credentials

this is an incomplete list of the education, training & certifications I’ve received over the years. I’ve excluded most of the smaller/shorter workshops & classes I’ve taken. click to read more.

offering deep gratitude to all my mentors, teachers, & guides from each of these certs. scroll to see more of my gratitudes below.

  • Bachelor of Art in Art Therapy from Capital University instructed by Michaele Barsnack, ATR-BC
    :::  Art history
    ::: Imagery & metaphor
    ::: Techniques & methods
    ::: Clinical applications
    ::: General psychology
    ::: Psychology ethics & oral communication
    ::: Developmental & clinical psychology

    🏳️ Please note that I am not a certified clinical Art Therapist.
    Some offerings when necessary may include creative expression, and we may tap into art as a healer, however I do not practice art therapy.

    Studio Arts Minor from Capital University instructed by Jeffrey Shaw and Gary Ross
    :::  Painting, drawing, sculpture, & ceramics

    Video Production instructed by Betsy Pike
    :::  Production and editing

  • Philippine folk and herbal medicine courses instructed by Traditional Medicine Keeper + Clinical Herbalist, Angela Angela

  • 9-month program instructed by Abi Huff, Ayo Ngozi, and Myrna Cabán Lezcano

    Ancestral Reclamation through Ecological Connection, honoring traditional Folk, Indigenous, and Herbal Craft Ways, prioritizing marginalized communities with a focus on QT2s+/ BIPOC relatives

  • Mindfulness and Compassion Meditation Teacher Certification instructed by Michael Arnstein, Leon Ford, Dina Kaplan, and Lauren Lee

  • Self connection as a gateway to the ancestors guided by Kuya Gonzalez of Atabey’s Rising Tides

  • Creating a Tootkit of Self-Healing instructed by Master Gemstone Healer Rose Two Feathers

  • A 200HR Yoga Teacher (YTT) Certification from a decolonial, accessible, and trauma-informed approach instructed by Jess Erb and Vinny Purtle

  • Hilot Binabaylan Training Program in the Philippines instructed by Apu Adman Aghama, Kuya Lakay Alsent Magbaya Aghama and Maam Nora of the Hilot Academy of Binabaylan

    :::  Filipino Indigenous Spirituality
    :::  Tawas/divination
    :::  Energetic + spiritual diagnostics
    :::  Herbal preparation + treatment
    :::  Bodywork
    :::  Energetic hygiene
    :::  Traditional rituals
    :::  Traditional dagdagay foot massage

  • Divinatory methods to channel messages of the Diwata, Engkanto & Anito through the SiAdTala Mystic Oracle which employs Baybayin Filipino ancient writing script as an Oracle

    Instructed by Kuya Lakay Alsent Magbaya Aghama of Bahay SiAdTala Binabaylan Inc.

    Ordained by Luntiang Aghama Natural Divine Arts Shrine of Healing Inc.

  • Three months of energetic activations, skill-building, alchemizing the mystical & the practical to translate unique gifts into a business that expands creativity, serves the community, honors the self & resources the Spirit.

    Facilitated by Xenia Viray of Myths of Creation [in progress]

  • Continuing education in the Hilot Practitioner Program through Kailukuan School of Filipino Indigenous Science instructed by Virgil Mayor Apostol
    [in progress]

    :::  Intro to Indigenous Science
    :::  Gross Anatomy, Physiology & Energetic Systems
    :::  Metaphysics of Ancestral Medicine

deep gratitudes

to my teachers, mentors, visionaries & guides

I honor the ancestral wisdom of the Babaylan, Katalonan, Manghihilot & all those [who may go by many other names] who have kept Philippine ancestral traditions alive through centuries of colonial violence.

I honor the sacred traditions of yoga, meditation & their roots in India & Theravada Buddhism & all those who have passed on this ancient wisdom for over thousands of years thru oral tradition.

I offer gratitude for the guidance & support of the Celestial Lights, my ancestors, my guides, & all my teachers & mentors [mentioned above] through my life who’ve shared so much sacred wisdom.

[In addition to those mentioned in credentials above, below is an incomplete list–in no particular order–of more folks who have guided me in my path–whether directly or indirectly through their community/public offerings]

Healing Clinic Collective, Carla Perez, Kuya Gonzales, D Hirokane, Maria Malunggay, Koji Shiraki, Lane Wilken, JL Umipig, Jen Maramba, Ate Leny Strobel, Apo Whang Od, Alaga, Care/Erotics of Liberation, Ev’yan Whitney, Jeff Warren, Jay Shetty, Chetna Mehta, Nicole Sachs, Chani Nicholas, Jocelyn K Glei, Carl Lorenz Cervantes, Ismatu Gwendowlyn, Mariame Kaba, Prentis Hemphill, Center for Babaylan Studies, Creative Beings, The Wonder Jam, Aniko/Wild Origins, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Empress Karen Rose, Londrelle, Yung Pueblo, Adrienne Marie Brown, Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, Thich Naht Hanh, Brother Phap Huu, Jon Kabat-Zinn, & so many more including all of those who were in cohorts learning & sharing alongside me.

To all the individuals in my community, through each phase, time, lunation, and season of my life, *I am because we are. **All you touch you change.
Maraming salamat po.

*African philosophy of Ubuntu
**Octavia Butler

Gratitude to all our more-than-human kin that continue to teach me & walk with me in this beautiful & wild journey living Earth-side–the animals, the plantcestors, the tree spirits, stone beings, Earth, Air, Fire, Water & all their sacred medicines.

I thank the land that helped raise & protect me–Erie & Kaskasia land [aka CLE, OH]. I honor the land I’m settled on–ancestral lands of the Shawandasse Tula, Myaamia, Hopewell, Kaskaskia [aka Killumbus, OH], among other native communities.

And last but certainly not least, I honor the Congo, Sudan, Hawaii, Ayiti, Lebanon, Philippines, Palestine, all oppressed peoples of the global south & frontliners who in the fight for their own liberation are freeing all us.

for land back & liberation,

🤍 alé