SCHYS Administration
SCHYS Administration
| Administrator |
Title |
| JJ Gormley, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500 |
Executive Director |
| Barbara Sager, MS, E-RYT-500 |
Board of Directors Member |
| Laura Murphy-Mellencamp, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500 |
Director-Chicago Programs |
| Rev. Cynthia Snodgrass, PhD, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500 |
Director-Florida Programs |
| Hannah Zerphey, RYT-200 |
SCHYS Operations Manager |
Curriculum Design
| Designer |
Title |
| JJ Gormley, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500 |
Curriculum Designer |
Cynthia Snodgrass, PhD, MDiv,
E-RYT-500, CYTh |
Curriculum Designer |
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Faculty
SCHYS has faculty for each program run. We distinguish our Core Faculty from regular Faculty. Core Faculty are our senior faculty who also serve as the Program Coordinator for a particular location. Core Faculty may teach any or all SCHYS programs offered, and are Faculty-Mentors to students.
Faculty listed alphabetically, please see below for biographies
Core Faculty
- JJ Gormley, MS, C-IAYT, ERYT500
- Laura Jane Murphy Mellencamp, MA, C-IAYT, ERYT500
- Cynthia Snodgrass, PhD, MDiv, C-IAYT, ERYT500
Other Faculty
- Scottie Bruch, ERYT500 (South Dakota) -200-HR, Step 1
- Kaye Cannon, C-IAYT, ERYT200 (Mississippi) - 200-Hr
- Martha Catz, MS, ERYT500 (North Carolina) -200-Hr, Step 1
- N.Dan Catz, MD, FACS (North Carolina) - Adjunct Faculty for Anatomy/Physiology
- Brendan Feeley, MS, MAs, CAy (Maryland) - Adjunct Faculty for Ayurveda
- Laura Hogan, LCPC, RYT200 (Illinois) - 200-Hr, Step 1
- Michelle Leibrock, RYT500 (Illinois) - 200-Hr, Step 1
- Julie Lomax RYT500 (Illinois) - 200-Hr, Step 1
- George Nemecz, PhD, CAy (North Carolina) - Adjunct Faculty for Ayurveda
- Janice Olsson, MT, ERYT200 (South Dakota) - 200-Hr, Step 1
- Nicole Stell, ERYT200 (Virginia) - 200-Hr
- Hannah Zerphey, RYT500 (Virginia) - 200-Hr
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| JJ Gormley, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500
SCHYS Executive Director | Curriculum Designer | Program Coordinator
All programs | All locations
JJ is the SCHYS Executive Director of the training programs and acts as the main curriculum designer. She participates at each location as main faculty and co-leader of the program. JJ's Master's in Complementary and Alternative Medicine serves her well in both her teachings in the yoga program as well as in her private yoga therapy sessions. She has been a student of yoga since 1979, teaching since 1989, and running teaching training programs since 1994.
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| Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy, MA, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500
Director of Programming, Illinois
Laura Jane is the founder and director of one of Chicagoland's premier yoga studios - Yoga Among Friends. She has had in-depth studies in yogic philosophies and as a clinical psychologist. She enjoys blending her MA in Clinical and Counseling Psychology with her Yoga Therapy providing her clients with a holistic approach to psychological and emotional imbalances.
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| Cynthia Snodgrass, PhD, MDiv, E-RYT-500, CYTh
Curriculum Designer | Program Coordinator
All programs | Gulf Coast
Cynthia received her PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Stirling in Scotland, UK and her MDiv from Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary. She studied Sanskrit from Vyaas Houston (1992-2002) and Harvard University (2002-2005). Cynthia has been a teacher of Sanskrit with the American Sanskrit Institute since 1994. She has also been teaching Sanskrit and philosophy for SCHYS since its inception in 1994. Cynthia graduated with her Yoga Therapy Certificate from SCHYS in 2012.
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Yoga Therapy Faculty
SCHYS Yoga Therapy Faculty teach all subjects offered in the SCHYS Yoga Therapy Certificate Program. They teach less than the Core Faculty and do not act as Faculty-Mentors.
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| Chase Bossart, MA, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500
All programs | All locations
Since 1991, Chase has spent more than four years in Chennai, India studying one-on-one with Mr. T.K.V. Desikachar and his wife Menaka. He has observed therapeutic classes at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) and participated in trainings by Kausthub Desikachar and other long time students of Mr. Desikachar.
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| Amy Wheeler, PhD, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500
All programs | All locations
Amy contributes to the field of Yoga and Yoga Therapy in many meaningful ways, including teaching at the university level, teaching a multi-year Yoga Teacher/Therapy trainings, mentoring students individually, teaching online courses, and producing educational audio and video files. With respect to yoga research, Amy works with teams of university-based researches on grant-funded projects. She also plans intervention protocols and trains teachers and therapists to appropriately administer these protocols.
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YTT Year 1 Faculty
YTT Year 1 Faculty teach the first year of the Yoga Therapy Program. They serve as Faculty-Mentors for first year students.
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Scottie Bruch, E-RYT-500
Program Coordinator | 200-Hour, Prenatal, Children's, and Step 1 | South Dakota
With over 1,500 hours of training, Scottie has been teaching yoga since 2008 to youth and adults. She has helped organize and host numerous yoga workshops, retreats, trainings, conferences, and other special events with a passionate effort to share and spread the yoga light to others.
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Martha Catz, MS, E-RYT-500
Program Coordinator | Step 1 | North Carolina
Martha is the owner and director of The Yoga Connection School of Yoga. She has introduced yoga as a form of health and wellness to rural North Carolina through her two studios in Greensboro and Smithfield. Offering the full spectrum of yoga tools, Martha runs teacher trainings, workshops, and private yoga therapy appointments.
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Laura Hogan, LCPC, RYT-200
300-Hour | Illinois
Laura is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and RYT-200, currently in her third year of yoga therapy training. Laura's yoga therapy training program is through Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School under JJ-Gormley Etchells, which is accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
Laura is a mental health counselor, and she began the path of becoming a yoga therapist because she felt first-hand how transforming yoga can be.
Laura believes that the tools of yoga can be utilized to help anyone transform aspects of their lives that are causing distress. Change is possible, and she is excited to help you start or continue your journey of working towards a more peaceful, joyful, balanced life!
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Michelle Leibrock, RYT-500
300-Hour | Illinois
Michelle has been practicing yoga for over 14 years. She pursued yoga teacher training with the intention of deepening her own practice, both physically and spiritually. Through the training she found great joy in bringing yoga to caregivers and others who thought yoga was inaccessible to them. Michelle uses clean and concise cueing of classical yoga in the Krishnamacharya lineage to help students increase strength and flexibility along with incorporating breathwork into each class to calm the mind and reduce stress. Her desire to make yoga accessible to everyone led her to Curvy Yoga certification to learn modifications for bigger bodies. She is currently enrolled in the final phase of a 900-hour therapeutic yoga training program through Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School. She completed her 200-hour teacher certification at Focus Yoga and is a registered teacher with Yoga Alliance.
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Julie Lomax, RYT-500
300-Hour | Illinois
Julie found yoga in 2005 after moving back to the Chicago area. Knee and back pain forced her to stop running. Yoga not only provided a low impact workout, but actually alleviated the pain that had plagued her for many years. While initially a physical exercise, yoga became so much more. Yoga became an oasis where Julie could relax, rejuvenate, and refuel – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Besides alleviating the aches and pains, yoga has been instrumental in maintaining hormonal balance and dealing with depression. Julie has been on a journey to wholeness and wellness for over 15 years. Yoga teacher training was the next step in the path. Julie wholeheartedly believes something as amazing as yoga needs to be shared. Julie was interested in learning more about yoga, and the many benefits, so she is currently pursuing certification as a Yoga Therapist through Yoga Among Friends/Surya Chandra Healing Yoga. Julie lives in Naperville with her husband and daughter – who is now in college at the University of Oklahoma. She can often be found walking or biking (sometimes even snowshoeing) around town or at the Morton Arboretum.
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Adjunct Faculty
SCHYS Adjunct Faculty offer specific expertise in some aspect of the curriculum as well as yoga - this allows them to intertwine their subject matter with yoga therapy.
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Guest Lecturers
Our Guest Lecturers have specific expertise in some aspect of the curriculum.
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| N.Dan Catz, M.D., FACS.
Western Medicine | All programs
Dr. Catz teaches the anatomy and physiology classes in the Yoga Therapy Certificate Program.
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| Brendan Feeley, MS, MAs, CAy Ayurveda Practitioner
Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Vedic philosophy, Jyotisha, Western Medicine
All programs | All locations
Brendan is a well-known teacher and writer on the topic of Jyotish and Ayurveda in the Washington, DC area and teaches Jung's Depth Psychology at the Washington Society of Jungian Psychology. He has presented at international conferences on Ayurveda and Jyotish since 1993 - focusing on his research in medical astrology in which he integrates jyotish with ayurveda.
He holds graduate degrees in engineering (Trinity College, Dublin, IE), and Jungian/Archetypal Psychology/Mythology (Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA), and a diploma in Ayurveda. He is also a founding member of the Council of Vedic Astrologers (USA), a Jyotish Kovid, Jyotish Visharad, and member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.
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| George Nemecz, PhD, CAy, Ayurvedic Practitioner
Ayurveda | All programs | All locations
George has studied Ayurveda since 1996 and established a practice in 2002. He was a student in the Ayurvedic Holistic Center at Bayville, NY from 1999 until 2001 under the mentorship of Swami Sadshiva Tirtha and has had intensive courses with Dr. John Douillard (pulse, shirodara, abhyanga, Ayurvedic herbs) and Dr. Yeshi Dunden. George also took summer intensive courses with Dr. Lad starting in 2001 (pulse, marma, pancha karma, ayurvedic clinical practicum) until 2007. George teaches at Campbell University School of Pharmacy and School of Osteopathic Medicine. His field is biochemistry (PhD in biochemistry 1981).
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200-Hour Faculty
SCHYS 200-Hour Faculty teach the SCHYS 200-hour program.
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Donya Bauer, MA, E-RYT-500
200-Hour | Virginia
Donya teaches to honor the body and to do only what you know the body is ready to do. Donya continues to study from JJ Gormley and is about to complete her Yoga Therapy Certificate Program.
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Kaye Cannon, C-IAYT, E-RYT-200
200-Hour | Tupelo
Kaye brings her knowledge as an Occupational Therapist to the classroom and loves to teach Anatomy. Kaye continues to study from JJ Gormley even though she has completed her Yoga Therapy Certificate Program.
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Janice Olsson, MT, E-RYT-200
200-Hour | South Dakota
Janice is the founder and director of Roots Yoga & Healing Center in Spearfish, SD. She teaches yoga, is a licensed massage therapist, and sees clients one-on-one using Yoga Therapy.
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Nicole Stell, E-RYT-200
200-Hour | Virginia
Nicole, was introduced to yoga in 2001 as a way of lowering stress and anxiety. She had experienced panic attacks while attending Virginia Tech and wanted an alternative way to control her anxiety. Subsequently, Nicole attended the American Healing Arts Yoga School in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Her training in Integral Hatha Yoga, also known as complete yoga, was an extensive, two-year course, that focused on asana, pranayama, meditation, and anatomy. Integral yoga is a very traditional ancient yoga technique with its origins in India.After many years of teaching, Nicole continued her training through Shiva Rea's Prana Flow teacher training. It is here where her love for Ayurveda and the seasonal approach to healing began to flourish. Currently, Nicole is excited to begin her educational journey with JJ Gormley and the Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School. She hopes to obtain her RYT 500 and assist in the Teacher Trainings offered through JJ's leadership.
Her primary focus in any class is that the student should experience NO PAIN. Nicole believes that yoga and ayurveda are ways to heal the body and the mind. For this reason, she attempts to bring the healing aspect of yoga to all of her classes. Nicole loves yoga and the way it makes her feel during and after each class. She also loves how yoga (with time) becomes a lifestyle and not just a class. Currently, With the combination of all of the different styles of Nicole's training, she has been able to introduce a slightly more fluid approach to the art of safe yoga. The reason Nicole became a yoga teacher is to introduce this amazing mind/body technique to as many people as possible, so that she may help those in need.
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Hannah Zerphey, RYT-500
200-Hour | Virginia
Hannah Zerphey, is a certified Yoga for All instructor and is in the midst of completing the Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School 900-Hour Yoga Therapy Certificate Program.
Hannah was first drawn to yoga as a teenager – seeking a calm meditative mind and strong body. Through her years of practice, yoga has helped Hannah to come to accept and love every aspect of her plus size body. Her experiences in and out of the yoga classroom have made her a passionate advocate in the yoga for all movement – she truly believes that yoga is for every body. No matter your shape, size, age, race, gender, or ability – if you can breathe you can do yoga. She brings this philosophy into every one of her classes; using the breath as a grounding tool and giving students the time and agency to make the practice their own.
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SCHYS Program Coordinators
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| Name |
Yoga Studio |
Location |
SCHYS Program |
| Scottie Bruch |
Sturgis Yoga
|
South Dakota |
200-Hour
Step 1 |
| Kaye Cannon |
The Yoga Coop |
Tupelo, MS |
200-Hour |
| Martha Catz |
The Yoga Connection
|
North Carolina |
Step 1 |
| JJ Gormley |
Surya Chandra Healing Yoga School |
All locations |
All Programs |
| Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy |
Yoga Among Friends
|
Illinois |
All Programs |
| Cynthia Snodgrass |
Sage Oaks
|
Gulf Coast |
All Programs |
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