Board & Staff
MTAM is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by the members of the Association at annual meetings. All Directors are Registered Massage Therapists, and each serves two-year terms. Our affairs are also guided by enthusiastic volunteer committees who run and manage projects and discuss and respond to issues within the profession.
Please contact the office for more information.
MTAM Board of Directors 2023-2024
Officers
Offer Kuban
MTAM President, Marketing and Communications ChairOffer graduated from Vancouver’s West Coast College of Massage Therapy in 1991, and practiced in multidisciplinary settings for 10 years.
He took a hiatus from practicing massage therapy to travel, write and photograph the Eastern Seaboard as well as trying his hand at various careers. After this time, as luck would have it, the desire to return to practice and the opportunity to do so came together.
Offer is the Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee and is also active on the Insurance & Practice Management Committee. In September of 2019, he was honoured to take the role of First Vice President and later to take on the role of President in 2022.
I like to think the profession chose me, but good friends helped direct me toward becoming an RMT.
As a professional healthcare provider, it’s wonderful to be a positive factor in someone’s self-care. Personally, it feels great when clients look forward to coming in and feel so much better from their treatment.
Slow down and be patient with yourself. Graduation is not the end, but rather just the start of the journey. Experience, skills, knowledge, and wisdom take time.
That’s easy! MTAM is THE professional massage therapy Association of this province, bar none. From our very first interaction when I was exploring my return to practice, MTAM has been a pleasure to deal with. Informative, organized, supportive, always encouraging, MTAM’s been home for me.
When does an Association give you the opportunity to feel both grounded in the security of its structure and the encouragement to grow both professionally and personally in career and community? All the benefits are my favourite!
Stephanie Oteyza
Vice President, Regional Chair, Inclusive Practice ChairStephanie is the current Vice President and chairs both the Regional and Inclusive Practice committees. Stephanie is from Winnipeg, MB, and graduated in 2004 from the Professional Institute of Massage Therapy (PIMT).
After working in different environments in Winnipeg, she was asked to be a supervisor at PIMT, and not long after that became an instructor. An untimely injury kept Steph back from a career change to law enforcement, and in 2010 she moved to Brandon. With a busy full-time practice, a change was welcomed in 2017 when Stephanie returned to Instructing at Robertson’s Brandon campus.
As a child I was pretty active and suffered a couple of injuries. I was always enthralled with the work that the PTs and ATs did. When I started going for massage therapy treatments at age 12, my RMT was very professional, knowledgeable, and patient. The benefits not only to my injuries, but my whole body were astounding. They really made a difference in my health and wellness.
I enjoy my colleagues who I get to work with every day. I like that every single client has different needs, and requires a different treatment plan. This isn’t a “cookie cutter” profession.
A career as an RMT takes time, and it is a progression. The amount of growth that happens once you finish school is immense.
I was a member of another association right out of school, and I didn’t feel like I was a part of a professional community. I felt like I was missing professional development opportunities and wasn’t completely in touch with the profession.
The amazing free education offered by MTAM and of course PERKOPOLIS!
Tammy Wasylowski
Insurance and Practice Management Committee ChairA true entrepreneur at heart, Tammy’s creativity and vision are an asset to any team.
Tammy serves as the Chair of MTAM’s Marketing & Communication Committee. Tammy graduated in 2009 from The Massage Therapy College of Manitoba (now Evolve College of Massage Therapy). From her very first business class at MTCM, Tammy knew that she was going to own a massage therapy clinic. In Good Hands Massage Therapy opened later that year and currently has 7 therapists.
Well before I understood it, I was privileged to witness compassionate touch. I was inspired by the impact a human being can have on another through touch. I knew in that moment that I wanted to touch people, to truly connect with others.
I love the journey you take with a client. Beginning with helping to manage their stress and pain that consumes them, to progressing to maintenance and living life again. It’s so rewarding to be a part of that with them.
Fresh out of massage school, it’s exciting to be filled with all this knowledge and anticipating using all of these great tools you’ve acquired, and though it’s important to learn to trust in your skills, it’s always important to listen to your client’s needs first and not be afraid to admit when you don’t have the answers. It’s okay to refer out.
MTAM was the only association that I considered. At my initial introduction to MTAM at student orientation, I was sold on the local presence and the endless amount of continuing education options they provide.
Most definitely the business courses have been a great benefit to me as a business owner. I also love that if I ever need help or advice MTAM is just a phone call away.
Directors
Tammy Blanchette
Education & Continuing Competency Committee ChairTammy is a graduate of Wellington College of Remedial Massage Therapy. She has had a lifelong interest in science and biology and is dedicated to continued education. She enjoys ballroom dancing, hiking, and making her own oil and lotion blends. Tammy is a fan of history and philosophy and stays balanced with a healthy dose of skepticism. She was an active member with the MTAM Conference & Events Committee before taking on the role as Chair of the Education & Continuing Competency Committee.
I chose the massage therapy field because I have always liked science and anatomy, and I wanted to learn more about body mechanics and injury recovery.
I like working for myself, and that I can have a home practice, and all the aspects of running my own business.
Take it slow, take care of yourself. Massage Therapy can be hard on the body, practice self care.
The professionalism that I saw when I dealt with the staff, and knowing that with regulation on the way, they are going to be the best equiped to guide me through that process.
Knowing that I have a place to go to if I have any practice questions or issues. The staff at MTAM are knowledgeable and dedicated to providing useful feedback.
Jeffery Dalhouse
Research Committee ChairWith a strong thirst for knowledge and a dedication for advancing the profession by promoting evidence-based research and the efficacy of massage therapy, Jeffery is the perfect fit for chair of MTAM’s Research Committee.
Jeffery has been a practicing Massage Therapist since 2006. He has sat on MTAM research committee since 2013, and has served as its Chair for the past two years. He hopes to inspire other therapists with an enthusiastic approach to research in Massage Therapy, believing it reinforces our role in providing effective treatments, and elevates our credibility among other medical professionals.
I chose to become an RMT because managing discomfort, pain and how to feel better in one’s body is something I’ve had to do myself. I felt compelled to share that knowledge to help others.
What I like best about my job is my part in helping people transform into better functioning expressions of themselves.
Keep learning. Add more tools to your toolbox. If you don’t know the answer, look it up. Say “I don’t know”, and then go find out for yourself what it is.
I didn’t hesitate when I chose to join the MTAM. When comparing associations, it’s plainly evident which Association is committed to helping its Members.
My favourite MTAM member benefit comes via sitting on the Research Committee and the MTAM Board and getting to meet the other practitioners, teachers, authors, anatomists, professors, and researchers that I admire in the field of Massage Therapy.
Holly Behringer
Director-at-LargeHolly has a unique experience with the massage therapy profession in Manitoba being a second generation Massage Therapist and MTAM member. Growing up in the Wolseley neighborhood of Winnipeg, Holly has watched the profession grow and change for over 20 years. In 2007 she began working as the administrator and clinic manager of Wolseley Wellness, the business started in 1999 by her mother Angela Peterson RMT LDT.
Over the many years since, Holly bought a home in the area, married, and now has 2 children. Holly, along with her brother and sister, took over ownership of the family business in 2015, and shortly afterwards she returned to college to become an RMT herself. Holly graduated in 2019 from Evolve college (formerly MTCM and her own mother’s alma mater).
Today you will find Holly balancing a busy massage therapy practice, running 2 bustling clinics with her siblings, a busy social calendar, and of course her growing family. Holly is a firm advocate for the regulation of massage therapy in the province and works hard in both her personal practice and her business to promote and support the growing recognition and professionalism of all RMTs as health care providers in Manitoba. Holly looks forward to contributing to the MTAM Board in the coming term.
I chose to become an RMT because I truly believed in the good work that massage therapy does. I learned quite a lot about the professional and personality of RMTs when working as a multidisciplinary health and wellness clinic administrator and knew it was right for me.
I get to win at my job every day. It really does make all the difference. I’ve had jobs over the years that were a real slog. Clock watching, monotonous and unsatisfactory. As a massage therapist my day has such variety and I go home at the end of every shift in a great mood because I just spent the day making the world a better place.
Don’t underestimate the power of silence and slowing down. Just because you can do the latest new modality doesn’t mean you have to. Being present, quiet, intentional, and giving the best darn massage you can could end up being the best massage your client has ever had.
I live and work in Manitoba now and likely always will. Being a part of an association with a focused understanding and commitment to my own community including our provincial government and its impact on the future Regulation of massage therapy in Manitoba was important to me.
I’m grateful for all the work MTAM does to bring recognition to the profession. Bringing awareness to the public and promoting the benefits of massage therapy helps a great deal in my own business and practice.
Cerizza Cruz
Director at LargeCerizza graduated from Evolve College of Massage Therapy in 2020. Prior to becoming an RMT, she was a dental assistant for 10 years. With that experience Cerizza knew her passion lay in helping people optimize their health goals. She feels that the massage therapy profession gave her the opportunity to expand her knowledge and practice.
Cerizza recently completed training as a Rapid Neurofascial Reset Specialist and is in the final stages of opening up her own clinic. She absolutely loves being an RMT and is eager to see what the future holds.
During her downtime Cerizza enjoys spending time with her family at their cabin.
I have always loved getting massage treatments and when I was looking to change careers I stumbled onto Massage Therapy. The ability to be able to be your own boss while helping others sounded like a dream, so I took the leap and I am so glad I did.
I love being able to use my hands to help people with their pain. The look in their eyes when you’ve helped them conquer their discomfort is beyond words.
Trust yourself, you know A LOT, and be confident! You got this!
Having an association that’s locally based was a huge part of my decision process. I feel like I have people in my corner if anything happens and if I have any questions, they’re a phone call away.
My favourite benefit has to be THE PERKS! Affinity Partner Discounts are great!
Jim Montgomery
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGEAfter serving 33 years in the Canadian Armed Forces in the Dental Technician Corps, Jim decided to embark on a second career as an RMT. Jim graduated from in 2018 from Wellington College of Remedial Massage Therapies Inc. He found massage therapy to be a benefit to his health throughout the years and as a healthcare provider it felt like a natural fit as he embarked on a new career.
Jim has a strong interest in the massage therapy profession and feels that he can use his past experience to assist the MTAM Board in promoting and advancing the field of massage therapy in Manitoba.
I worked in healthcare in my previous career so it was an natural transition to choose massage therapy as a new career. It brings me joy to be able to help others with their health and wellness.
I would tell new therapists to trust their abilities and be patient with themselves as they develop their skills.
I enjoy making use of the Diamond Deals which are part of the Affinity Partner discount progam. Getting discounts on clinic supplies is great!