Governor Ducey Brings New Perspective To Board of Massage Therapy With New Members

Appointees To Replace All Existing Board Members

PHOENIX -Governor Doug Ducey today announced the appointment of five new members to the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy, succeeding members whose terms have expired.

"It's critical the State Board of Massage Therapy protects massage clients, especially those who are in a vulnerable position," said Governor Ducey. "I'm confident today's appointees will do that. Myriah, Bailey and Lisa have years of experience in victim advocacy and support, and Michael and Angela have a vast amount of knowledge on the industry. The state is committed to implementing policies and best practices that will help keep Arizonans who are massage clients safe, and will continue to work with industry professionals and members of the spa community moving forward."

The appointees will replace all of the existing board members, whose terms have expired, and fill a vacancy from a board member that resigned earlier this year. The Governor signed legislation in 2020 that modified the membership on the Board of Massage Therapy and several other regulatory boards to be composed of a majority of public members once the current members' terms expired. These appointments reflect that change.

Details on the appointees can be found below:

Myriah Mhoon, a public member on the board, is the CEO of New Life Center. The center is one of the largest domestic violence shelters in the country, and has an innovative 24-month transitional housing program for survivors of human trafficking. Mhoon has worked as a direct service provider as a social worker, but most recently became a statewide leader working at the Governor's Office of Youth, Faith and Family. She staffed the Arizona Governor's Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women, and helped staff the Arizona Guidelines for Developing a Regional Response to Youth Sex Trafficking project through the Arizona Human Trafficking Council. During her three-year tenure, Mhoon also staffed the domestic violence awareness campaign, Lighting Arizona Purple. In 2016, she sat on Arizona's Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force, guiding the Governor's Office with recommendations to combat the backlog of rape kits in the state.

Bailey DeRoest, a public member on the board, is the co-director of Sojourner Center. The center is one of the leading programs for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking in Arizona. DeRoest has more than seventeen years of experience in serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, first as a crisis shelter manager early in her career and more recently as chief operating officer. She served on the board of directors for the Utah Men's Anti Violence Network and was nominated to serve two years as the chair for the Iron County Sexual and Domestic Violence Coalition.

Lisa Lucchesi, a public member on the board, is National Human Trafficking Specialist at Aetna where she develops and manages programs throughout the country, within Aetna's plans, that are specific to victims of trafficking. Since joining the insurance industry in 2015, Lucchesi has been instrumental in the development of collaborative processes to treat minor victims of trafficking. In her previous job, she was responsible for providing technical assistance on complex and high-profile behavioral and mental health cases involving at-risk children, minor victims of trafficking and other high-risk populations. Lucchesi began her career in social work as a case aide for Child Protective Services (currently the Arizona Department of Child Safety) and went on to work in Arizona's child welfare system for 11 years.

Michael Tapscott, a licensed massage therapist, is a Senior Instructor of Massage Therapy at Gateway Community College. He has over 25 years of experience as a Licensed Massage Therapist in Arizona. During this time, he has performed more than 15,000 hours of massage therapy, taught at two schools and managed a team of 50 massage therapists at a large valley resort. Tapscott's experience goes beyond the massage industry, working on the Human Services Campus of Phoenix for many years with homeless individuals.

Angela Reiter, a licensed massage therapist, is the owner of Integrative Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Reiter is a graduate of the Chicago School of Massage Therapy and has practiced as a licensed and board-certified massage therapist since 1994. She began her teaching career in 2001 and continued to teach at the Chicago School of Massage Therapy (then to become Cortiva Institute) and later in Scottsdale at the Cortiva Institute where she was an instructor, Director of Education and Career Services Manager. She has managed and owned day spas and currently owns a private practice office providing clinical massage therapy. She is highly proficient in practicing and teaching a variety of integrated massage therapy techniques, as well as communication, business and ethics. Reiter is board certified with the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

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