Our Team
Practitioners
Our acupuncturists are licensed by the California Acupuncture Board.​ All of our practitioners share access to treatment notes, allowing us to work as a cohesive team to provide our community with the best possible care. We encourage you to work with more than one practitioner and to book your treatments to best suit your schedule.
Pamela O'Malley Chang, LAc (she/her)
Acupuncturist
Co-founder, Board Member
Language(s): 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.​
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 (she/her)
Acupuncturist, Cupping Practitioner (Fridays)
Co-Manager, Board Chair
Language(s): English, basic Japanese
While earning my M.A. in Eastern Classics at St. John's College of Santa Fe, New Mexico, I received my first ever acupuncture treatment at a community clinic. It was a profound experience for my physical and mental health. I decided to become an acupuncturist so I could channel my philosophical interests into an embodied practice. I specifically loved the community acupuncture model of affordability and accessibility. I believe it creates a much needed space for healing in our often inequitable and profit-driven world.
In 2014 I began my Shiatsu and Chinese Medicine studies at ACTCM in San Francisco, and graduated from AIMC in Berkeley in 2019. I interned at 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 the Yi Jing, playing video games, reading, karaoke, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.
Ollie Zaverey, LAc, Dipl OM (they/them)
Acupuncturist
Co-Manager, Board Treasurer, Secretary
Language(s): English, Español (Spanish)
I grew up in Southern California and have been in the Bay Area for over ten years. I have a background in public health policy and non-profit work, with a focus on improving access to healthcare and housing. My acupuncture journey began at ACTCM in San Francisco and I completed my studies at AIMC in Berkeley. At AIMC I participated in multiple clinical externships, including Charlotte Maxwell Clinic and UC Berkeley Athletics
As a fat, nonbinary, queer, neurodivergent, trauma survivor, one of the main factors in my decision to study acupuncture was my own experiences with insurance-based medical care. There are a lot of wonderful things about Western medicine—and I believe the best approach to healthcare is an integrative one—acupuncture excels at primary care and chronic care, both places where western medicine hasn’t been able to meet my needs. I learned about the Community Acupuncture Model in acupuncture school and it resonated with me. It's an awesome way to improve access to healthcare!
Julia Katz, LAc (she/her)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): English, 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.
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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.
Sean Carson, LAc (he/him)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): English
For over three decades, my journey in holistic healing has shaped me into a dedicated practitioner with a deep commitment to accessible care. In the early 1990s, I began studying Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Chinese herbal medicine under a master whose teachings profoundly influenced my path. This led me to work as an herbal pharmacist and assistant to a local acupuncturist, where I discovered my calling.
In 2003, I pursued formal training in acupuncture, building on years of practical experience. The challenges I faced along the way honed my compassion, maturity, and grounding as a practitioner.​ In 2013, I joined Sarana Community Acupuncture, drawn to its mission of making acupuncture affordable and inclusive. Over seven rewarding years, I grew as a clinician and built rich and meaningful connections with patients and colleagues, some who have become trusted friends.
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The Pandemic brought unexpected challenges for everyone, and I moved out of California for a period of time and explored working in other clinics. Yet I always missed Sarana—it always felt like home. When the opportunity to return recently arose, I eagerly accepted. With a wealth of experience and a renewed passion, I’m excited to serve the Sarana community, reconnect with familiar faces, and welcome new ones.
Paul Simon, LAc (he/him)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): English
​Originally from the East Coast, I’ve been in northern California since 1994. After a career in Community and Broadcast Television, I was inspired to become a holistic healer by two of my first acupuncturists / herbalists, due to the effectiveness of their treatments and prescriptions, and by a need for new approaches to cancer and dementia. I began learning Swedish Massage and Western Herbalism, then enrolled at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1998. I graduated from ACTCM with my M.S. in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as Certifications in both Tui Na (Chinese bodywork) and the NADA Protocol (auricular acupuncture for addiction recovery).
While at ACTCM, I interned at Maxine Hall, a public health clinic in the Fillmore district, and then at HAART, an opioid treatment center in East Oakland. I received my California Acupuncture License in 2002 and have been practicing in a wide variety of settings ever since. Over the past 20+ years, I have enjoyed treating patients and friends, as well as teaching classes about this medicine.
I think the accessibility and flexibility of the community acupuncture model is so important as it provides a true alternative to our profit driven, time-is-money, society and healthcare system. Community Acupuncture is an oasis in a world of increasing exclusion and I am thankful to have a role in that alternative. I am here at Sarana to provide but, also, to learn.
I enjoy traveling and hiking around Bay Area trails with my partner. My interests also include attending live music, reading, learning new things, dancing, eBiking, pickleball, political activism, and social time with my friends, family, and dog.
Sarah Saenz, CMT (she/her)
Cupping Practitioner (Sundays)
Language(s): 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 Practitioners
Natalie Purkey, LAc, Dipl OM (she/her)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): English
My life has involved various pursuits related to art, literature, cultural anthropology, tending plants, and being of service—notably to two near-centenarian women with eastern health leanings. After years exploring various expressions of holism, I began my studies in East Asian Medicine at ACTCM, where I helped to maintain the Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden, and then at AIMC, where I graduated in 2020. Practicing this medicine encompasses and transcends all of these with an integration that I hope to continue to grow into.
I have experienced the potency of sharing a healing field with others. It’s a wonderfully supportive place for people to come together in deep remembering of our commonality & relation, while allowing for each person’s unique return to flow. I would like for this medicine to be affordable to all, allowing people to more fully weave it into their care without great financial sacrifice, and I like that the Community Acupuncture Model is working towards this goal.
Shana Rocklin, LAc, CNE/CNC (she/her)
Cupping Practitioner
Language(s): English
A longtime Berkeley resident, I am a holistic Nutrition Educator & Consultant, as well as a Certified Horticulturist, having worked in local nurseries for many years, and a former homeschooling mom. These days, I practice acupuncture in Pleasant Hill using Sa'Am, a Korean 4-needle technique passed down by Buddhist monks. While I was in acupuncture school, I treated folks at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic (integrative cancer care for women) in Oakland and the Jewish Community Free Clinic in Santa Rosa.
I deeply admire the community acupuncture model. [Fun fact: my very first acupuncture treatment was with Pam many, many years ago!] Cupping is one of my absolute favorite tools in the clinic. I love how it is a simple and effective way to help people!
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In my free time I love to garden, listen to audiobooks, go to the movies, solve the daily NYT puzzles, foster kittens, and hike in Tilden or along the Russian River area with my partner.
Le Jiang, LAc (she/her)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): English, Mandarin, American Sign Language
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 and 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 (she/her)
Acupuncturist
Language(s): 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.
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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.
Board Members
Ellie Ohara
Growing up in Japan, acupuncture was nothing new, but receiving the treatment in a communal space was new to me. However, I soon realized that I liked community acupuncture where I can exchange the energy of healing with my neighbors on reclining chairs. Community acupuncture also helps the treatment fees to be affordable for anybody. There was a time when I was so poor that I could not afford medical insurance and over-the-counter drugs did not help my body.
Acupuncture at Sarana was my only affordable health care that truly healed my health issues. Since then, I have been supporting Sarana as a laundry volunteer. I am now grateful for the opportunity to serve as a new board of director and to continue supporting the practitioners, fellow volunteers, and the community of Sarana.
Jeffrey Levin, LAc
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.
Lee Mark Poitier
I’m originally from the Philippines but have called the Bay Area home since 1997.
When I am not in the clinic getting accupuncture, or planning details on how the board can serve the Sarana community better, I like to spend time taking walks at Berkeley, spending time at the sauna at the 24 hour fitness in El Cerrito. Doing judo at Hanabi judo in Albany, and spending time with my son.
Kelly Perce
Acupuncture has been part of my self-care for decades, first to address chronic pain issues and later to support and heal whatever else has come up in the course of life. I love the community acupuncture model and Sarana has been my home since 2018. When not taking acu-naps in the clinic I most like to be outside and in nature whether that is taking walks, biking, hiking, kayaking, or cross-country skiing and if I can do those things while traveling, even better. At home, I love to read, I'm learning to paint and in between I play with my cat.
