Following a teach-out agreement between the Portland schools, former OCOM instructors bring decades of Chinese medicine experience to campus.

Seventeen faculty members from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) have joined the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) following the teach-out agreement reached between the two Portland schools earlier this year. 

The group brings decades of academic and clinical experience to NUNM and will assist in teaching the nearly 50 former OCOM students who opted for the teach-out/transfer. In May, trustees overseeing OCOM voted to close the Portland acupuncture and Chinese medicine school after 41 years. 

“While nobody wanted to see OCOM close, we are blessed to have so many highly skilled and expert faculty joining our ranks,” said Dr. Heather Zwickey, Vice President of Research and Academic Excellence. “We’re looking forward to the rich experiences and passion for Chinese medicine that they’ll bring to the NUNM community.” 

The new faculty members are: 

Bradley Capron 

Dr. Bradley Capron, DACM, Farmer, and Herbalist. Bradley has worked as an herbalist and plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He has studied acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Texas, Hawaii, and most recently here in Portland in OCOM’s doctoral program. He has clinical experience in a number of settings, including private practice, multi-disciplinary clinics, and nutraceutical/herbal pharmacies. Using plants and herbs to heal, both clinically and through diet, has been the foundation of his approach to healthcare and wellness. 

Deb Espesete 

Deb Espesete, MPH, MAcOM, LAc earned her BA from Macalester College in 1990, her MAcOM from OCOM in 2000, and her MPH from Oregon Health & Science University in 2012. Ms. Espesete has been in private practice since 2000 in Portland, Oregon. She taught Soaring Crane Qigong at the Cancer Care Center at Providence Medical Center and St. Vincent Hospital from 2005-2013. She interned with Kelly Jenkins, D.V.M. on small animal acupuncture, herbal formulas and nutritional advice from 2009 to 2011. Ms. Espesete had been a member of OCOM’s faculty since 2006. 

Patricia Gallegos 

Patricia J. Gallegos, DAOM, LAc earned both a MAcOM degree in 2003 and a DAOM degree in 2013 from OCOM. She has been in private practice since 2003 in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Gallegos has many years of experience as an interpreter and instructor in American Sign Language. She also speaks Spanish. Dr. Gallegos had been a member of OCOM faculty since 2010. 

Janice Halteman 

Janice Halteman, DAOM, LAc earned a BA from University of Alabama in 1994, her MAcOM in 2010 and DAOM in 2012 from OCOM. She has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 2010. Dr. Halteman worked at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital Pain clinic in Bhutan in 2011. In addition to TCM, she practices Master Nagano/Kiiko Matsumoto Japanese Meridian Balancing, Master Tung, Tan Balance System, and Toyohari Shonishin. Dr. Halteman had been a member of OCOM clinical faculty since 2017. 

Connie Jan 

Connie Jan, DAOM, LAc earned a BFA from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2008 and her MAcOM from OCOM in 2013 and her Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental medicine from OCOM in 2024. Ms. Jan has been in private practice in Portland since 2014. In addition to TCM she trained in Toyohari, Sotai, and Tuina massage for adults and children. Her private practice focuses on pain, preventative, and wellness care for the whole family. Ms. Jan had been a member of OCOM faculty since 2018. 

Xiang Ji 

姬祥 Xiang Ji, DAOM, LAc completed both his master’s degree and doctoral degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at OCOM, where he was also a part-time faculty and herbal medicinary supervisor. Born and raised in Zhengzhou 郑州, Henan, in China, he is a licensed acupuncturist in the state of Oregon with a private practice in Milwaukie. 

Robert Kaneko 

Robert Kaneko, DAOM, LAc has been licensed as an acupuncturist since 1985.  He received his doctoral degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine in 2007 at OCOM. He is the former Dean of Clinics and the Clinic Director at OCOM and was a clinical faculty member at the college. 

Martin Kidwell 

Martin Kidwell, DAOM, LAc earned a BA from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987, his MS in Oriental Medicine from Meiji College of Oriental Medicine in 1997, and his DAOM from OCOM in 2010. He was in private practice 1998-2017 in California, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon. Dr. Kidwell was a faculty member at American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 2003 to 2007 and OCOM 2007-2020. He returned to OCOM clinical faculty in 2022. 

Yan Lu 

Yan Lu, DAOM, LAc earned a Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) degree from the Heilongjiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (China) in 1990 and a DAOM from OCOM in 2007. He has assisted in clinical and experimental research on acupuncture treatment of cerebral stroke and has extensive training in tuina massage. Dr. Lu has been a faculty member at OCOM and in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 1997. 

Leslie Monarch 

Leslie Monarch, DAOM, LAc earned an Associate of Science from Portland Community College in 1993. They received their MAcOM in 1996 and DAOM in 2013, both from OCOM. Dr. Monarch has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 1996. They have a background in massage therapy and have extensively studied tuina, qigong and Five Element style acupuncture. Dr. Monarch had been a member of OCOM faculty since 2005. They also served as the Vice Chair of OCOM Faculty Senate. 

Cita Oudijk 

Cita Oudijk, MAcOM, LAc earned a BA from Lewis and Clark College in 1989 and a MAcOM from OCOM in 1998. She has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 2001 and previously practiced in Asheville, North Carolina from 1999 to 2000. Ms. Oudijk had been a member of OCOM clinical faculty since 2011. 

Andrew Schlabach 

Andrew Schlabach, MAcOM, LAc earned his MAcOM from OCOM in 2008. He is the co-founder and President of the Acupuncture Relief Project since 2008, an organization that has provided acupuncture treatments to patients living in rural villages outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. He is an accomplished mountaineer with expedition experience in the Himalayas, distinguishing himself as an instructor at the prestigious Himalayan Mountain Institute in Darjeeling, India. Mr. Schlabach is also a veteran of the U.S. Army. He has been in private practice in Vancouver, Washington since 2008. He had been a member of OCOM faculty and clinical faculty since 2014. 

Erico Schleicher 

Erico Schleicher, MAcOM, LAc earned a BA from Oberlin College in 1994, and MAcOM from OCOM in 2002. He has been in private practice since 2003 in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Schleicher is an enthusiastic herbalist and gardener with a love for the wild local plant medicines of the Cascadia bioregion. He has been the co-owner, co-director, and instructor at Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine since 2007. He had been a member of OCOM’s clinical faculty since 2012. 

Kumiko Shirai 

Kumiko Shirai, DACM, LAc earned a BS from Oregon State University in 2003, a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from NUNM in 2008, and a DACM from OCOM in 2021. She has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 2008. Dr. Shirai specializes in Chinese and Japanese (Kampo), Herbal Medicine (Shang Han Lun), Fukushin: Shang Han Lun Style of Japanese Abdominal Diagnosis. She was an instructor at the Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine from 2008 to 2011 and has been a private tai chi and qigong instructor since 2002. Dr. Shirai had been a member of OCOM’s faculty and clinical faculty since 2019. 

Erika Sigrist 

Erika Sigrist, ND, MAcOM, LAc earned a BA from University of Oregon in 2002, her ND degree in 2008 from NUNM, and her MAcOM from OCOM in 2011. She has been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 2012. Dr. Sigrist had been a member of OCOM’s faculty and clinical faculty since 2012. 

Douglas Wingate 

Douglas Wingate, DTCM, LAc earned his MAcOM at OCOM in 2011 and his Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University in 2022. In 2023, he completed an Advanced Certificate in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy at the Integrative Psychiatry Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Wingate has completed several programs including the Clinical Neuroscience Program at the Carrick Institute. He is the author of five texts including the Atlas of Neural Network Acupuncture and Healing Brain Injury with Chinese Medical Approaches: Integrative Approaches for Practitioners. From 2018-21 Dr. Wingate was on staff at the Oregon Health and Science University Department of Neurology. He holds a license in Oregon as a Psilocybin Facilitator since 2023 and as a licensed acupuncturist since 2011. He has been in practice in Portland since 2011. 

Fang Zhang 

Fang Zhang, DAOM, LAc earned a Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1995 and a Master of TCM degree in 2000 from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She earned a DAOM from OCOM in 2010. She was a faculty member at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 1994 to 2002, International Institute of Chinese Medicine 2002-2003, and Southwest Acupuncture College in 2003. Dr. Zhang had been a faculty member at OCOM since 2004.