Linda Ackerman
DNP, RN
Linda’s passion is to provide a healing community for healthcare professionals through healing circles. Linda has been a nurse for 43 years primarily as a nurse leader in inpatient hospital settings. Linda is a Caritas Coach and a HeartMath trainer. Following the Covid pandemic, Linda became involved in Healing Circles Global in 2020. Linda cohosts Healing Circles for healthcare leaders and recently, Healing Circles for caregivers of family members with cancer. In 2023 Linda joined the HCHC professional services as a training facility member.
M. Leslie Carveth
MN, RN, APN
Leslie has been dedicated to improving healthcare through her career as a nurse leader clinically and administratively in the military, healthcare organizations, non-profits, and in healthcare consulting. She is an integrative nurse coach and has been active at Harmony Hill Cancer Retreat Center and then Healing Circles Global since 2011. Leslie has been on the board of the Healing Circles Healthcare Team since 2018. She is currently the program director of the Healing Circles Healthcare Professional Services.
Susan M. Cooley
PhD, RN
Susan has long worked to bring the power of nursing and embracing the healer’s art to the nursing/healthcare community. She is a nurse practitioner, healthcare consultant, faculty member and entrepreneur. Susan became aware of the Cancer Help Program at Commonweal when undergoing colon cancer treatment. Her interest in practices to improve nurse and caregiver resilience led Susan to actively participate in Healing Circles Houston. In 2016 Susan told her story in a TEDx talk “The Other Side of the Stethoscope.” She has been a board member of the Healing Circles Healthcare Team since 2018.
Catherine J. Dodd
PhD, FAAN
Catherine has been a dedicated advocate for nursing and quality health for over 30 years. Her participation in a Commonweal Cancer Help retreat led her to focus on health and healing. of herself and her profession. Catherine believes we can heal our profession and the health system from the inside and healing circles is a magical elixir to do just that. Catherine consults on health policy, politics, environmental health and justice, homelessness, aging and end of life care. She sits on the Commonweal Board, is a member of the Healing Circles Healthcare Leadership Team since 2018, and training faculty with the HCHC professional services.
Lindsay Espejel
DNP, BSN, RN
Lindsay is passionate about supporting whole systems healing. Her life and clinical nurse leader experiences in a variety of specialties ignited her commitment to bring Healing Circles to nurses and all professionals and organizations. Lindsay completed Healing Circles research as a part of her doctorate of nursing practice in integrative health and healing in 2023. Lindsay has been part of the Healing Circles Healthcare Leadership Team since 2018 and now holds the position of Deputy Director of Healing Circles Global at Commonweal.
Erica Hooper
DNP, RN
Erica’s personal mission is to be of service for the healing and transformation of others to reach their greatest potential. Erica carries a passion for health and wellness through alternative healing practices as well as helping healthcare professionals better care for themselves. Erica has been teaching at the University of San Francisco (USF) since 2005 and joined Kaiser Permanente in 2020 as a Regional Program Manager for the Scholars Academy. Erica joined Healing Circles Global in 2020, became training faculty with Healing Circles Health Care (HCHC) professional services in 2022, and joined the HCHC leadership team in 2023.
Sara Horton-Deutsch
PhD, RN, PMHCNS, FAAN, ANEF
Sara’s unique passion is to build spaces (homes, hospitals, communities) that are creative, healthy, and bounded. Sara has worked in academic and practice settings for 35 years as an advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurse, teacher/ practitioner, consultant, program director, Caring Science endowed chair, author and currently serves as director of the University of San Francisco/ Kaiser Permanente Partnership. Sara has been part of the leadership council at Healing Circles Global since 2020.
Pat McClendon
RN, DNP, Author, EOL Doula
Pat has two passions, engaging with nurses in healing circles and supporting the dying in reaching a natural and peaceful death. Pat is a former nurse leader in clinical, administrative and executive roles in healthcare organizations for over 30 years, and now lives in Temecula, CA. Pat joined the Healing Circles Healthcare leadership team in 2021, and training faculty with the HCHC professional services in 2023.
Meghan McGraw
MEd, RN, HNB-BC, NCC, EOL Doula
Meghan’s mission is to create communal spaces for connection, self-discovery, and healing. Meghan is a nurse and counselor currently working in an academic setting offering community programs for people living with dementia. Meghan joined Healing Circles Global in 2020 and co-hosts caregiving and death and dying circles. She has served on the Healing Circles Healthcare leadership team since 2021 and joined the training faculty in 2023.
Charlie Pieterick
RN, MS, ANP-BC
Charlie Pieterick has been a nurse practitioner for 35 years in a variety of clinical settings in the US and Africa. These include primary and urgent care, subacute care and rehabilitation, oncology, and palliative care. Throughout his career, Charlie has incorporated touch, body-mind awareness, and meditation in his nursing practice. He was invited into the Healing Circles community by a fellow nurse practitioner in 2018 just as he was retiring. Charlie has been a leading Healing Circles Global host and guardian training since.
Ruth Roberts Smith
MN, RN
Throughout Ruth’s career, she has held a passion for holistic wellness and healthcare transformation as a clinical nurse, HeartMath trainer, and Caritas Coach. Ruth’s professional journey encompassed a diverse range of acute care modalities that culminated in leading large-scale initiatives across ten Kaiser Permanente medical centers as a Clinical Practice Consultant. Currently, Ruth actively participates in Healing Circles Healthcare and caring for loved ones with cancer, and is training faculty with the HCHC professional services.
Patti Wolfrom
LAc, RN (ret)
Patti has dedicated her life to service and self-discovery in healing. She is a certified integrative nurse coach, licensed acupuncturist, yoga instructor and retreat leader. Patti has more than 45 years of experience working in the healthcare field, with over two decades in oncology and hospice. Her education is a BSN and master’s degree is in Acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Patti has been involved in healing circles at Harmony Hill Cancer Retreat Center, then Healing Circles Global since 2011. She has been on the board of the Healing Circles Healthcare team since 2018, and training faculty with the HCHC professional services in 2022.
Healing Circles Healthcare Contributors
Leslie Heron
RN, MH, APRN, FNP-BC, NC-BC
Leslie Heron brings her clinical nurse coaching experience in family practice, hospitals, home health and hospice to individuals, community, and professional groups in classrooms, retreat settings, and at national and international educational conferences. As a co-founder of Nursing Leadership for Healing Circles (NLHC), Leslie is committed to sharing the techniques of Healing Circles with healthcare professionals. Leslie co-owns The Green Labyrinth, a retreat center nestled in the foothills of Mount Baker in northwest Washington State.
Jackie Levin
MS, RN, BC-NC, AHN-BC
Jackie Levin has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare. She is the executive director of Leading Edge Nursing, a published author, public speaker, and consultant focusing on transforming healthcare organizations and workplace cultures. Jackie joined the Healing Circles Global community in local centers prior to the Covid 19 epidemic, and in 2020 she assisted Healing Circle Global achieve international reach in bringing healing circle training online. Jackie contributed to the development of Healing Circle Healthcare Leadership plan in 2022.
Ann Webster
RN, HWNC-BC
Ann is a holistic nurse and integrative nurse coach with experience in the field of addiction and substance abuse with the intention to influence lifestyle choices to heal illness and chronic diseases. She joined the Healing Circles Global community in local centers prior to the Covid 19 epidemic, and in 2020 Ann assisted Healing Circle Global achieve international reach in bringing healing circle training online. Ann contributed to the development of Healing Circle Healthcare Leadership plan in 2022.