International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association

International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association

2017 Slate of Board Candidates

BibianaBadenes, RSME - First Term Candidate

Bibiana is an influential somatic educator from Benicasim, Spain, where she oversees an innovative body-mind rehabilitation program for rheumatoid arthritis patients and stress management for all at her somatic therapy clinic, Kinesis. Trained as both a Physical Therapist, having graduated from the University of Valencia, and an Advanced Certified Rolfer and Rolfing Movement Practitioner, Bibi is an inspiring teacher with an unparalleled skillset. She is co-creator of the innovative Aquatic Myofascial Integration – an exciting aquatic therapy program, as well as Myofascial Release Trainings, both of which she teaches in Spain and internationally. Bibiana works with a wide variety of patients with many different conditions, from athletes to children tothe elderly.

A pioneer in connecting and building bridges of contact among distinct therapeutic disciplines, Bibiana searches for an inter-disciplinary dialogue through which health and wellness can be accessible to everyone.She sees a new profession emerging in Spain which include movement, touch, manual therapy and somatic education; which is whyshe has become fascinated in ISMETA. Bibianacreated and directs the Bodywisdom Spain Congress to fulfill this vision.

Her love and enthusiasm for healing work and for people is immediately evident in her whole being, in her state of the art Physiotherapy clinic, and in the vast number of programs she has created to assist people to realize their potential in body, mind, heart and spirit. She has remained at the leading edge of BodyMind treatments and education in southern Europe as well as enjoying a rich family life with her husband and 3 children.

In 2016 Bibiana trained as an Embodiment Facilitator and offers somatic coaching for business people and classroom teachers. She is an associate teacher at the University of Valencia (Spain) for the Master for Therapeutic Exercise and in the Advanced Rolf Trainings (USA).

“I believe there is an immense Body Intelligence within ourselves that should be a priority to explore and emphasized in all areas of our lives starting at an early age in schools”.

Dana Davison, RSME/T - First Term Candidate

A relative newcomer to the field of Somatic Movement, Dana brings an enthusiasm that has always been there.

Born in upstate New York in 1968, Dana studied classical ballet with Shèr Marie Farrell and Sir William Martin-Viscount before graduating from University of Texas in Russian Studies and Journalism. She co-founded and published a weekly arts magazine in Kiev, Ukraine, as well as a literary magazine and small press book imprint in New York City. She worked as a writer and designer for books and magazines, and she translated and edited movie subtitles and art exhibition catalogs.

While attending graduate school at New York University in 2010, serendipity led Dana back to her roots, to a deep, intensive study in Somatic Movement Therapy and Education with Dr. Martha Eddy. During her training in Dynamic Embodiment®, she studied Body-Mind Centering®, Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals. She experienced Continuum, Authentic Movement, Feldenkrais and Craniosacral Therapy. She worked with babies, and individuals presenting with Piriformis Syndrome and drop-foot, spinal and knee injuries, chronic migraine headaches, speech and motor impairment due to stroke, and back and hip pain. And she assisted Moving for Life® group dance classes for cancer recovery as part of a research study at NYU Langone Medical Center. A whole new world opened up.

In 2013, Dana began teaching BodyMind Dancing® and "The Body in Translation" at Dance New Amsterdam; Moving for Life at Gilda’s Club, the Jewish Community Center and NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, and yoga and meditation at New Visions Charter High School. She collaborated with Shakti Smith on several workshops exploring yoga through the endocrine system; co-founded and co-teaches Somatic Anatomy® with LissaMichalak, and a Somatic Wellness series and Developmental Movement course with Mandy Chan.

Dana participates in Global Water Dances, presents at BMCA conferences, and contributes to their journal Currents. Currently teaching at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX), Movement Research, 92nd Street Y, Kings County and Coney Island hospitals, she also offers private sessions in Brooklyn, NY. [thesomafox.com]

Melanie Gambino, RSME/T - First Term Candidate

Melanie Gambino brings over 40 years of experience in the Somatic/ Healing Arts, Performing Arts and Therapeutic and Educational fields to her work as a multidisciplinary teacher, artist and practitioner. Melanie holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase with Major Concentrations in Dance/Theater Arts/ Performance Art /Choreography, Therapeutic Education, Multicultural Traditions, Philosophy, Humanities and Social Sciences. While at Purchase Melanie developed a multidisciplinary program which today would be considered an MFA Equivalent. This program was designed to broaden and include specific specializations, concentrations and interests as well as increase Melanie’s opportunities and experiences professionally, educationally, and clinically. This program allowed her to create and participate in professional work while pursuing her education, thus providing opportunities in a variety of interrelated disciplines while completing her degree through the Conservatories of Dance and Theater.

Melanie is a Senior Continuum Teacher and spent many years studying and assisting in various settings with Emilie Conrad, (Founder of Continuum Movement). Melanie was among the first to be Authorized to teach Continuum by Emilie and was mentored directly by Emilie for almost 30 years. Melanie considers the seeding and waves of that mentorship to be alive and ever unfolding as they continue to resonate in her life and through her work. The philosophy of Continuum is the guiding principle that Melanie carries and conveys as a creative/ performing artist, teacher, choreographer, director, and somatic movement/ healing arts practitioner, educator and human being.

Melanie is on faculty at The Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase College and is the Resident Choreographer and Director of Dance and Somatic Movement Meditation, Mindfulness and Wellness Education, in the Performing Arts Department at the Harvey School in Katonah, NY. In addition to teaching in schools and Universities, Melanie also maintains a private Somatic Movement and Healing Arts practice and teaches Continuum classes and workshops in the Westchester County, Lower Hudson Valley NY, Connecticut and NYC and throughout the Tri State and New England Area. Melanie is also an active and founding member of Watermark Arts (formerly known as Continuum Movement Arts.)Melanie continues to choreograph, teach and perform in several different venues. Melanie was also one of the founding members of CMI and has taught and contributed curriculum to the Teacher Training Program therein.

Melanie served as a Hospital Chaplain and Clinical Group and Creative/ Expressive Healing Arts Therapist, CAM and Movement Therapist for over 10 years in area Hospitals, Hospice and Rehab Centers. During this period of time Melanie also served as a guest speaker/ teacher and healing practitioner contributing to CAM research and treatment plans at Columbia/NY Presbyterian Hospital, NY Medical Academy /College, Cabrini Hospital, WMC, BHC and served as Director of Pastoral Care at Blythedale Children’s Hospital. Melanie has served on CAM Therapy Boards and various Interfaith Teams, and Arts and Wellness Center Committees.

Melanie also officiates non-denominational/interfaith /multicultural and traditional services and ceremonies for various occasions and celebrations and is a guest speaker on a variety of interrelated topics. Melanie was a member of HLCC Squamish Community Service Projects bringing Healing to the First Nations People of Vancouver BC. Melanie is an OMH with a BA and MA in Natural Theology and Multi Traditional Sacred Healing from the HLCC Seminary. Melanie participates monthly as a Minister on the Interfaith Team at The Chapel at Croton Falls NY.

Melanie is passionate about teaching/ performing and choreographing and has a deep interest in exploring the inquiry of “What it means to be specious inclusive and a fully embodied, compassionate Human Being in this time and space in relationship with all life form of earth.” She is very excited about being considered to be on the Board of ISMETA as she has been an active member of ISMETA as both a RSME/T for many years. Melanie has a deep interest in bringing Somatics to the world and to Education of the next generations in more defined, recognized and coherent integrated ways.

Maria Luisa Diaz de Leon, MA, RSME/T - Second Term Candidate

Maria Luisa Diaz de Leon is a psychologist, researcher, and movement specialist living in Chiapas, Mexico.She served as Program Director and core faculty at Tamalpa Institute for ten years and is currently an adjunct faculty member.She obtained her M.A. in Engaged Humanities with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her Master’s thesis,Somaphilia: Remembering the Soul and the Aesthetics of Being, expands upon the somatic,mythological, depth psychological, and archetypal dimensions of Tamalpa Institute’s Body Part Mythologies.

Maria Luisa’sprofessional experience in psychology and the arts spans over fifteen years and includes the areas of education, private practice, and community intervention.Maria Luisa has worked with many diverse populations, most recently with Latin American immigrants in San Francisco and she has conducted research projects on addiction in her native Guadalajara, Mexico and on trauma associated with domestic violence in San Francisco, CA.

Maria Luisateaches seminars and presents in conferences internationally and has been a strong member of the ISMETA Board of Directors serving as the Chair of the Professional Standards Committee and participating in the Communication Committee taking an active role as part of the Website Development Team.

Caryn Heilman, MFA, RSME – Second Term Candidate

Caryn Heilman is an Authorized Continuum Movement teacher. She has an MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine where her graduate fellowship study focused on a somatic fluid system approach to choreography and improvisational dance performance and training supported by organic interactive media. She teaches ongoing classes in NYC and Massachusetts and virtual classes and workshops worldwide with students currently in New Zealand, Australia, Florida, Greece, Missouri, New Mexico and Canada.

Caryn is the Artistic Director of LiquidBody media, movement and dance and of Topia Arts Center, a green arts and education center in the Berkshires. She was a member of The Paul Taylor Dance Company for 10 years performing in over 50 countries and collaborated on over ten new works, directed rehearsals for several revivals and represented the United States as a cultural ambassador in Japan, China, India, Egypt, Greece, Russia, Turkey and Hungary and is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Dancemaker. With LiquidBody, she has presented work at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Dixon Place and BRIC in NYC, SOMAfest in L.A., and in Greece, Italy, Mexico and Poland.

She has served on the Professional Advisory Committee of the Dance Notation Bureau and of the Somatic Movement Arts Festival. Caryn has been an integral part of the ISMETA Executive Committee taking a lead role in the Logo and Website Development team this past year.

Kima M Kraimer, MA, RSME - Second Term Candidate

Kima M Kraimer is a graduate of University of Central Lancashire’s Dance and Somatic Wellbeing program. She maintains a private practice as an Advanced Certified Rolfer® and Rolf Movement Educator, and assist teaches at the Rolf Institute.

Combining Permaculture Design®/Ecology with Somatic Movement Education, her interest in embodiment and personal and community development manifests in teachings presented internationally, and with wide ranging populations from the arts to farmers.

She is currently in the Diamond Approach teacher- training process. Her love of nature and on-going inquiry for expanding humanity’s potential is balanced by time spent between Northern Michigan and New York City.Kima serves as Chair of the Professional and Legislative Advocacy Committee and is a member of the Board Development Committee.

Lee Nussbaum, MA, RSME - Second Term Candidate

Lee Nussbaum Fogel, is a Registered Somatic Movement Educator, Reiki Practitioner, and Interdisciplinary Artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Her company, The Visioning Body, offers group and private programs that support transformative leadership and wellbeing through creative and somatic practices.

She has fifteen years of experience teaching in a wide variety of settings including schools, yoga, dance, and arts studios, wellness centers, colleges, women’s shelters, camps, HIV/AIDS wellness organizations, and conferences.

She brings a breadth of expertise and training including an MA with Distinction in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing from the University of Central Lancashire, a BA in Dance and Visual Arts from Oberlin College, traditional training and mentorship in Reiki, Usui Shiki Ryoho, and rigorous entrepreneurial training.

Lee is the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and serves on both the Communications and the Somatic Movement in Education and the Arts Committees.

Beth Pettengill Riley, MA, RSME/T - Second Term Candidate

Beth Pettengill Riley RSME/T,MA Dance Education, Stanford University has invigorated the world of movement education through her passionate blending of Continuum, Yoga and Dance for over three decades. She studied with modern dance pioneer, Hanya Holm, and served on the dance faculty of Cabrillo College on the central coast of California for 17 years. She has developed teacher training programs in creative and somatic movement for all ages and is currently on the faculty at The Kirby School in Santa Cruz, CA as the head of the Fitness, Wellness and Human Development Dept. She was a founding member and resident of Mt. Madonna Center from 1981 – 1989, helping to develop their yoga teacher training while serving on their board for three years.

At the base of Beth’s love of movement is her nearly 40 years of experience with Continuum Movement. Since 1986 she has led classes and workshops internationally under the mentorship of Emilie Conrad, Continuum’s founder. She pioneered a graduate level course in Continuum Movement at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in 2004. She maintains a private practice in Santa Cruz, Ca helping individuals to achieve greater freedom of movement.

Beth was elected by the ISMETA Board in 2017 to serve as our President. She is also active in the Education and the Arts Committee, serving as Co-Chair, and part of the Research and Publications Work group.

Tony Rezac - Third Term Candidate

Tony Rezac has worked and learned in the field of human potential for the past 25 years. As a Rolfer, Tony has taken hundreds of people through sessions and is known to be an intuitive and effective bodyworker. He has been featured in Time Out New York magazine, Metro newspaper, and Seattle Metropolitan magazine.Tony`s love and appreciation of movement began with his seven years of aikido and continued with his study of Feldenkrais, Roth, Continuum, and contemporary dance.

In addition to his work in the body/mind field, he is the author of "Body and Soul: The Essential Handbook for Men” and has led men’s personal development work for the past thirteen years, both for The Mankind Project and his own work. Currently, Tony does business development for Team Come True with his wife Lisa.Team Come True focuses on creating stronger teams through better emotional intelligence and authenticcommunication.

Tony serves ISMETA as our Treasurer, has been an integral part of the Logo and Website Development Team and has taken a leadership position focusing on Board Culture for the Board Development Committee.

Page 1 of 7