Pratiti Fullerton
Pratiti’s strong interest in complementary healing led her to study massage and bodywork in 1984. In ten years of doing deep-tissue massage she accumulated some long-standing repetitive strain injuries, and she was surprised to notice that they began to heal immediately after her first Bowenwork session. Excited to learn that gentle touch could stimulate such profound and rapid healing, she studied Bowenwork in 1996, began introducing her clients to the work right away, weaning them off massage and soon deciding to retire from doing massage therapy altogether. Since then she has focused her practice exclusively on Bowenwork. When she started out in San Francisco, Pratiti was the only Bowenwork practitioner within a one- to two-hour radius; the same thing happened when she moved to Massachusetts, and again when she moved to Oregon. The BTAA authorized Pratiti in 2007 as a Registered Bowenwork Instructor. Her prior experience in training, management and software development were put to good use in overseeing the upgrade of BAUSA’s website. She currently serves as BAUSA’s President while splitting her time between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. She has just applied to become an Assessing Instructor.
Sandra Gustafson
In 1978, Sandra discovered that the South African Air Force didn’t accept women for training as pilots, so her hopes of becoming a commercial pilot were dashed. In 1982, she found another way to support her love of travel, by training as a Registered Nurse, and settled in Australia, where she earned diplomas in Natural Therapies and Bowenwork and began teaching for the BTAA in 1994. She continued her studies of other conventional and complementary health care modalities, in support of her clients’ attaining optimal wellness: as a Registered Nurse in emergency and intensive care medicine, and as a Naturopath and Holistic Healthcare Consultant. Since moving to Northern California in 1999, Sandra has earned a university certificate in Women’s Health Studies and a Bachelor of Nursing Science, and is currently working towards a Masters degree in Health Sciences at the University of New England, Australia. In consulting with clients, she works primarily with Bowenwork, nutrition, herbal medicine and homoeopathy. Sandra was one of the first Assessing Instructors in the U.S. (2002), has been the Treasurer of BAUSA since its founding in 2005, served as President from 2006 – 2008, and was on the Bowtech Executive Committee from 2008 – 2010. Sandra will soon begin teaching her continuing education course, “Bowenwork for Women’s Wellness.” In 1995, she attained her pilot’s license, and discovered that whilst flying is fun and exhilarating, she really did not want to be a commercial pilot!
Vicki Mechner
In 1990 while paying a hospital visit, Vicki became strongly motivated to find ways to keep herself and her family out of hospital. She explored many healing modalities before choosing a three-year training program in Rubenfeld Synergy (a form of body psychotherapy). Two years into that training, Vicki heard of Bowenwork for the first time and tried it. She was amazed that her chronic tennis elbow had healed completely after only two sessions. Recognizing that Bowenwork was exactly the kind of healing art she had been searching for, Vicki began Bowenwork training. She was certified in both modalities in 1996 and practiced them in parallel (not mixing the two) until she moved from New York to Virginia in 2000. She had observed that Bowenwork benefited many clients suffering from anxiety, depression and panic attacks, and decided to limit her practice to Bowenwork only. She was authorized to teach for BTAA in 2001 and was invited to speak at the Australian Bowtech Conference in Adelaide in 2002 on the topic of collaborative research. She returned to Australia several times for additional study and served as an advisor to the Tom Bowen Legacy Trust Fund, an Australian charity that benefits children with disabilities. Vicki’s private practice and most of her classes are in Springfield, Virginia, outside Washington DC. She is currently Secretary of BAUSA’s Board of Directors and Liaison to the AABP.
Nancee Rogers
Nancee Rogers came from a strong, varied medical background (medical school, high-risk coordinator for an ob-gyn office, and 17 years as a nursing home administrator). Wishing to leave the corporate world and work directly with clients, she became a massage therapist in 2000 and began teaching anatomy/physiology at a local college. When she read about Bowenwork in 2003, she decided to learn it, even without having experienced it. She was amazed by the impact it had on her, stopped doing massage and made Bowenwork the center of her practice and professional work. She became a Professional Bowenwork Practitioner in 2004, and a Registered Bowenwork Instructor in 2008. After taking Mind Body Bowen, Nancee began exploring energy medicine and subtle anatomy, an interest that continues to this day. She maintains a private Bowenwork practice in her home in Cincinnati and teaches Bowenwork throughout the U.S. where interest for a class is shown. She also offers online anatomy and physiology classes specifically designed for Bowenwork practitioners and students seeking certification. Nancee recently conducted her first Module 7, after Ossie approved her as an Assessing Instructor. Her Category 2 continuing education class, “Appreciating Bowenwork in the Physical Body,” has been approved by BTAA. She is the current Vice Chairman of BAUSA’s Board of Directors.