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The Teaching Experts

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Charles has been a practicing massage therapist since 1991, and teaching massage therapy since 1993. After working and teaching at the Louisville School of Massage from 1991-1998, he decided to open his own school and massage clinic in order to raise the standard of massage education to a higher level. In 1998, he opened Advanced Massage Therapeutics. His passion includes: Orthopedic massage, Myofascial massage and Sports massage. In 2008, he was voted “Best massage therapist” by Kentucky Health and Fitness magazine.
 
Since 1995, Charles has hosted and organized classes and workshops from educators on the national level. Since 2000, he has been teaching continuing education on a variety of topics striving to teach other massage therapists what his school offers.
 
Charles has worked with Olympic athletes, professional and college athletes of all major sports. He was the full time massage therapist for University of Louisville Men’s Basketball from 2001-2010. He continues to work with different sports and athletes on a part time basis at University of Louisville. He works with different touring groups such as Cirque du Soleil as they travel through Louisville. He had the great pleasure of working with Muhammad Ali for two years before he passed away. He is the only therapist/teacher in Kentucky to serve on the Examination Development Committee for the MBLEx massage exam. Writing, reviewing and developing questions for the national board exam, Charles is not only preparing students for the exam, but for a successful career in massage therapy. By teaching one of every class each week, Charles stays involved with every student throughout the one-year process.

Dr. Tracy Barnes has been the Anatomy & Physiology Teacher at AMT since 2001. She believes anyone can learn anatomy especially if they’re having fun doing it. She also teaches an Assessment class and a Nutrition for the Body Worker course as a guest lecturer in other AMT courses. She has taught various continuing education courses at AMT including Fun with Muscle Testing, Fun with Ergonomics and Fun with Anatomy and the Kinesio Taping method. In addition, she teaches nationally and internationally for both Palmer College of Chiropractic and the Kinesio Taping Association.

She is a 1992 graduate of Palmer-West Chiropractic College in San Jose, CA and holds a specialty degree in pediatrics and pregnancy through Palmer College and the International Chiropractic Association. She maintains a full-time Chiropractic practice in Louisville where she treats children, families, and athletes using a variety of hands-on, soft tissue and instrument assisted techniques. She is an avid paddler, advocate for parks and outdoor recreation and a volunteer camp counselor at camps for kids with cancer and their siblings.

Amanda graduated from Advanced Massage Therapeutics in 2007, prior to that she practiced occupational therapy for 12 years first at Frazier Rehab, then in the public-school setting. She began assisting in class at AMT after graduation then began instructing in 2010. She had gained additional training in Active Isolated Stretching, Kinesiotaping and Craniosacral Therapy.

Her private massage practice focuses on helping clients with chronic pain and injuries. She has been the massage therapist for the University of Louisville cross country and track and field programs since 2008 as well as the University’s softball program since 2011 giving her a strong background in injury assessment.

In 2015 she obtained a certification as a yoga instructor which has further enhanced her knowledge of the musculoskeletal system.

Graduating in the top of her class in 2006, Emily began her career in her family-owned practice just northeast of Louisville. She is a member of the Louisville Massage Team for the Ironman Triathlon in addition to her work with the various men’s and women’s sports teams at the University of Louisville. Her education includes classes and workshops taken from the leading educators in the country in sports massage and injury assessment, giving her a strong background in both. She began instructing at Advanced Massage Therapeutics in 2008.

Christina has been a practicing massage therapist since 2013. Her experience as a student at Advanced Massage Therapy lead her to assisting classes and ultimately becoming an instructor in 2017. Christina continues to educate herself and applying that knowledge to her teaching. She is also a certified Reiki Master, Kinesio taping, Baby’s First Massage and trained in Craniosacral Therapy. She has worked with U of L womens’ soccer, lacrosse and volleyball teams as well as Cirque du Soliel performers. In addition to teaching, she also has an established practice operating in Louisville and Shepherdsville. Christina asserts, “Massage is more than just a job, it’s a passion for me”

Valerie Meyers graduated from AMT in 2000. As an LMT, she enjoys the problem-solving of using rehabilitative massage therapy techniques to help clients overcome pain and reach physical potential.

With experience teaching in both Jefferson and Oldham County schools, as well as instructing in various adult education settings, Valerie began her career as a massage therapy instructor at AMT in 2002. She strives to make learning more relevant and engaging by using creative pedagogy. Her fun and enthusiastic teaching style has been compared to Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus.

Outside of massage, Valerie is an experiential omnivore who loves playing traditional jazz clarinet, making pottery, fly fishing, social dancing, motorcycling, and traveling as much as possible.

Donna Jo has been teaching since 1982, working in a variety of areas of education ranging from preschool through adult education. She is a graduate of AMT. Some of her additional training includes myofascial release, stretching, and a variety of modalities of energy work techniques. She has been a reiki practioner since 1991 and has been facilitating reiki classes since 1998. She has been practicing massage since 1998.