Our Staff
We are excited to welcome you to TCSM! Our passion is to educate you to heal others through the practice of massage therapy and bodywork.
Rebecca Dragseth
Owner/Director, LMP, B.A. Education
Rebecca Dragseth has taught in public schools, college classrooms and spent ten years coaching competitive gymnastics. In 2007, she expanded her business from full time massage therapist to owner/instructor of “Therapeutic Connections School of Massage.” She received her Bachelor’s in Education in 1996 and became a Licensed Massage Practitioner in 1999.
“Continuing education in the field of massage, energy and bodywork has inspired me to continue my dream of sharing information and knowledge in the evolving world of massage therapy. I have a passion for learning and teaching about the human body and I am so excited to share and exchange with my community.”
Tina Heyer
LMP, Instructor
Tina has been a massage therapist since 2005. She is specialized in injury rehabilitation and loves furthering her knowledge of anatomy and treatment principles. Some of the continuing education she has taken includes Upledger’s CranioSacral Therapy, Barral’s Visceral Manipulation, and Ron Murray’s Osteopathic-based classes. The human body is amazingly designed and she believes that our bodies have the capacity to heal themselves, given the chance.
Her goal in teaching is to pass on the enthusiasm I have for continued study of the human body to her students, so that even after they finish their course, they will be inspired to keep delving into anatomy and treatment principles, in order to become the best healers the can be.
Gary Schwander
Instructor, Clinical Director, LMT
Gary is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork as a continuing education provider #294961. He has been practicing massage therapy since 1989 and teaching massage courses since 1992.
Gary has served as a member of the AMTA National Sports Massage Education Council, as an Athletes’ Medical Services Massage Therapist during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and as a member of the 2002 Winter Olympics Sports Massage Team. He has also worked in the NY Mets Rehabilitation Clinic in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He currently teaches and practices in Spokane, Washington.
Visit www.GarySchwander.com
Leina Walker
Licensed Massage Therapist, Instructor
Leina has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2000. In 2001 she helped open a Massage and Wellness Center in Downtown Spokane, which she continues to co-own and operate today. Leina brings with her many years of hands-on clinical experience and the expertise involved in building and maintaining a successful business and practice.
“I have always been fascinated by the human body and absolutely love sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm with our students. It’s so rewarding to watch each student take the skills they learn in the classroom and create a massage style completely unique to them. I started teaching at TCSM in the Fall of 2022 and quickly realized it was something that had been missing from my life.”
Aly Knudsen
Administrator & Financial Director
Aly has been assisting TCSM with Business Administration since 2010 and is an integral part of the growth and development of the school. Aly is greatly influenced by her grandmother who solely founded the very first massage school in Virginia. She has been receiving massages since she was very young and believes strongly in the healing power of massage. This love for massage continues to inspire her to contribute to the advancement of TCSM and the massage industry as a whole.
Nicole McCoy
Massage Team Coordinator
Becky Ryan
LMT, Structural Integration Therapist,
& Instructor Assistant
Tobie Lien
Sammi Eickstadt
Licensed Massage Therapist
& Substitute Instructor
Dani Crooks
Licensed Massage Therapist
& Substitute Instructor
Joey
Lourina Dupuis
Enrollment Administrator