STAFF BIOGRAPHIES

Ambika Wauters

is a classical homeopath and developer of the homeopathic color and sound remedies. She trained in the UK, and is a graduate of the School of Homeopathic Medicine, North Yorkshire. She is a former member of the Society of Homeopaths, UK, and has practiced as a homeopathic educational consultant in America since 1997. She is director of the Institute of Life Energy Medicine and principal of The School of Spiritual Homeopathy. She is the author of 16 books on homeopathy, healing, the realm of angels and color. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Peter Chappell - Homeopath and Innovator

After a successful research engineering career, in his late 20s Peter began practicing natural holistic medicine and homeopathy in London. There he later taught homeopathy including live master classes, which became the origins of homeopathic practices in about 20 countries.

At the turn of the millennium, at 60 years old, Peter decided to change course. He gave up his practice and traveled to Africa, recognizing the need to focus on a holistic approach to treating AIDS. He worked in Ethiopia treating hundreds of patients with AIDS, malaria and other diseases, survivors of genocide in Rwanda, and most recently hurricane survivors in Haiti.

Peter’s treatments for these diseases included a resonance approach, which was quite successful, because, the vibrations calmed down the freeze, flight and fight survival instincts in these patients’ reptilian brains. Peter realized that these same survival instincts can create problems for people in areas of life, such as athletics and simply thriving. He became excited about applying his new technology to western problems, such as the autism epidemic. Peter has been conducting intensive research, and had a breakthrough last year developing Personalized Performance Downloads (PPDs) for those with autism spectrum disorders.

Each participant in the Heart of Peace program will receive a personalized weekly PPD to listen to. So far the feedback on using PPDs for autism is promising. “He is brighter, stuttering much less, connecting the dots in ways that make sense to us,” commented one parent.

Peter has written a book, titled Emotional Healing with Homeopathy, and started a foundation to further this work: www.arhf.nl. More about PPDs at www.greaterpeople.com. To subscribe to Peter’s blog, go to www.peterchappell.com

Nancy G. Peterson

Nancy G. Peterson is a Certified Educational Consultant, Instructor and Chemical Dependency Counselor. She has worked with the Educational Kinesiology Foundation since 1984. Nancy has consulted with major corporations, hospitals and school systems, and government agencies throughout the United States.

Her extensive background includes developing wellness programs for health care entities and mental health facilities. She has been an educator in the public and private sector for over 26 years. She was raised in a family that had pursued alternative ways of helping her brother who had challenges. This led her to working with this population.

Nancy has been trained by Dr. Harald Blomberg, an MD from Stockholm, Sweden. He is the originator of Rhythmic Movement Training. This methodology deals with labels such as ADD, ADHD, Autism, Asperbergers, Cerebral Palsy and other challenges that people face. She also has been trained by Dr. Paul Dennison of Educational Kinesiology Foundation, Sventlana Mastgova and various other specialists in mind and body technologies. Nancy is the author of The Mechanics of Stress and Learning.

Dan Booth Cohen

Dr. Dan Booth Cohen is a practitioner of a family healing approach known as Systemic Family Constellations. He brings 30 years of experience as a successful business owner, personal counselor, author, and peace activist to each individual and family he helps.

He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Saybrook University, an MBA from Boston University and a B.A. from Connecticut College. He is certified as a Trainer and Constellator by the German Association for Systemic Constellations, the world's largest professional association in this field. Dan has practiced Constellations since 2002. He trained directly with Bert Hellinger and many leading European trainers through the Hellinger Institute, USA and Hunter Beaumont’s International Training Intensives in Southern Germany. He is author of I Carry Your Heart in My Heart: Family Constellations in Prison and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters about the use of Constellations as a healing tool for the most severe psychological wounds and traumas.

In 2009, Dr. Cohen led a 3-day seminar at the site of a former camp for Jewish Holocaust survivors near Munich, Germany. He now regularly travels to Germany, the birthplace of Constellations, where he specializes in healing the after-effects of the Nazi era for both Germans and Jews. Dan, his wife KK, and their daughters, Anna and Rosalie, live in Needham, Massachusetts.

Valerie deLar, M.A. CCC-SLP

Valerie deLar is a speech-language pathologist and neurotherapist with a wide background in sensory and motor treatment approaches. Valerie likes to describe the optimal therapeutic strategy as using an “inside-out” approach. Frustrated by traditional teaching methods, which, while they may be effective with more typical learners, didn’t seem to address the fundamental difficulties of the more significantly challenged individuals that she was called upon to help, Valerie has explored and developed competence in a number of approaches through which she strives to affect change at the level of the central nervous system.

Valerie has worked closely with Diane Lewis who developed the Affect-Based Language Curriculum (ABLC) and has studied oral-motor approaches with Diane Chapman-Barr, Debra Beckman, Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, and the PROMPT Institute. She blends approaches from occupational therapy and sensory-motor integration along with related activities ranging from yoga to Brain Gym. She has advanced training in hippotherapy – where she learned to use horses to help her clients integrate their postural reflexes and sensory-motor systems. Throughout all of these approaches is the knowledge and understanding that there is a physiological basis that is necessary for all learning and development.

Most recently she has added EEG biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback to her “bag of treatment tools”. Neurofeedback uses sensors which pick up EEG brain wave activity and translate this information to tones and visual displays. When this information is perceived, the brain is able to recognize the pattern of it’s own activity. Research has shown that our brains, given relevant and appropriate feedback, are able to “rewire” themselves and to “learn” new patterns of activity, especially when these patterns correspond to, and allow for, more optimal functioning.

This exciting technology has evolved over the past 30 years and new research is demonstrating its effectiveness with many populations. Originally found to be effective in reducing the severity and frequency of seizure activity in cats, neurofeedback is now used with brain-based disorders such as attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, autism, and brain injury, as well as emotional challenges such as anxiety and depression.

Amanda Madala

holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona and an MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University. She has worked with children with special needs for 8 years, specializing in teaching language, academics, and living skills to children on the autism spectrum. Currently she works on the Tohono O'Odham reservation counseling youth and family. In her free time she enjoys hiking, singing, creating art, and doing yoga.

Renee Kreager

Renee Kreager is the owner of a local Tucson restaurant where she creates healthy and delicious recipes, including gluten-free. She is also a parent who enjoys connecting with children through food. Through her understanding that the child is waiting to be discovered, Renee’s mission is to impart a reverence for food that nourishes the body, partnered with creating an environment that allows the child to unfold and thrive. Renee is the chef for the Heart of Peace Program.

Amy Thomas

Amy is a licensed optometrist specializing in vision development and rehabilitation. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Hawaii. She then graduated from Pacific University College of Optometry in Forest Grove, Oregon with a Doctorate of Optometry. Since graduation, she has taken the Optometric Extension Program Curriculum to increase her knowledge base in Basic Visual Dysfunctions, Amblyopia and Strabismus, Vision-Related Vision Problems, and Vision after Traumatic Brain Injury. She currently owns and operates the Cimarron Family Vision Center, which is a vision-therapy-only practice in Tucson.