ABMP School Issues Forum

Whitney Lowe

Whitney Lowe is a recognized authority on pain and injury treatment with massage therapy. His contributions to the massage field are wide-ranging and include professional publications, teaching, clinical work, consulting, and participation in national boards and committees. He is the author of Orthopedic Assessment in Massage Therapy and Orthopedic Massage: Theory and Technique, which are used in training programs and schools nationally and internationally. He has also been a contributing author to several other books. In 1994, he founded the Orthopedic Massage Education & Research Institute (OMERI) to provide massage therapists the advanced education they would need for treating orthopedic soft-tissue disorders. An educational entrepreneur who stays at the forefront of massage education and development, Lowe’s innovative Online Orthopedic Massage Program is unique and unparalleled in the profession. His primary goals are the success of his students and moving the profession forward.

Les Sweeney

ABMP President Les Sweeney, NCTM, started at ABMP in 1994. His responsibilities have been wide-ranging, including oversight of massage-school relationships, student-member recruitment, government relations, and data processing and database management. He served as ABMP executive vice president from 1999 to March 2006, when he was named president. Prior to joining ABMP, Les gained association management experience at the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) in Alexandria, Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia, he earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado, Denver, and completed his massage therapy training at The Holistic Learning Center in Evergreen, Colorado. He became nationally certified in therapeutic massage in 2006. Les and his family live in Evergreen.

Anne Williams

Anne is a licensed massage therapist, esthetician, certified reflexologist, clinical hypnotherapist, registered counselor, aromatherapist, spa consultant, author, and educator. Currently, Anne is the director of education for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, where she develops support materials and resources for massage students, instructors, schools, and professional members.

Before joining ABMP, Anne worked as an instructor with a special focus on curriculum and program implementation for Ashmead College. In 2004, she became Ashmead’s director of education and ran the education program at the Tacoma campus for three years. While at ABMP, Anne served on the Federation of State Massage Therapy Board’s test writing committee and developed ABMP’s Student Success Program. She also wrote the curriculum and implemented the Instructors on the Front Lines massage teacher training program for ABMP and acted as project coordinator and editor for a joint book project between ABMP and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) titled Teaching Massage: Foundation Principles in Adult Education for Massage Program Instructors, which was published in October 2008. Anne also published Spa Bodywork: A Guide for Massage Therapists with LWW in 2006 and is at work on another massage textbook scheduled for publication in February 2012.

Jeff Mann

Jeff is the president of Cortiva Institute—Pennsylvania and New Jersey Wall campus, and has been with the school since 1987. He has been involved with the growth of Cortiva in almost every conceivable way. From massage instructor, to curriculum development, to student clinic development, to school director, Jeff has been integral in all facets of running the school. Jeff also currently serves as president over two growing campuses, overseeing all daily operations. Jeff is a graduate of The Pennsylvania School of Muscle Therapy, continued his education at the Pfrimmer Institute in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and is a certified personal trainer. Jeff has vast experience and education in public speaking and team building and management. He currently conducts weekly community public speaking classes and is an avid cyclist and triathlete.

Brian Halterman

Brian has practiced yoga for 21 years and taught it for two years. His main yoga practices are in the Kundalini and Ashtanga lineages. He has studied primarily with Gurmukh Khalsa and Richard Freeman. In addition, Brian has studied Buddhism for 18 years and was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for three years. He engaged in a year-long solitary meditation retreat in Big Sur, California. Brian combines his contemplative background, a lifetime of movement practices, and love of music to create fun, transformative yoga classes.