AFMTE Welcomes New Educator Certification Program Manager

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE) announced the addition of Deanna Sylvester as Project Manager for their Educator Certification Program. As project manager, Sylvester will provide support in planning, executing, and implementing the AFMTE educator certification program.

Sylvester brings 16 years of leadership experience in massage therapy education. In addition to being a licensed massage therapist since 2004, she has been an entry-level and continuing education instructor, education director, faculty trainer, curriculum developer, and campus president and regional director in massage therapy training programs. She has led several programs through initial and renewal accreditation processes, and she has coordinated and completed application to the Federal Department of Education for Title IV Financial Aid programs. Sylvester has also developed educational materials for business, ethics, professionalism, and communication topics and has been a passionate and dedicated member of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education since 2012.

“I am elated at the opportunity to help make this credential available to individuals who wish to exemplify the highest excellence as educators of therapeutic massage and bodywork. This is a true milestone for our profession,” Sylvester says.

The Educator Certification Program is currently a voluntary portfolio review process through which educators can demonstrate they have achieved proficiency in the Core Competencies for Massage Therapy Teachers. The portfolio review process allows experienced teachers to be “grandmothered” into certification without having to go through a formal teacher training process. The Program will begin accepting applications for portfolio review in April 2019.

The AFMTE invites all educators to review the Guide for Assessing Massage and Bodywork Educators, which was developed to help educators assess themselves, and to review the Core Competencies. Experienced educators who feel they meet the competencies should begin portfolio preparations now and be ready to apply as soon as applications are open. Be one of the very first educators to be declared a Certified Educator of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.