Theresa A. Egan is the retired Director of Business Systems Re-engineering for The Gillette Company. A Cotuit resident, she formerly served as Secretary and President of the board of the Santuit Cotuit Historical Society, and as Secretary and Vice President of the Cotuit Library Association.

 

  C. Patricia Fater, M.D., is a Board Certified Family Physician and the Director of Complete Wellness in Cotuit. Dr. Fater’s practice incorporates alternative therapies and mind-body medicine, and she frequently presents information on the topic to various community and medical organizations.

 

  Shirley Frye retired in 2012 after serving 26 years as Chief Financial Officer of The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod. She is a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, passionately teaching this form of hot meditative yoga in Falmouth and West Barnstable. She has formerly served on the Boards of Alzheimer's Services of Cape Cod and the Islands and Cape Abilities. Shirley holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and assists Calmer Choice with its financial activities.

 

  Karen Weston Hanesian is a partner in the law firm, Ramsey & Hanesian, L.L.P., located in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The firm solely provides legal representation in matters which affect elders and disabled persons. Karen's past and present non-profit affiliations include: Co-Chair of the Elder Law Committee for the Massachusetts Bar Association, Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, President of Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc., and Board of Trustees for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands (now Spaulding Cape Cod). She has also participated in focus groups and ethics rounds at area health care facilities and given numerous presentations to community organizations.

  Adria Kennedy, RN, MSN, family psychiatric nurse practitioner (graduates Dec. 2011). Her expertise as a public health nurse and nationally certified school nurse trained to provide mindfulness-based programs in schools are particularly beneficial to CALMER Choice. Adria has served on the local boards of many national organizations as well as multiple community-based maternal child health and mental health organizations. She has served as health care consultant to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Cape Cod YMCA, and many other community-based organizations serving youth and families.

  Bart Main is a child/adolescent psychiatrist who has been on Cape Cod for just over a year. He has dedicated his 30 year professional life to the wellbeing of children and families in Minnesota and Massachusetts. He joined the board of Calmer Choice because of his enthusiasm for the self-control that mindfulness practice puts in the hands of kids.

 

  Detective Sergeant Charles E. Peterson - MA, RYT. Chuck began his law enforcement career in 1979 with the Yarmouth police Department. His primary assignments have included patrol, K-9, and investigations. Chuck spent 15 years as a detective working narcotics and major crimes before being promoted and assuming the supervisory duties for the detective unit. Chuck was one of the original members and a team leader on the regional SWAT team. He is a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center certified instructor and he instructs for the Municipal Police Training Committee, The Municipal Police Institute and his agency. As an instructor he has provided specialized training in drug investigations, search and seizure and related topics. During his career he has provided training to over 1000 police officers. Chuck holds a Bachelors Degree in Law Enforcement from Northeastern University and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Anna Maria University. He has completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training through Kind Yoga and he is registered through Yoga Alliance.

  Peter M. Shea, Ed.D. is a School Psychologist for Mashpee Public Schools. He holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and a Doctorate degree in Educational Psychology. Throughout his career he has worked with many populations including K-12 students, college students, incarcerated men and women, and adults addicted to drugs and alcohol.

 

  David Troutman is the owner of the Scargo Café in Dennis, Massachusetts. David holds a B.S. in Communications from Suffolk University and assists Calmer Choice in the areas of marketing and fundraising.

 

Mindfulness Teachers

  Molly Alvin graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a BA in Psychology and Education. She is licensed in the state of Massachusetts as an elementary school teacher for grades PreK – 2, and taught first grade in a public school for two years. Molly has been working with children in many different settings for the past 7 years, ages pre-school to high school. She has assisted in the Calmer Choice curriculum development, drawing on her classroom experience and knowledge of child development.

 

  Deborah Ennis, M.A., LMHC, has been teaching mindfulness and stress reduction to adults and adolescents since 1987. She is in private practice as a psychotherapist in Orleans with a specialty in body-mind approaches to mood disorders and to trauma. She has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology through Lesley University and a Master's in Health Education through the University of Florida. She trained at the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical Center in Worcester as well as Mindful Schools out of Oakland, California. Deborah has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction groups since 2007.

  Bob Jensen has lived on Cape Cod since 1976. He has owned his own mooring and marine service business since 1989 and prior to that worked as a fisherman. A long distance runner, Bob started the Cape Cod 100, a 100 mile foot race from Woods Hole to Provincetown held annually to raise money for Calmer Choice. Bob is a registered and certified yoga instructor and was trained through the Kind Yoga School on Cape Cod and in Yin Yoga through Paul Grilley in Oregon. He practices yoga daily and teaches Hot Yin Yoga at Bikram Yoga Cape Cod. Bob was trained in Mindfulness thru Cape Stress Reduction in Marstons Mills and the Mindfulness in Schools Project at Oxford University in the UK. He now teaches mindfulness to middle and high school students.

  Caroline McCutcheon did her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She is MA certified in Elementary Education and has taught in public schools in Western Massachusetts and Vermont. For the past 15 years, Caroline has worked for Monomoy Community Services in Chatham where she has developed a wide array of enrichment programs for children from infants through middle school. She is also an Itsy Bitsy Yoga and Child Light Yoga instructor, and teaches yoga to young children at libraries and preschools across Cape Cod. Caroline received her MBSR training at the Cape Stress Reduction and Center for Optimal Health.

  Katie Medlar has worked with children and youth for over 25 years in classrooms, homes, youth groups, summer camps and volunteer organizations. She has been dedicated to children’s social/ emotional growth and to providing developmental and meaningful education for them. Katie studied Elementary Education/Human Development at Leslie University, and received her training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at the Cape Stress Reduction and Optimal Health in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts and Level 2 Curriculum Training through Mindful Schools in Oakland, California. She has been teaching mindfulness in elementary and middle schools on the Cape for Calmer Choice.

  Courtney Poignand , MS, CHC, KYTis a health care coach, holistic counselor and yoga therapist. For the past ten years, Courtney has been bringing yoga and holistic education into Cape Cod schools. Courtney has over twenty years of experience and certifications in yoga, fitness, psychotherapy, mindfulness, nutrition, energy psychology and organizational development. She maintains a private coaching practice in Orleans, MA where she also conducts groups for teens, women, healthcare providers and caregivers as well as those affected by chronic illness. Courtney is also affiliated with Gosnold Thorne Counseling Center in Mashpee, MA.

  Patty Weinstein graduated from Lesley College with a BS in Education. A licensed massage therapist with an interest in alternative therapies, Patty brings many years of experience with children as a teacher, mother, and grandmother to her work as an instructor for Calmer Choice. Patty received her training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at the Cape Stress Reduction and Optimal Health in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts and Level 2 Curriculum Training through Mindful Schools in Oakland, California. In addition to her work for Calmer Choice, Patty is a member of the Leadership Team for Banana Republic and chairs our highly successful Spectacle of Trees annual fundraiser.