Team | la2014

Featured Keynote Speaker - Steve Kim

Earth Citizen Organization Director and Vice President.

Steve Kim is a Life-long practitioner of meditation for mindfulness, experienced and motivated educator of practices and philosophy of Taoism, and visionary executive of international charitable organizations. He studied linguistics, literature and education. Steve lelped the establishment of Tao Fellowship 1997 as an organization to promote the spirit of Tao as universal principles for healthier and more balanced life and a peaceful and sustainable world. He began serving the organization as its president since 2003. In 2013, Steve helped the establishment of Earth Citizens Organization (ECO), a non-profit organization devoted to organize and support Earth Citizen Movement for practicing mindful living for a sustainable world.

Brain Education for a Sustainable Society

Meet the Team

Marsha is owner of Body & Brain Yoga and Fitness Center in Westchester, CA. Marsha was born and raised in Los Angeles. Marsha has always been fascinated with the brain and its relation to human behavior and personality. So when she discovered Brain Education, this became a natural transition out of the optical and medical office and into a brain-based, integrative mind body center. She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy.

Marsha Takamiya

BBC Owner & Manager

Marina Kachko

BBC Owner & Manager

Marina Kachko is Owner and Head Instructor of Body & Brain Center in Chatsworth, CA. Marina’s experience with Brain Education began in 2004 and soon escalated to a full-time career at the multiple locations in the greater Los Angeles area, including local Schools, Senior Centers, private business establishments and at community events. In addition, Marina is an experienced yoga, Tai Chi and Meditation Instructor. She loves photography, design and oil painting. Prior to opening her Body & Brain Center, Marina achieved success in business management using her background in Banking and Finance.

Task Force

Donna Landon

BE Trainer

Donna Landon has been a teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 26 years. For the past 21 years she has taught 6th grade honors, regular,and special education students at Nobel Charter Middle School in Northridge where she is currently teaching reading intervention. She received her BA, teaching credential, and Masters in Educational Administration from CSUN. Donna discovered the health benefits of Dahn Yoga and Brain Education 10 years ago, becoming a Dahn Master in 2012. Donna has utilized Brain Education techniques to reduce stress and improve focus in the classroom with her students as well as leading well-received professional development for teachers and administrators at Nobel. She has also been teaching a thriving community outreach body and brain exercise program at the First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills since 2009. One of her students includes her 90 year old father. She attended LAUSD’s first annual health festival, Run, Walk, Move It, in 2013 and is looking forward to involving Nobel Charter and Brain Education in this year’s festival. Donna lives in Granada Hills with her husband. She has one adult son and five grandchildren.

Jan Cogan

BE Trainer

Jan Cogan is a retired French/Spanish/Drama/English teacher who taught for 39 years in the Tustin Unified School District. After retiring last year, she became a Dahn Master and a certified Brain Education Instructor. She has taught Brain Education courses at both the elementary and secondary levels, and is currently an assistant professor in the Brain Education for Successful Aging course at Cal State University, Fullerton. Jan is passionate about teaching Brain Education to special needs children and to the elderly.

Judy A. Smith, Ed.D. teaches “Brain Education for Successful Aging” class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Center (OLLI) at California State University and has taught Brain Education k-8 Curriculum classes at the Girls and Boys club, Brea Center and at Placentia-Yorba Linda School district children with Autism in grades k-6. She has over 30 years in the Public Education system and the State University System serving as special education teacher, k-8, Reading Specialist (K-2), Director of Bilingual-multicultural programs, RIF (Reading is Fundamental) Coordinator, in the La Habra City School ; District Student services specialist, East Whittier City School District and ultimately, University full-time faculty in the College of Education at California State University Fullerton. She is a Master in Dahn Yoga and a Brain Education Leader.

Judy shares her passion for personal transformation and healing through her BE classes. She brings BE and Dahn Yoga to the 13,000 people who attend the “Annual Donate Life Run Walk” at California State University. She chairs the Brea Center “Brain Education Committee” and has presented Brain Education to Placentia-Yorba Linda District Administration, Donate Life

Judy Smith

Ed.D

Alina Pikula, M. Ed. is Manage & Instructor of Power Brain Training Center in Bayside, NY. Alina has 18 years of experience teaching math, science and ESL to middle school students. The focus of her Power Brain Training Center is helping children from 4-17 years-old and as well as adults to maximize their brain potential.

Alina Pikula

PBE Manager

Brain Education & Schools

Brain Education & Family and Character Building

David A. Kaiser

Ph. D.

Brain Education & Mental Health

David A. Kaiser is a clinical neuroscientist with extensive entrepreneurial, software development, and academic experience. He was Editor of the Journal of Neurotherapy for 10 years, publisher of Brain and Cosmos (interdisciplinary journal), fellow of the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, Past President of the Neurofeedback Division of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, founding member of Society for Advancement of Brain Analysis, and taught neuropsychology and neuroscience courses around the world including five years at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has an Ph.D. in Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from University of California at Los Angeles, an M.F.A. from University of Iowa, and a B.A. from Cornell University. His interests include neurotherapy, school size, neurotheology, synchrony between individuals (neurocompanions), and neurocosmology, the connection between cosmology and consciousness.

Maureen Godfrey

BBC Owner

Maureen Godfrey is owner of Body & Brain in The Woodlands, TX, a center offering holistic yoga and tai-chi classes since 2009. She is a Master in Dahn Yoga and Brain Education which she has studied and practiced extensively for over 8 years. After over 30 years in the corporate world as a Management Consultant, providing corporate executives with guidance on the implementation of Corporate-wide Project/Program and Change Management Offices, Maureen became aware of the impact stress was having on her health. She found Dahn Yoga and now shares her passion for the personal transformation that can be achieved through wellness programs, by teaching them herself.

Her Body & Brain Holistic Yoga center in The Woodlands is recognized by her peers as a leading and model center. She delivers programs for adults, seniors, children and teens at her center, as well as on-site workplaces, and through outreach, including to juvenile offenders on probation, with such positive results that the Judge chose to mandate the program, so that more teens could benefit.

Cynthia Thaik

M.D., Cardiologist

Brain Education & Worksite Wellness

Brain Education & Nutrition

Presenters

America, and Wisdom Circle. Judy received her B.A. Degree and teaching credentials from California State University, Fullerton and her M.S. and Ed.D in Institutional Management and Leadership from Pepperdine University. She is currently serving as part time, adjunct faculty/retired in the College of Education at California State. She is a native of California and resides in Fullerton.

She was the 2009 chair of the Houston Wellness Association’s Worksite Wellness Committee, vice-chair in 2008 and served on the HWA Symposium development team 2007-2010 She organized, chaired and was a panel speaker at quarterly conferences aimed at increasing wellness awareness in the corporate world.

Maureen lives in The Woodlands with husband. She has two adult sons.

Dr. Cynthia Thaik is a Harvard-trained, board-certified cardiologist, specializing in women’s health, cardiovascular health and congestive heart failure. She is the founder of Revitalize-U, A New Body Image, a wellness center focused on health, nutrition, weight loss and detoxification. The author of Your Vibrant Heart: Restoring Health, Strength & Spirit from the Body’s Core ( 2014), she is also a former co-director of the Women’s Cardiac Risk Screening Program at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine.
As a practicing Buddhist, Dr. Thaik believes in being centered and present in each moment. She teaches that each individual has the amazing potential to heal ailments through mindfulness. On a mission to shift the medical paradigm from crisis management to wellness, Dr. Thaik has helped thousands of patients take purposeful actions to transform their health through the way they think, feel and act. A strong believer in personal responsibility, Dr. Cynthia doesn't just prescribe these practices to her patients; she incorporates these practices in her daily family life. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and three children.

Special Aknowlegment

Fatima Bustos-Choy, PhD is owner of Body & Brain Holistic Wellness Center in Burbank, CA. Fatima embodies her life-long journey on personal empowerment and spirituality by delivering integrative and holistic approaches for people to live healthy, happy, and meaningful lives. She is also founder of Gaia Flow Consulting, a leadership & organizational development consultancy, dedicated to working with organizational leaders and their teams to achieve business results. Using her passion for Brain Education, Fatima helps corporate clients as well as her center members to be creative, self-confident, manage change and achieve better physical health & wellbeing, emotional balance & stability, enhanced cognitive & learning functions and heightened mental awareness and mindfulness. She is a guide to people who are looking to make profound and sustainable lifestyle changes.

Prior to opening Body & Brain Holistic Wellness, Fatima had extensive experience in corporate leadership positions as Director of Training for Citibank, CA as well as a consultant working with private companies, namely, IBM Corporation, Raytheon Corporation, Merck Pharmaceutical Company, Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company, Wells Fargo, as well as community based organizations, such as Los Angeles Best Babies Network, LEAP, Inc. (Leadership

Fatima Bustos-Choy

Ph. D.

Temani Aldine

General Counsel/VP of Communications

Open Space Trainer

Panel Moderator

Education for Asian Pacifics), North East Valley Health Corporation, The Aerospace Corporation, Philippine National Oil Company, SIPA (Search To Involve Pilipino Americans), Girls and Gangs, to name a few. She has a Masters Degree in Organizational Management and a Doctoral Degree in Humanities with a focus on Transformative Learning and Change. She has presented at various national conferences.

She lives with her family in Glendale, CA.

Temani F. Aldine is General Counsel and Vice-President of Communications for Dahn Yoga & Health Centers, Inc.; his work involves spreading good information, helping people create healthier, more fulfilling lives. A corporate lawyer by training, he is responsible for the company's PR and Marketing, as well as legal matters. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Temani is a Dahn Yoga instructor and has been since 2007. Prior to that he studied various styles of yoga and meditation for 15 years. He enjoys hiking, meditating, writing and cooking.

Education: Boston University School of Law, Iowa State University

Birthplace: Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Languages: English, French, Thai, Spanish

BE Conference Task Force Leader

Master of Ceremonies - Tony Potts

TONY POTTS finished a remarkable 12-year run as a fixture in Hollywood on NBC’s hit show, “Access Hollywood,” and launched DOT N’ FEATHER IDEATION.Tony is also Managing Partner at SierraMaya360, a venture fund investing in great people with incredible ideas to change the world. Tony has been a part of Hollywood’s most memorable moments and seen daily by millions worldwide with his regular appearances on Access Hollywood, NBC’s TODAY, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, HLN and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Tony’s career started in sports as an anchor, reporter, producer and shooter. He then transitioned into his morning show host role at FOX NY where Tony’s quick-on-his-feet, unflappable, live television ability caught the eye of numerous network executives. Tony’s numerous film/television credits include acting alongside Mel Gibson in Ron Howard’s mega-hit film, "Ransom”, the season-finale of CBS’ “CSI: Miami” and Courtney Cox’s “Dirt”.

Tony has always been an avid athlete –running, body surfing, playing baseball, basketball, golf and tennis. He was the MVP of the 2007 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in Vegas.