All our practitioners have access to all the clients’ treatment notes and practice a similar style of acupuncture. Our collective experience of giving thousands of treatments every year has shown that the main ingredient in achieving good results with acupuncture is receiving it frequently and regularly, so we encourage you to work with more than one practitioner and to book your treatments to best suit your schedule.
Staff Acupuncturists
Tatyana Ryevzina, LAc, co-manager, co-founder, acupuncturist, board chair (she/her or they/them)
Languages: English and Russian
I grew up in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States as a teen, living in New York and Chicago before moving to the Bay Area in 1998. I have been involved with various healing and meditation traditions for over 30 years and have been practicing acupuncture and Chinese herbal Medicine since 2003. I started out providing acupuncture in public health settings, including Quan Yin Healing Arts Center in San Francisco and the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland, and quickly realized that working with under-served populations was a passion of mine.
Being introduced to the Community Acupuncture practice model in 2006 transformed me deeply. It made sense to me from the point of view of sustainability, healthcare access, social justice, ethical livelihood, and as an antidote to isolation so rampant in our society. I have taught Community Acupuncture practice development at AIMC, an acupuncture college in Berkeley. I also served on the Board of Directors of Community Acupuncture Network and volunteered for POCA co-op, helping develop online continuing education courses for fellow community acupuncturists.
If you hike at Point Pinole, Miller Knox, or Alvarado Regional Parks, or swim at the Richmond Plunge, you have probably run into me. I am a step-parent (and grandparent!) and a visual artist. I share my home life with my spouse and two cats.
Pamela O’Malley Chang, LAc, co-founder, treasurer, secretary (she/her)
Languages: English
I grew up in Massachusetts, daughter of a Chinese immigrant biologist father and a Chinese-American librarian mother. After 20 years of practicing architecture/civil engineering, and a bout with early-stage ovarian cancer, I received a Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland, California and am licensed to practice acupuncture in California.
Having a deep-seated desire for a world with ample resources for people to create their own solutions to everyday problems, I am delighted to have worked at Sarana Community Acupuncture since 2008. I am a member of the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA) co-op.
For many years I volunteered at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic—a clinic that offers free alternative-therapy care for low-income women with cancer. Outside of work, I am a mostly-mediocre violinist, swimmer, and tai-chi practitioner. I have an aquaponic garden in my Berkeley backyard. I am also a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School and a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Micronesia).
Katie Scarlett, LAc, co-manager, acupuncturist, cupping practitioner (she/her)
Languages: English and minimal Japanese
I was born and raised in Southern California, but it was while I was earning my M.A. in Eastern Classics in the high desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico where I had my first acupuncture treatment at a community clinic. It was a profound experience for my physical and mental health, and helped me imagine the next step on my path — a progression from my intellectual and philosophical interests into an embodied practice I could use in my daily life to help myself and others.I strongly feel that the community-acupuncture model of inclusive, affordable health care creates a much-needed and accessible space for healing in our otherwise inequitable and profit-driven world. With the intention of becoming a community acupuncturist, I moved to the Bay Area in 2014 and began my Shiatsu and Chinese Medicine studies at ACTCM in San Francisco, and graduated from AIMC in Berkeley in 2019. I made sure to sign up for as many externships as I could, namely: Ashby Lifelong Clinic, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, UC Berkeley Athletics, and SF Homeless Prenatal.I’ve been a part of Sarana community since 2016, volunteering at the front desk and receiving weekly acupuncture treatments. I still love and depend on my weekly acu-nap here!I am currently enrolled in a medical qigong certification course and enjoy weaving in elements of qigong and shiatsu into my acupuncture treatments. I also enjoy meditation, consulting Yi Jing, playing video games, reading, karaoke, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.
Ollie Zaverey, LAc, co-manager, acupuncturist (they/them)
Languages: English and Spanish
I grew up in Southern California and have been living in the Bay Area for over ten years. My background is in public health and policy and my acupuncture journey began about five years ago when I attended a Tui Na (Traditional Chinese massage) workshop that sparked a desire to learn more. I enrolled in an “Introduction to the Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine” course and subsequently started on the path of becoming a practitioner. I recently completed my studies at AIMC in Berkeley and received my acupuncture license.
As a fat, nonbinary, queer, neurodivergent trauma survivor, one of the main factors in my decision to study acupuncture was my own experience with conventional medical care. There are a lot of wonderful things about western medicine, and I definitely believe that the best approach to healthcare is an integrative one. Acupuncture excels at primary care and chronic care, and those are places where western medicine hasn’t done a great job of meeting my needs and those of the people I hold dear. During my studies, I learned about the Community Acupuncture practice model, and it resonated with me as an awesome way to improve access to healthcare.
Cupping Practitioner
Sarah Saenz, CMT (she/her)
Language: English
I grew up in Northern Colorado and moved to the Bay Area in 2002. In 2006 I began studying at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, where I received a 1000 hour Body Work Professional Certification. I specialize in Tui Na massage, Acupressure, Reiki, and cupping. I am a licensed Certified Massage Therapist through the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC # 57734).
In my free time I enjoy crossword puzzles, art, playing music, and spending time with my husband and daughter.
Substitute Acupuncturists
Le Jiang, LAc, acupuncturist (she/her)
Language: English, Mandarin, some ASL
I grew up in Western China and immigrated to the United States in 2013. When I was in China, I had several acupuncture treatments and observed how acupuncture could transform one’s life. After moving to the U.S, I realized that there was a lot I did not know about Chinese culture, which is deeply meaningful and important to me. I decided to start by learning acupuncture, which combines Chinese philosophy, culture, and medicine. I studied at AIMC Berkeley for four years and recently graduated and became a California licensed acupuncturist. Now I am ready to share the benefit of this amazing healing tool with my community. When I have spare time, I like to go hiking with friends or practice Chinese Calligraphy and seal carving. It is a favorite meditative pastime to help me relax and settle into my inner world.
Holly Barnett, LAc, acupuncturist (she/her)
Language: English
I first discovered Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2012 at a community clinic in San Francisco. I became fascinated with acupuncture as I witnessed empowering shifts in my body and mind during a series of treatments. I then pivoted from my path of studying Western medicine and enrolled in acupuncture school in my hometown of Santa Cruz, CA. I am passionate about providing accessible acupuncture as a practitioner and the “group qi” resonance I feel as a patient when resting and healing among others in my community. In my free time I love to read, practice yoga, and explore the natural beauty of the Bay Area.
Gia Laurent, volunteer coordinator (she/her)
I felt a strong connection to Sarana Community Acupuncture since my very first visit, and I’m delighted to be part of the Sarana staff team after volunteering for about a year. I love Sarana’s mission of helping the community through affordable acupuncture. Giving back to the community is very important to me and volunteering has allowed to see the difference acupuncture can make in people’s lives.
I have a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology, but most of work history is in Supply Chain Management in the Bio-Tech industry.
What can I say, life happens. It’s important to me that my work has a benefit to the community, so Sarana is an excellent fit. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, knitting, jigsaw puzzles and tracing my family genealogy. I’m also a big fan of roller coasters. I love to travel and have been known to travel for my hobbies.
Board of Directors
Tatyana Ryevzina, LAc, chair
See bio above under Acupuncture Practitioners
Dana Feliz, vice-chair (she/her)
I am a Berkeley native and have grown up believing that there are many holistic and non-traditional ways to heal oneself. I practice yoga regularly, I receive chiropractic treatments weekly and of course I visit Sarana every Sunday, where I have been a regular client since August of 2009. I regard the clinic as my sanctuary. I have certifications in Landscape Design and Landscape Construction from City College of San Francisco and have been lovingly caring for the clinic plants for many years.
Jeffrey Levin, LAc, member-at-large (he/him)
After over a decade of practicing yoga, I began to experiment with healing modalities to address some chronic injuries from surfing and skateboarding that were resistant to the clever therapies I had devised. I came across acupuncture while traveling in Thailand early in 2005. The effects of my treatments were so miraculous and profound that by the time I returned to the United States, I had decided to become an acupuncturist. All these years later, I feel very lucky to be able to offer the benefits of acupuncture to my local Oakland community by working full time at Oakland Acupuncture Project‘s Grand Lake clinic. When I’m not at work, I’m usually hanging out with my daughter Audrey and my son Calder who are both super fun. You might see us collecting flower petals or chasing turkeys in the Morcom Rose Garden. I also enjoy listening to my (ridiculously large) vinyl collection, sharing bottles from my (sadly small) wine collection, practicing yoga, sipping my fresh direct trade Ethiopian coffee, and cooking and eating delicious food. I am a simple man with sophisticated tastes.