive Assistant Director for the Arizona Department of Insurance, serving as a policy advisor to the state’s insurance director. Previously, he served as an Assistant Arizona Attorney General where he represented many regulatory agencies and as a trial attorney for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C. He has served a public member on both the Arizona State Board of Nursing and the Arizona State Board of Athletic Trainers and was elected to serve for three years as a member of the board of directors of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Greg earned his undergraduate degree in political science in 1980 and his law degree in 1983, both from Arizona State University.
Joanna Sechuck-Tringali, Commissioner (Aesthetics Practitioner) – Term ends 2016
Joanna Sechuck-Tringali is COMTA’s first commissioner representing aestheticians. She has completed over 3000 hours of massage, aesthetics and spa education, holds New York licenses in massage therapy and aesthetics, is Nationally Certified in Massage Therapy & Bodywork, and earned the coveted level of distinction in aesthetics from the International Therapy Exam Council in London. Since 1990, her career has included work as a therapist and manager in spas and doctor’s offices, teaching massage and skin care courses, and administration of her own accredited massage school. Joanna currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, and divides her time between private practice, teaching and consulting.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from New York University.
Alan J. Kite, Commissioner (Practitioner) - Term ends 2014
Alan is currently the Spa Manager at The Spa at Red Rock Resort. He has served as the Director of Education for the Utah College of Massage Therapy, Family of Schools and currently teaches the Massage Core Program, Injury Massage and Client Centered Bodywork at the school’s Las Vegas campus. He is nationally certified by NCBTMB, and has over 2000 hours of education in massage and bodywork. Alan holds additional certifications in Reflexology, Thai Massage and Reiki and received a BA degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Terry Saltsman, Commissioner (General Public) - Term ends 2010
A specialist in digital security and cyberspace crime, Terry is an engineer who has served as an adjunct professor at Tennessee State University and presented white papers on computer crime to the Pentagon and other high-profile laboratories. He is currently director of information technology assurance and chief information officer at Crosslin, Vaden & Associates. Terry holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, a master’s from the University of Tennessee and a doctorate from the Union Institute.
Wendy Joan Rigby, Commissioner (International Representative) - Term ends 2014
Wendy is a British Columbia, Canada trained massage therapist. She was in practice for 23 years. She currently serves as a Committee Chair for the BC licensing body for Registered Massage Therapists, CMTBC. Her portfolio includes being responsible for Quality Assurance, Continuing Education and Accreditation of the provinces four Massage Colleges. Wendy has extensive experience with Accreditation, which is mandatory in BC under the provincial legislation of the Health Professions Act. In the past, she has been a teacher of clinical skills for systemic and orthopedic conditions, a board examiner, a board member and a government liaison representative. Now retired from private practice, she continues to work in the profession in an administrative capacity.
Deirdre Strunk, Commissioner (Employer) - Term ends 2014
Deirdre is currently the Director of Spa and Salon Operations at South Point Hotel Casino & Spa located in Las Vegas, Nevada. She graduated from the Nevada School of Massage Therapy. She was an instructor and a classroom manager at the Nevada School of Massage Therapy for four years. She is nationally certified by NCBTMB, and has over 1500 hours of education in massage and bodywork. She has opened six spas since getting into the business, five in Las Vegas and one in San Antonio, Texas.
Lisa Helbig, Commissioner (Administrator)-Term ends 2016
Lisa Helbig is both a School Director and a Massage Therapist. She is the founder of The Institute for Therapeutic Massage in New Jersey. She has written a book for Running Press Book Publishers on Hot Stone Massage and has developed several educational videos. What started out as a love for massage and a dream has grown into six locations and five different programs including a dual certification program for Massage Therapy and Personal Training, and the first COMTA Accredited Oncology Massage Program. She has locations in three different hospitals. In the past 15 years she has spear headed her schools through the accreditation processes of both ACCSCT and COMTA. Lisa has added programs and new locations as well as added and maintained Title IV. In 2007, she was a volunteer with NCBTMB for Job Task Analysis and attended their meetings in both Chicago and San Antonio. In 2008, she was appointed Commissioner for the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. In 2009, she became a subject matter expert for the exam development committee for the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.
Position Open, Commissioner (Professional Educator)-Term ends 2012
© 2008 Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. All rights reserved.