The Massage Pundit

This is the third in my series of interviews with the leaders of our professional organizations.

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education is the newest of our associations, and is an independent organization founded for the purpose of serving the entire education sector of the massage profession, from entry-level to post-graduate studies. Their new national headquarters is located in McLean VA, a suburb of Washington DC. You can visit their new website at www.afmte.org

My fellow North Carolinian, Rick Rosen, is the first Executive Director of AFMTE. Rosen and his wife, Carey Smith, are both nationally-known educators and are the owners of Body Therapy Institute, a COMTA-Approved school in Siler City, NC.

LA: What is your background in the massage profession? Are you now or have you ever personally been a massage therapist? (please give a short synopsis of your career path).

RR: I’ve been active in the massage therapy field since 1978. I began my career as a therapist in Atlanta, Georgia, opened the first professional massage therapy center in North Carolina in 1982, and started the first massage therapy school there in 1983. Along the way, I have trained in and practiced a wide variety of approaches, including structural and energetic bodywork, and body-centered psychotherapy.

Over the 26 years I have directed the Body Therapy Institute, I have taught every course in the program at least once. These days, my focus in the school is in the areas of marketing, strategic planning and curriculum development.

Parallel with this work, I have served as an advocate for the massage therapy profession in a number of capacities. I am a Charter Member and Past President of the AMTA-NC Chapter, Founding Member and Past Chairman of the NC Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy, and four years ago, I was the first Executive Director for the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards,.

LA: How long have you been with the organization?

RR: The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education is a new entity, having been officially launched August 31, 2009. As Executive Director, I am part of a six-member Leadership Team of veteran educators that is guiding the startup process. I have been active in the arena of massage school organizations since 1986, when I attended my first Council of Schools meeting.

LA: Have you been in the same position with the organization since you started, or did you climb through the ranks

RR: As described above, the Alliance has as a very short history — and I’ve been there every step of the way. Several of the people who now serve on our Leadership Team have been in conversation for a number of years about the need for an independent and autonomous education organization. This happened to be the opportune time to bring the Alliance forth.

LA: What is the mission statement of your organization?

RR: The Alliance is the voice, advocate and resource for the community of massage schools and educators.

LA: What do you think your organization is doing to honor the mission statement?

RR: In the massage therapy field, it is rare to have the opportunity to design and build an organization from the ground up. The Alliance is being created BY educators — FOR educators. Who better to know what massage schools and educators need than those who teach in and operate those schools? One of the most important defining features of the Alliance is ADVOCACY. The Alliance will certainly be providing a great menu of services, products and networking opportunities to its members. Along with that, we are committed to actively representing the interests of our members in all domains. It’s time that massage education has a champion of its own!

LA: What do you feel has been your biggest achievement there?
RR: In just four months, we have put a lot of the infrastructure in place: The Alliance is incorporated; we have secured a date and location for our First Annual Conference; we have established a National Headquarters; we have conducted a successful Founding Member Campaign; and we are about to launch our General Membership Drive for the 2010 calendar year.

LA: What do you see as the most important initiative for moving your organization forward?

RR: Getting the word out. We will be publishing a booklet in the beginning of December that will provide comprehensive information on the Alliance, the benefits that members will receive, information about joining, and details about the inaugural meeting to be held June 3-5, 2010 in Park City, Utah. All of this info will also available on the Alliance’s website, at www.afmte.org.

LA: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your organization today?

RR: It is a bold act in today’s marketplace to launch a non-profit without startup grants or other organizational support. In place of that, The Alliance appealed directly to massage schools, teachers, continuing education providers and companies that serve the massage education sector — and have received a strong level of initial contributions. We now have to build on that to create a membership base in the first year that will set the stage for future growth.

LA: There are more organizations and associations for the massage profession now than ever before. What do you see as the ideal relationship between them?

RR: A full-fledged profession has a stable set of component organizations in place, with each one fulfilling a specific role and set of functions. Nearly all professions today have an independent association of the schools/colleges that provide the education needed to enter and remain in that field. With the advent of the Alliance, we now have that component to add to the overall structure of the massage field. This brings us one large step closer to becoming a profession. The Alliance seeks to work in a cooperative role with existing associations in the field.

LA: If you could only say one thing to your stakeholders, what would it be?

RR: Come and join the Alliance, and attend our inaugural conference! Your participation at this foundational stage will help build the kind of organization you want to see. There is far more that can be done for massage schools and educators than has been thought possible. The Alliance is dedicated to strengthening and improving massage therapy education for the benefit of all concerned.