Meet Us

Our acupuncturists are fully licensed by the California Acupuncture Board. They are all part of a team, and work together to provide the best possible care.

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.

Clinical Staff: Acupuncturists

Pamela O’Malley Chang, LAc, co-founder, acupuncturist (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, secretary (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, treasurer (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 in 2016 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 started on the path to becoming a practitioner. I completed my studies at AIMC in Berkeley in 2020 and received my acupuncture license in 2021.

As a fat, nonbinary, queer, neurodivergent trauma survivor, one of the main factors in my decision to study acupuncture was my own experience with insurance-based medical care. 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 wanted to experience acupuncture in as many different settings as I could, and so I signed up for multiple clinical externships (including Cal Athletics and Charlotte Maxwell Clinic) but Community Acupuncture was my focus. I love the model! It’s always resonated with me as an awesome way to improve access to healthcare.

When not practicing acupuncture, I love to spend time with my people and my dog Pippin, read (romances are my favorite though I like a little bit of everything), and create fanworks. I don’t have a specific fandom I’m most active in, as the best part of fandom is sharing enthusiasm and discovering what people are passionate about. All of my hobbies are things that bring joy into my life and I hope to be able to share some of that joy with the Sarana Community!

Julia Katz, LAc, acupuncturist (she/her)
Languages: English and Russian
I grew up in Siberia, in a home with a cardiologist and gardener mother, computer engineer and philosopher father, and a school teacher and gardener grandmother.

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a BS in Integrative Biology, I was looking to find solutions for personal health struggles and began my studies at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley. There I completed 1,000 hour program in Acupressure Therapy and Tui Na. Inspired by Brian O’Dea, L.Ac. and the practical results of hands-on healing, I continued my studies in East Asian Medicine at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley and the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland. I became a licensed acupuncturist in 2013.

Over the past 20 years I’ve enjoyed sharing these healing tools with my community. I have practiced and taught classes at the Suitcase Clinic for low-income women and children, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic for low-income women with cancer, and McKinnon Body Therapy Center. I’ve treated people in a variety of settings and circumstances, and ages ranging from 3 months to 91 years old. I’ve always enjoyed getting community acupuncture, because I find it particularly helpful to be in a group healing field, as well as being able to get frequent treatments. I’m very excited to provide community acupuncture and to join the delightful group of practitioners at Sarana Community Acupuncture.

When I’m not practicing healing arts, I like to spend time by the ocean with my kids and family, dance, and make good tea. I am an on/off practitioner of meditation, qi gong and yoga, and I aspire to not take myself too seriously.

Emery Caster, LAc, acupuncturist (he/him)
Languages: English and some Spanish

I escaped the endless fields of dirt and cacti of my home town, Palm Desert CA, to study Sociology in the Rose City, Portland Oregon. My quest to reach the highest levels of Nerdom had me reading books on herbology and world religions throughout undergrad. I felt drawn to exploring natural medicine more and discovered that Chinese Medicine has the longest continuous history of herbalism! After a quick trip around the world, a short stint in a Buddhist monastery, and a whole lotta mango lassi; I ended up in Santa Cruz, CA enrolled in a Doctorate/Master’s program in TCM, and the rest is history. I am a big fan of accessible healthcare and I believe that reducing barriers to good health can only make the world a better place to exist in.

When I am not in the clinic, you can catch me reading dreadfully boring books, writing about things no one cares about, and riding my mountain bike much slower than everyone else.

Benjamin Rombro, LAc, acupuncturist (he/him)
Languages: English

I received a Master’s degree in Counseling from San Francisco State University and a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland, California. Over the last two decades, I’ve worked as an educator, administrator, counselor, mediator, and coach in San Francisco and the East Bay, where I was focused on delivering support to Bay Area youth and their families, and on supporting the progress of these folks on the continuum of personal inquiry, increased self-actualization, and greater well-being.

Early on in this emotionally and spiritually taxing work, I had my first experience of Chinese medicine in a community acupuncture setting, which had a deeply transformative impact on my physical health and healing process. My connection and fascination with Chinese medicine continued to deepen and evolve to the point that I knew with absolute clarity that I wanted to shift my approach to supporting folks’ healing and growth. I have always envisioned my path forward in this medicine as a community acupuncturist working in spaces where low-barrier access to healing is the fundamental, motivating principle.

I believe that healing begins with feeling connection and a deep sense that one is heard, seen, and understood and that any potential intervention, treatment, or interaction has to be rooted first in relationship and connection. My treatments and general approach hold an intention to re-establish harmony between mind and body and utilize different modalities of Chinese medicine to address physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of wellbeing.

When not in the clinic space I find joy in movement, exercise and bopping around Oakland on my bike, being surrounded by music and immersed in water whenever possible, hiking with loved ones, and my favorite happy—the daily stillness and quiet of meditation. I look forward to connecting with you all here at Sarana.