The instructors in this school are an incredible group. Although very different in background and style, they all have this in common: an uncompromising commitment to the quality of their students’ growth and skill development, and a great enthusiasm for their own life-long learning. All have years of experience in successful practices. They are also funny, smart, and compassionate.

Janine Borger
A&P AND PATHOLOGY COORDINATOR, EDMONTON
Janine has been with MH Vicars School from the very beginning, and brings years of experience as a teacher and therapist to the classes she teaches.
Janine owned a successful clinic in Lacombe for many years, and continues to practice there independently. Her experience living and working in a small town makes her an invaluable resource for our many rural students. As an employer, she became interested in teaching massage because of her experience in the on-the-job development of recent massage therapy grads. She found it frustrating that the schools at the time were not producing graduates that were ready to work effectively. She helped founder Maryhelen Vicars to fine-tune the new school’s program to a higher level of job readiness for its grads.
She has been active in the education work of the Massage Therapist Association of Alberta, and is enthusiastic about working with adult students.

Christina Capone
Christina teaches first-year classes in Calgary.

Renato Chiumento
By joining MH Vicars School as an instructor, Renato was able to seamlessly combine his two careers.
When he graduated from MH Vicars School in 2010, Renato began to practice out of his home-based clinic. But he didn‘t give up his previous career as a high school teacher. He continued to both practice and teach for nearly a decade before he was ready to leave the public school system. But he wasn’t ready to leave teaching behind, so he now brings his many years of educational experience to Vicars.
Renato was first drawn to massage as a way to help his wife manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. In addition to working with clients with chronic conditions, his current practice specializes in treating stress and soft-tissue restrictions.

Jaime DeGroot
Jaime chose a career in massage therapy because she had always enjoyed giving massages to family and friends. She now practices at a clinic and fitness centre, and loves being able to help her clients stay pain-free through the power of touch.
Jaime graduated from MH Vicars in 2013, and returned a few years later as a clinic supervisor. She now teaches second year in Edmonton. She is also a talented singer, and is actively involved in Edmonton’s music scene.

Crystal Dunn
Crystal enjoys massage because she is fascinated by the human body and enjoys bringing improvement to people’s overall quality of life and sense of well-being. That combination of curiosity and desire to help others develop make her a natural teacher, as well.
Crystal brings over a decade of experience as an massage therapist to her role as an instructor at MH Vicars. She is also a yoga instructor and reflexologist, and is a graduate of the International School of Thai Massage. She currently practices within a chiropractic clinic.

Anna Faris
Every step of Anna’s journey towards massage therapy has been guided by her fascination with anatomy; the way the human body can create such a wide array of movements while balancing function with structural integrity. Anna earned her kinesiology degree at the University of Alberta, and this led her to a career as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, in which she focused on athletic performance and injury prevention and rehabilitation. She had discovered the therapeutic benefits of massage while in university, when she was recovering from a car accident.
Deciding that massage therapy would be a good complement to her fitness work, Anna enrolled at MH Vicars in Edmonton. But once she started practicing massage, Anna loved it so much that she now practices full-time at a multidisciplinary clinic in Jasper, Alberta.

Tamara Goodrich

Gabriela Husch

Dan Hvingelby
From very early in his career, Dan knew that he wanted to teach massage therapy as well as practice, because it gives him the opportunity to positively impact more peoples’ lives than one-on-one client care alone. He took his massage training at Mount Royal College and then the Foothills College of Massage Therapy, and was a teacher at Foothills for seven years before joining MH Vicars School in 2008. In his Calgary practice, Dan treats all types of clients, with a special focus on those with fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

Danielle Letailleur
Danielle has cultivated an incredibly well-rounded massage therapy career since she graduated from Vicars in 2011. Though she started a successful personal practice right out of school, she has deliberately sought out new experiences and work settings so that she can continue to grow as a therapist. She’s worked in a spa, a multidisciplinary health clinic, a yoga studio, and even a backcountry ski lodge. After settling in Edmonton with her family, she returned to Vicars as an instructor and supervisor, where her students benefit both from her wide experience and passion for the profession.

Courtney Mitchell
You would be hard-pressed to find an area of the massage therapy industry in which Courtney hasn’t worked. A practicing therapist since 2000, she has worked in large and small spas; has done mobile massage treating all types of client, from athletes to movie crews; owned a multi-disciplinary clinic in Vancouver; and currently runs a small practice out of her home in Canmore. She appreciates the flexibility that comes with having such a versatile career.
Courtney has been teaching first and second year at the Calgary campus since 2013.
Alyssa Mossey
Alyssa is a massage therapist and instructor who values collaboration, active learning, and helping her students and clients achieve their goals.
Since graduating from the Vicars Calgary campus, Alyssa has worked in multi-modality and physiotherapy clinics in Banff, Alberta. She specializes in treating athletes and clients recovering from surgery, and working with other professionals to give her clients well-rounded care. Her continuing education interests are centered around practicing therapeutic massage with a kinetic focus. As a mountain biking coach she puts her own body through a lot, and knows how important massage is to prevent and care for injuries.
As an instructor, she loves watching students have “Aha” moments and to see them become enthralled with the body and the way RMTs can influence it with in our practices.

Lourdes Nunes-Sammer
Lourdes’ decision to become a massage therapist was driven by her lifelong curiosity and interest in health and wellness. She wanted a hands-on understanding of the body, and to know how to help people build the foundations to keep themselves healthy, well, active, and agile.
Lourdes earned her diploma from MH Vicars School in 2009. Like so many Vicars students, she lived several hours away from the city at the time, and travelled to Edmonton each month to complete her in-person classes.
In addition to being a 2009 graduate of the MH Vicars program, Lourdes brings to the table the knowledge & skills developed from over two decades of fitness and recreation programming & leadership and over a decade of experience as a massage therapist and massage clinic owner.
With her passion for teaching and massage therapy, instructing at MH Vicars is a natural fit. Teaching gives her the opportunity to share her skills and knowledge, as well as pursue her personal goals of lifelong learning.
Lourdes currently runs a successful multi-therapist clinic in Jasper, and has her own practice in Edmonton. As an instructor, she also draws from her experiences of over two decades working in fitness training and recreation programming.

Corliss Robertson
Corliss teaches first- and second-year classes in Calgary.

Mark Smith
Like many of our instructors and staff, Mark was drawn to massage therapy because of his own active lifestyle. A lifelong athlete who loves to hike, run, and play cricket, Mark also played soccer semi-professionally. Prior to becoming a massage therapist, Mark had a successful career as an environmental scientist in his native Australia, including seven years teaching in Australian universities. He took his massage training at the Whistler School of Massage and at MH Vicars. Mark’s practice in Canmore/Kananaskis specializes in therapeutic and sports massage.

Tabitha Trood
Tabitha was drawn to massage therapy because of her own active lifestyle. Growing up playing competitive sports (and picking up the inevitable injuries that went along with it), she wanted to learn how to help care for her own body. Tabitha is an MH Vicars graduate and has found much success through her massage career. She enjoys massage because it offers so many different treatment styles and modalities, and is a non-invasive, drug-free way to relieve pain. She chose to teach in addition to practicing because it gives her the chance to help others understand the positive impact massage can have on their lives and the lives of their clients.

Kerri Wagensveld
Like many of the students she teaches, Kerri came to massage therapy later in life after dreaming of it for many years. While a student at MH Vicars, she balanced her schoolwork with the responsibilities that come with being a working mother. Since graduating, she has applied that same work ethic to building a successful practice with a specialization in sport massage. Kerri treats athletes and the general public at the Active Life Centre in St Albert, and is pursuing her certification with the Canadian Sport Massage Therapists Association.