Our Team

Meet the instructors and staff at Therapeutic Connections School of Massage.

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's love of massage has been an asset to the team at Therapeutic Connections School of Massage.

Leina Walker, Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)

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.