2025 MPATH Cohort
The 2025 Inaugural MPATH Cohort
The 2015 MPATH Cohort hails from all across the United States with massage therapists from Utah, California, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Washington, DC. They bring a combination of clinical, academic, and life experience that will make a uniquely valuable contribution to the course community and to the people they serve.
In addition to their classroom coursework, these dedicated and talented massage therapists will be working with palliative care programs in their own communities from May to October to complete a six-month externship in addition to traveling to Washington, DC to spend six days with Healwell instructors learning about in-hospital palliative care in both the adult and pediatric settings.
Mandy Bartolovich, CPMT, LMT is the first pediatric oncology massage therapist to serve at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland,
Ohio in the Angie Fowler AYA Cancer Institute. She is employed through UH Connor Whole Health, and is licensed through the State Medical Board of Ohio. Her current massage specialties aim to support pediatric, adolescent, and young adult oncology and hematology patients in the inpatient and outpatient settings. She certified in pediatric massage therapy in 2017 with a focus on pediatric oncology massage since 2019. She previously worked with pediatric patients as a medical assistant.
Throughout her career, Mandy has provided care across the lifespan from newborn to adult. Mandy incorporates different modalities into each massage session to assist her patients to achieve optimal outcomes.
Jaime is on the Board of Directors for the American Massage Therapy Association and has been a massage therapist for 25 years. He taught
for 10 years at a massage school and dabbled as a continuing education provider.
His passion for the profession and working with underserved populations led him to start a non-profit to treat long-term, acute care veterans and their families. Through additional support, his team worked with domestic violence survivors and also deployed to a number of disaster relief sites.
When not volunteering or being an advocate for the profession Jaime will jump at the chance to travel to new places to soak in local architecture, culture and eats.
Jordanna has spent over a decade immersing herself in the study and practice of manual therapy and somatic practices. She is happiest when moving her body—
let’s dance!—or supporting others in finding greater physical freedom and vitality. Borrowing from renowned anatomist Gil Hedley, she considers herself a lifelong somanaut, dedicated to exploring the body's inner landscape.
Her passion for this work led her to pursue a Master of Public Health with a focus on health equity and education. She believes massage therapy should be part of the standard of care in allopathic settings, ensuring all individuals have access to healing touch.
After completing a year-long fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco's Osher Center in hospital-based massage therapy, she learned to support patients in palliative care, oncology, neurology, and pediatric settings. She currently serves patients at MarinHealth's Integrative Wellness Center in Larkspur, California.
When not dancing with her hands, she is an outdoor enthusiast, enjoying the lush landscapes of Northern California.
Jeresa Hammonds is an LMT from Lexington, Kentucky. She has been licensed since 2011 and has been a Hospital Based Massage Therapist
at the University of Kentucky for five years. Jeresa has completed training in Oncology, HBMT, Children HBMT and Manual Lymphatic Drainage.
The moment she started working with patients Jeresa knew she had found her calling. She loves building a rapport and advocating for patients, even if it’s just in small ways.
Although, it’s a struggle at times Jeresa enjoys speaking and educating people about Hospital Based Massage Therapy and how it’s essential to the patient WHOLE care. She looks forward to seeing massage grow outside of the spa world and more in the medical and hospital-based world. Jeresa is eager to learn more ways to integrate massage into hospital and can’t wait for the moment that massage is a regular part of medical patient care.
Nicole currently serves on an interdisciplinary team providing home-based palliative care and support to medically-complex children,
adolescents, and young adults living in the Bay Area, CA.
Nicole’s young patients inspire her introverted self to do extroverted things during their sessions, like engaging in an off-key sing-a-long of Disney hits, or throwing down some awkward dance moves. While her intent is to cultivate meaningful connection with the families that she serves, it’s pretty rare for a day to go by in which she hasn’t had some fun making a complete fool out of herself.
Nicole completed her foundational massage therapy training with the Chicago School of Massage Therapy in 2006. She is the product of over 1000 hours of advanced continuing education, which includes Hospital-Based Massage Therapy programs at Healwell, the University of California-San Francisco, and the Mayo Clinic.
Nicole has made her home in the beautifully steep, foggy hills of San Francisco, and would consider herself lucky if she never had to see snow again in her lifetime.
Alexa Matthews has been a massage therapist since 2008 and worked in a variety of settings: hospice massage in patients’ homes, seated massage at
a senior center, private practice, corporate seated massage, and massage in a hospital setting with patients, caregivers and staff. Until recently Alexa worked with inpatients as part of a Palliative Care Team at a local hospital and with outpatients in the Infusion Center and Radiation Oncology in the hospital’s Cancer Center. She continues working at the hospital now providing seated massage to staff and has her own practice. Alexa has training in Oncology massage, Manual Lymph Drainage, Geriatric Massage, and Comfort Touch.
Alexa knew in massage school that she wanted to work with caregivers after seeing families struggle when their loved ones have debilitating illness and limitations. She’d always been interested in gerontology and studied it as an undergrad when a program was first beginning at her school. 30 years later she still has a passion for working with older people and people with life limiting illness and their families. The work Alexa does is what she loves, and she is honored that patients and families allow her work with them and share in their lives.
Kelley Millhoan has been a dedicated massage therapist for over 25 years, with a special focus on oncology massage for the past 13 years.
Her deep interest in supporting individuals facing cancer led her to become a Community Health Worker (CHW), broadening her understanding of the challenges faced by the populations she serves. She is passionate about continually learning and growing, both to support her profession and to challenge the status quo.
When she isn’t working, Kelley enjoys gardening, baking, and caring for her extensive collection of houseplants.
Ben Smith has been a massage therapist since 2014. He is passionate about using bodywork in an integrative and clinical capacity, helping folks navigate pain, stress, and any other goals.
Since 2017, Ben has worked in the oncology world at Huntsman Cancer Institute Wellness and Integrative Health Center, where his days are always an adventure. He juggles everything from direct patient care (inpatient and outpatient) to research, staff chair massage, scheduling, and even functions as an unofficial IT project manager for wellness practitioners.
Ben's approach is influenced by his training in Hendrickson Method, The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), and polyvagal theory.
Outside the clinic, he is a relatively new parent, which is very educational and rewarding. When Ben finds some free time he tries to get outside with his family and hit the trails (hiking,Button biking, nordic skiing).
Joan has been a massage therapist since 2005. Over the course of her career, she has found the most engagement and work satisfaction
by using her communication skills to identify, explore and meet patient goals as much as possible, and in helping patients to improve awareness in their own bodies. Since transitioning from orthopedic to oncology massage, she has paid additional attention to developing her self-awareness and maintaining a focus on being of service, and continues to dedicate herself to beginning each session with empathy and presence.
Sierra Velasquez is a hospital-based massage therapist at UCLA Health's Reagan and Santa Monica Medical Centers, where she provides
compassionate, therapeutic touch to patients navigating complex medical journeys. In 2022, after launching a nurse appreciation massage program and working with thousands of patients (yes, she kept count!), Sierra was honored with the Integrative Medicine Employee of the Year Award.
Sierra’s passion for serving medically fragile populations began through her volunteer work with The Heart Touch Project in Santa Monica. Prior to that, during her time in Chiang Mai, Thailand, she studied traditional Thai massage under the late Ajarn Pichest Boonthumme, a revered Buddhist healer known for his wisdom: “Think less, feel more.” Pichest’s emphasis on creativity and individualized treatment continues to inspire Sierra’s approach to patient care today.
Blending Eastern philosophies with Western modalities, Sierra holds certifications such as Vodder Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) and actively seeks to expand her expertise. Her commitment to growth and connection led her to Healwell, where she engages in advanced trainings and collaborates with a community of like-minded therapists. Through her advocacy and the support of the Healwell community, Sierra successfully influenced updates to UCLA’s massage therapy policies, enabling more critically ill patients to access the benefits of therapeutic touch.
Sierra’s ultimate mission is to advocate for the integration of massage therapists as essential members of healthcare teams. She is deeply grateful for the support she has found through Healwell and remains dedicated to advancing the role of massage therapy in improving patient outcomes.
Katie is a massage therapist, magic worker, dog & cat friend and fiction lover. She has been a massage therapist since 2005, where she
works her magic and cares for those around her.
Whenever lucky enough to actually have some free time, Katie enjoys being outdoors, spending time with friends and family, playing video games, and embracing whatever chaos comes her way.
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