About Us
The New York State Acupuncture Coalition, Inc. is a registered 501(c)6 consisting of the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) professional community, practitioners, educational institutions, professional organizations, and students along with patients and supporters of the profession.
Our purposes:
- To sponsor statutes and regulations that advance education, self-regulation and credentialing of acupuncture practitioners.
- To inform practitioners, patients, and general public of acupuncture in health, ethics and general industry information.
- To foster cooperation within the acupuncture community in order to raise standards of ethics, education and professional competency.
Executive Committee:
Kathy Taromina, LAc, MS
President
Ms. Taromina is the Program Director of the Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine where she holds the rank of Assistant Professor. She received her Bachelor degree from New York University and her Master’s in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College, NY. She has completed post-graduate work at Nanchang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China. Ms. Taromina previously served as a faculty member and Department Chair of Clinical Practice at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Prior to her current position, Ms. Taromina served as a full time faculty member and the Academic Coordinator for the GPOM program. She is a founding partner of Hudson Healing Arts in Hoboken, NJ and maintains a private practice in NYC. She also currently serves as an acupuncturist for the Integrative Therapies Program for Children with Cancer at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. She is the co-author of various publications and is actively engaged in research activities related to treating pediatric oncology patients with Chinese medicine.
Joseph Alban, LAc, MS
Vice-president
Joseph Alban is a New York State Licensed Acupuncturist and Diplomate in Oriental Medicine. After graduating from Touro College’s Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine, he completed a residency at the Hunan University’s First Hospital of Traditional Chinese medicine in the city of Changsha.
He has published papers on acupuncture and Chinese medicine in journals such as American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Acupuncture, and Acupuncture Today. Currently he is running an Acupuncture practice in Manhattan. Joseph is also a Research Acupuncturist at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He is also serving as Fundraising Director for NYSAC.
Michael J. Jabbour, LAc, MS
Treasurer
Mr. Jabbour earned his masters degree from Touro College Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine (GPOM) in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. During this time he has done extensive work in Chinese medical text translation.
Since 1999, Michael has also actively been practicing as a business strategy consultant & project manager doing data warehousing, systems engineering and process analysis. He is an active international speaker on several circuits speaking on issues pertaining to technology, politics, and Chinese medicine.
Currently he maintains a private practice in acupuncture and herbs in midtown Manhattan and he sits on the board of the Acupuncture Society of New York.
Gina Lepore, LAc, MS, MBA
Secretary
Ms. Lepore, a native of Southern Italy, currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York. She earned her B.S. degree in Computer Science from St. John’s University in 1982, an M.S. in marketing from Adelphi University in 1985, and an M.B.A. in Finance and Management from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania in a 1992. From 1982 until 1997, Ms. Lepore worked in various Fortune 500 organizations in sales, marketing and finance. In 1999, she was licensed in San Diego County as a massage therapist and worked for the Helen Willis Group in La Jolla. She completed her Master of Science of Traditional Oriental Medicine program at the New York and San Diego campuses of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2000. In 2001, she founded her private practice Meridian Herbs and Acupuncture in Brooklyn, New York.
Ms. Lepore holds New York, New Jersey and California State licenses in Acupuncture. Gina received her NCCAOM diplomate in Oriental Medicine (Acupuncture, Herbs and Biomedicine). She served as faculty and Dean of Students at American International Acupuncture Institute until 2003. In May 2003, she joined the team at Pacific College and is involved in volunteer activities in her community and in the political and professional issues affecting the practice of Acupuncture in New York State and on the national level. She is currently a doctoral fellow at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego.
Legal Advisor:
Michael Taromina, Esq. has an extensive background representing and educating Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine practitioners, institutions, organizations and students. As the Chair of NCCAOM’s Professional Ethics & Disciplinary Committee he co-drafted the Code of Ethics and Grounds for Discipline and oversees the adjudication of misconduct cases from all over the country. As legal counsel to New York State Acupuncture Coalition (NYSAC) he has served an integral role in the drafting and lobbying effort to amend the New York State Acupuncture statute. He is also a public board member for AAAOM, legal advisor to AAAOM’s Herbal Medicine Committee, NCCAOM’s Regulatory Affairs Task Force, TCM World Foundation, Acupuncture Society of New York (ASNY) and Chinese Medical Science Foundation (CMSF). Michael earned his undergraduate degree from Fordham University and his juris doctor from the City University of New York Law School.
Legislation Advisor:
Mr. Ergil is a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and a medical anthropologist. He is a practicing acupuncturist (licensed in New York and California), and herbalist since 1990. He was co-chair of the Overview Panel for the Workshop on Acupuncture sponsored by NIH in 1994 and presented on Acupuncture Licensure, Training, and Certification in the United States at the NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture in 1997.
Mr. Ergil was a past president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, San Francisco (1990-92) and was the founding Dean of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York Campus (1992-1998). Additionally, he served as the Director of Research and Chair of the Department of Oriental Medicine at the New York College for Wholistic Health Education & Research. As a representative to the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 1991 to 2000, he chaired the Research Information Committee and the Core Curriculum Committee. Mr. Ergil established the Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine at Touro College (2001-2006), where he held the position of Director. He is a full time faculty member at the New York Chiropractic College and maintains a private practice in upstate New York.
Leadership Council:
Ms. Murphy currently serves as the Dean of the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, New York. She earned her B.S. degree in nutritional science from Cornell University in 1983, a B.S. degree in nursing from Binghamton University in 1993, and is a 1988 graduate of the Florida Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She completed a postgraduate certificate program in Chinese Herbology at Tri-State College of Acupuncture. Early in her acupuncture career, Ms. Murphy worked with the Miami Metro-Dade Drug Detoxification Program and served as head acupuncturist on the first major-funded acupuncture research project by the National Institute for Drug Abuse. Ms. Murphy also served for five years on the Board of Directors of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), including serving as chairperson of the board. In addition to maintaining a private acupuncture and Oriental medicine practice since 1988, her background includes work as a nutritional educator and as a hospital nurse.
Ms. Golden holds a B.A. for undergraduate work from Columbia University. She is a 1993 graduate of the Tri-State College of Acupuncture and has served on the faculty of the College for eight years in addition to participation with the administrative team in the late 1990’s. Ms. Golden studied Chinese herbal medicine with Jeffrey Yuen and holds NCCAOM certification in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. Ms. Golden maintains a private acupuncture practice, Golden Needle Acupuncture, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In addition, she has worked for a decade for the Village Center for Care: AIDS Day Treatment Program and recently received an award of distinction for her services to the population of PLWA. She has provided over site for the Cornell University Midtown Center Addiction Abuse Clinic acupuncture program. Ms. Golden served on the Acupuncture Society of New York Board of Directors for ten years; she was the President for five. She received the AAOM National Organization award for “Best Acupuncturist of the Year” in 2000. The honor was given “for the quality and integrity of her commitment to the field of Oriental medicine.”
Michelle Helfner, LMT, LAc, MS
Ms. Helfner graduated from Touro College where she earned her Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. In the State of New York she is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Licensed Massage Therepist. Ms. Helfner is a Diplomate of Oriental Medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Ms. Helfner has worked in the natural healthcare profession since 2000. Prior to studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ms. Helfner attended the Swedish Institute in New York to study both Swedish massage and Shiatsu, where she received an Associates degree in Applied Sciences. Ms. Helfner also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University, Tyler School of Art and an Associates degree in Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. In addition to her career in the health field, Ms. Helfner is a seasoned database researcher and investigator with experience in litigation support, due diligence and fraud detection working on various levels of international and domestic investigations.
AAAOM Liaison:
Regina Walsh, LAc.
ASNY Liaison:
Steven Schram, DC, PhD, LAc, MS
Dr. Steven Schram is a native New Yorker. His educational background includes Gettysburg College where he was earned a B.A. in Chemistry in 1973 and the University of Maryland in College Park where he received his Ph.D. in 1979. Following a 1 year post-doctoral appointment at the University of GA, Dr. Schram took a job directing chiropractic research at Life University in Marietta Georgia, and graduated from there in 1983 with a doctorate in Chiropractic. Dr. Schram began his private practice in Manhattan the following year.
In 1993, Dr. Schram began formal study of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He was licensed by NY State in 1996 and holds Diplomate Status with the NCCAOM. In 2006and 2007, Dr. Schram returned to PCOM, this time to study herbology. Diplomate status in herbology is pending.
His community service includes being Vice-President of the NY State Chiropractic Association – Manhattan District since 2006 and is currently serving as President of the Acupuncture Society of NY.
Consultants
Michael Gaeta holds New York State licenses in acupuncture, nutrition and massage therapy. He received his Master’s degree from the New York College of Health Professions, where he was a faculty member for ten years. In 1990, Michael founded the Hands-On Health Wholistic HealthCare Centers, a successful group practice with locations in Manhattan, Kew Gardens and Huntington, New York. He and his team use acupuncture, nutrition, bodywork therapy and herbal medicine to help people heal, grow and evolve. Michael is past president of the Acupuncture Society of New York; he served on the ASNY Board from 1998 to 2004. He is a certified instructor and state representative of the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA). Michael writes for local and national publications, and presents seminars nationally on connecting spirit to business success (Love, Serve and Succeed®), clinical nutrition and herbal therapy, medical ethics and Chinese medicine. He co-founded Qualiherb East, the Eastern US distributor for Qualiherb. Michael is also a pianist and composer. His passion is to give, love and serve through teaching, writing, and natural therapies. He enjoys life with his wife Deanna and son Joseph.
Research Team:
Michelle Helfner
Michael Jabbour
Michael Pingicer
Sarah E. Rivkin
Jen Gamache
Lev Vyshedsky
Deborah Valentin
Wanda Simmons
Carol Braverman
Joseph Alban