Tracy Vroom, Executive Director and Instructor 
Tracy serves as the executive director for RMSAAM in addition to teaching all levels of the canine and equine massage program and her personal programs: canine and equine craniosacral therapy, herbalism, essential oils, and shamanic healing. She founded her company The CranioConnection 20 years ago. She specializes in providing healing solutions for her animal clients. A big part is that process is to support their guardians by working with them to figure out the root causes of physical, emotional, and behavioral challenges. She has a broad range of certifications including massage, trigger point therapy, the Tellington TTouch Method, herbalism, essential oils, Reiki, shamanic healing, biomechanics, animal communication, and kinesiotape.  She is a forever student and is always adding to her toolbox. Tracy has shared her stories as a contributing author in books and magazines and done many radio and tv interviews over the years. Animals and nature have been her most profound teachers. She loves sharing her knowledge with her clients and students to help make a difference in the world and is passionate about the welfare of all living beings on the planet.

Amy Cho, Canine Instructor

Amy is a RMSAAM graduate and works as a certified canine massage therapist, energy healer, and homeopathic practitioner.  Amy’s homeopathic business, Homeopathic Healing Colorado, has been providing healing and balance to humans since 2009.  Doggy OM is her business that serves animals with massage, energy healing, and homeopathic energy medicine.

Healing and helping all species holistically is what drives Amy everyday; her passion is her purpose.

Through years of formal education, training, independent study, and continually seeking more, Amy has learned that everything is connected & nature provides what we need to heal. Energy is in everything.  If something is out of balance in one area of our lives it often carries over to all areas of our lives affecting us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Bringing balance, compassion, understanding, and love into every situation creates harmony and frees us from dis-ease.

When Amy is not working to heal others she enjoys spending time with her dogs and human family. Hiking, lifting weights, camping, traveling, learning more about neuroscience, energy medicine, and alternative medicine are highlights of Amy’s free time. She is also a dog foster and works with dogs in rescues/shelters that need medical care, providing holistic/homeopathic alternatives whenever possible.

Lynn Fagerstrom, Canine Instructor 

Lynn is a Senior Canine Massage Therapist and a graduate of RMSAAM. She joined the staff as an instructor last year. Lynn has studied Canine Trigger Point, Rolfing, TTouch, and essential oils. She is constantly learning and increasing her ability to connect with the animals she works with.

A college graduate with a degree in Management Information systems, she quickly realized the office environment was not for her and spent 2 decades in the airline industry which although it enabled her to travel the world, was not fulfilling for her spirit. She then began silversmithing and designs and fabricates jewelry, creating pieces using pet and human ashes. Lynn’s journey into this field of Holistic therapy began unknowingly.

Lynn has fostered and adopted several dogs through The Mile High Weimaraner Rescue. As we know most dogs have some baggage when they are rescues and one of her dogs, Rudy, came with severe malnourishment and had many health issues. She consulted with several Veterinarians who were unable to help him. She began looking into holistic healthcare for him and met many wonderful people, who helped her get Rudy back to health and live a wonderful life. This was the beginning of her journey. As she began learning more, she eventually met Tracy, the school’s director, and realized she had found her niche.

Lynn loves teaching people has learned and especially loves seeing the results in the animals

Nicole Linke, Equine and Canine Instructor

Nicole has had a profound love and passion for animals since she was young. Spending her youth watching her father in admiration as he worked with animals through chiropractic and acupuncture, she knew at a young age that this was her passion and calling. In college, Nicole began to immerse herself even more with horses; volunteering at therapy centers, taking riding courses at CSU, and  learning about equine nutrition and herbs. After college, she received a certification in Therapeutic Riding and taught therapeutic lessons for five years.

With her strong desire to learn even more, she enrolled and completed RMSAAM’s Equine and Canine massage programs and Tracy Vroom’s Equine Visionary Craniosacral program. Nicole has since studied and received certifications in Equine and Canine Trigger Point Therapy, Fascial Release, Acupressure, TTouch, Animal Communication, and Reiki. She continues to study herbs, whole food nutrition, homeopathy, energy work, biomechanics, and applied kinesiology, and more. 

Megan Steele with Wizard

Megan Steele, Equine Instructor

Megan is a Colorado native. Her passion for horses began at the tender age of eight when she started riding lessons. Her path in equine studies continued and she attended Colorado State University in their Equine Science Program. While attending CSU she worked as an Animal Care Technician at the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center and also completed internships at two equine rehabilitation facilities. It was then that she began to gain experience in the field of equine rehabilitation.

In December of 2015, after completing an independent study in a variety of equine therapies and writing her Senior Honors Thesis, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Equine Science. Megan continued to explore her passion in equine therapy and rehabilitation by attending Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage and obtaining certifications in Equine and Canine Massage and Acupressure.  One month later she created her business Flights of Angels Equine Therapy LLC.

Gene Devine, Equine and Canine Instructor

Gene has been passionate about animals for over 50 years. After retiring as an Army Intelligence Officer in 2007, Gene pursued his passion as a professional equine photographer and college photography instructor in Arizona. Frequent travels to Sedona fueled a desire to learn about the effects of energy on people and horses from both spiritual and physiological perspectives.

While training as a barefoot hoof trimmer in 2013, Gene learned all about the wild mustangs of the Great Basin. This education stoked a desire to learn all he could about equine behavior, health, wellness, and balance. Gene received certification in Bio-Energy Analysis and Release from Dr. Regan Golob in 2018, Equine and Canine Massage from RMSAAM in 2019. In June of 2019, he began his own business, Devine Equine Bodywork, and enjoys trail riding in the mountains of Colorado. He is currently working on his Acupressure, Craniosacral Therapy, and Tuning Fork certifications.

Beth Pelosa, Acupressure Instructor

Beth  has always loved being a student. Her education includes an A.A.S. Degree in Architecture, 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is a Certified Large and Small Animal Acupressure and Massage Practitioner and Instructor. Beth is also an FRCC Certified Equine Management and Training Professional, and completed the WDDA Western Dressage Train the Trainer Program. Beth has also studied many alternative modalities including Animal Reiki, Essential Oils, Aromatherapy, Photonic Light Therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Human Acupressure, homeopathies, essential oils, Bach Flowers, Yoga , QiGong, Chakra, and Meridian Balancing Therapy.

Throughout her career, Beth has been a teacher. After leaving the corporate world, Beth started her own business, Equine Energy Works, LLC. Her business includes instructing Animal Acupressure for practitioners for Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage, and performing animal acupressure for dogs, cats, and horses for private clients. She lives at her horse boarding and training facility, and teaches Western Dressage riding.

Her boarding facility is also the location for RMSAAM’s Animal Acupressure course which Beth teaches, and is also used for many of RMSAAM’s Equine Massage courses.

Jordan Gilbert, Equine Instructor

Jordan moved to Colorado in 2018 from a small town in Ohio. Her heart found horses at the early age of five on her best friend’s farm where she spent as much time as she could helping with barn chores and eventually learning to ride. When she was just ten years old, her friend’s family, noticing her passion, promised her their empty stall for one of her own. With the help of her friends, family, and 4H leader, Jordan rescued her first horse. Not everyone meets their heart horse on the first try, but she did and since it seemed to be an overall theme of their lives, she calls him Lucky. For over 14 years he has been her motivation to learn and her reason for wanting to pursue a career in helping horses. Now a senior horse, he has proven to be her constant teacher in her journey.

In her quest for knowledge, she was given the opportunity to come to RMSAAM where she interned under Tracy Vroom and was a part of the rehab staff at Zuma’s Rescue Ranch. Here she completed the equine therapeutic massage, sports massage for the equine athlete, advanced equine massage, and three levels of Tracy Vroom’s equine craniosacral therapy workshops. While she continues working on her new business as a certified massage therapist, she will be teaching equine massage for horse owners. She looks forward to helping owners and horses alike on their journey with each other.

Holly Cerlan, Office Manager

On staff since January of 2019, Holly is the behind-the-scenes gal at RMSAAM! She answers student queries, handles admissions, records, bookkeeping, and much more. Years of studies in deep personal
work and etheric healing led her away from the corporate world and into the softer energies of alternative therapies…and RMSAAM. Here, she continues to grow with her studies and certifications, as she soaks up every valuable bit of generously shared knowledge. Each day, humans, animals, and nature teach her something new. She is continually in awe of what is out there when she quiets herself to listen and observe.
Holly has lived in Colorado her entire life. She has a great interest in medicinal herbs and food gardening and enjoys the challenge of growing hard to cultivate plants. She shares her life with her spouse, Robert, plus many wise cats, dogs, horses, chickens, and goats.

Guest Instructors

Ken Bain, Canine Trigger Point Therapy

Ken Bain is a Texas Licensed Massage Therapist and Massage Therapy Instructor, specializing in non-invasive trigger point therapy using massage techniques. Ken is a graduate of the Texas School of Massage, the Institute of Trigger Point Therapy, Pet Massage in Toledo, OH, Massage Awareness in Wellington, FL, and is credentialed in Colorado as a graduate from the Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage. He is a member of the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. 

Ken has been training and competing with canine athletes since 1993 and realized the importance of massage in keeping these athletes in peak condition. In 2006, Ken started developing trigger point therapy for canines through several years of working on the canine athletes (agility, flyball, and Frisbee competitors). Since 2010, he has been teaching canine trigger point therapy techniques, changing the way canine massage therapists work with their clients.

Besides teaching, Ken has a full-time hands-on practice including working regional, national, and international competitions. Since 2016, Ken has traveled to Europe with 9 of the USA World Agility Teams as the teams’ therapist. He has also been selected as a speaker in multiple national and international educational conferences. Ken has been providing bodywork for the canine athlete since 2003.

Gillian Edwards

A Colorado-based animal communicator, Karuna / Reiki Master/Teacher and a canine massage / conditioning practitioner, International best selling author, and guest instructor at the Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage, Gillian provides long term big-picture holistic healing solutions for pets to activate their natural ability to balance and heal their physical, emotional and mental well-being. With the belief that holistic therapy is centered on love, empathy and respect, Gillian uses her knowledge and skills to help improve an animal’s health and happiness, which can strengthen and deepen their connections to their human companions.

Growing up in England and living on three continents provided Gillian with an understanding of how traditional, alternative and holistic therapies can work together to help heal the mind, body and spirit. Thus after a long, successful, 25 year executive career in corporate America, she began her dream career in 2014 practicing Reiki on human clients before realizing that animals needed her gifts more so. She graduated in 2017 from Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage and started her own animal practice Four Paws Holistic Therapy. She is now fully focused on helping pets achieve a longer quality of life by spreading the knowledge of collaborative pet health benefits through educational seminars and pop-up clinics.

Gillian is a professed animal lover, volunteer, and adoption advocate, rescuing numerous pets throughout her lifetime. This includes Zena, a 10-year young Rotti/Lab/Aussie mix.

Elena Bajona, Applied Equine Behavior

Elena is an equine applied behaviorist & therapist, specializing in equine welfare, cognitive-behavioral therapies, and massage for horses. Her work in the rehab and physiotherapy field addresses both physical and psychological issues. She is a talented trainer with strong international experience in the horse industry.

With extensive experiences abroad (USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UK, and Germany) in 2002, she founded Animantia, a private Academy of equine behavior studies based in Italy with a branch in Idaho. As a teacher and Applied Equine Behaviorist, she dedicated 18 years to teaching equine behavior through specialized courses for individuals and professionals. At the same time, she founded the first ethological equine facility in Italy where she worked with thousands of horses:  training, natural foal taming, and problem-solving through behavioral therapies. She attended the Academy of Equine Dentistry in Idaho as a free-lance professional supporting the education of equine dentistry students. She organized specialized courses for equine applied behavior in relation to horse management during dental work.

Since 2004 she organized Wild Horse safaris, in natural pristine settings, open to researchers/students and wild horse enthusiasts. In 2010 she discovered some wild horses in Italy. She spent years within the herds teaching natural behavior to her students. The focus was on the importance of observation and study of wild horses in their natural environment. This was a unique way to understand their behavior and emotional/social lives.

A fervent believer of the preservation of all creatures in the wild she cooperates with Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary to share her knowledge and experience in order to improve the welfare and quality of life of all rescued Wild American Mustangs.

In 2020 she joined the Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage as a guest instructor to continue spreading her knowledge to help people and horses.  www.animantia.it

Frances Cleveland, Aromatherapy and Essential Oils

Frances Fitzgerald Cleveland has worked with horses for more than 25 years in a range of disciplines. Her aspirations started with horses and grew to include people and other animals. In 1996, Frances founded her company, FrogWorks. She has always aimed to heighten the well-being of people and animals naturally, through the individualized use of essential oils.

Frances has extensive experience in the realms of health and behavior as it relates to both animals and humans. She obtained certification from the Institute of Dynamic Aromatherapy and the International School of Animal Aromatics. Frances studied in England with Caroline Ingraham, the pioneer of Animal Aromatics. Frances is an apprentice of Rosemary Gladstar, world-renowned author, herbalist, and teacher, and has completed the intensive Apprenticeship Program and the Science and Art of Herbalism Program in the didactic, therapeutic, laboratory, and fieldwork in herbalism.

Frances recently trained zookeepers in the use of essential oils on animals. Her groundbreaking Animal Aromatherapy work at The Denver Zoo with the Orangutans, Gorillas, and Black Crested Macaques was covered in the Denver Post and L.A.Times. Frances’s work has also been written about by the Rocky Mountain News, Associated Press, The German Press, and a featured guest on Animal Radio. This work showed excellent results, which confirm the effectiveness of essential oils. These magnificent animals clearly demonstrated which oils they wanted, when they wanted them and how they wanted them applied. They have truly been teachers about how these oils can help them.

Frances and her husband, John, live in Colorado and operate a horse facility, Outback Farm, where Frances teaches and practices Aromatherapy, trains horses, gives riding lessons, and manufactures her internationally sold products; Frog Works.

Lori Bridges, Animal Frequency Balancing Equine Program

Though she considers herself to be a lifelong student committed to learning, investigating, questioning and always aspiring to new ways of being, Lori currently maintains the following credentials: Certified Biofield Tuning Practitioner; Shamanic Mesa Carrier, initiated in the ancient teachings of the Andes; Ordained Minister; Certified Visionary Equine Craniosacral Therapist; Certified in Equine Jin Shin; Herbalism; and Stone Medicine.  Additionally, she has studied Biomechanics, Equine Nutrition, the Equine Nervous System, Endocrine System, and Lymphatic System, and Animal Communication.  She has had the honor of working with and learning from teachers in disciplines such as Dressage, Connected Riding, Straightness Training, Connection Training, Liberty, TTeam and Masterson Method. She has also studied anatomy, movement (equine, canine and human), homeopathy and essential oils.

In 2019, Lori became a Certified Biofield Tuning Practitioner for humans and her life and healing practice shifted gears. While she found great joy in working with humans, the horses and dogs took the stage. She developed a program called Animal Frequency Balancing™. This program teaches others how to use Sound, Frequency and Vibration to facilitate healing and well-being in horses and dogs. Most recently, Lori completed and published a 4-year long project called Spirit Horse Medicine® that she co-wrote with her horse Alibi.