Our Board – British Acupuncture Federation

BAF Board of Members

The role of the board is to ensure that the BAF meets its responsibilities to –

Provide an inclusive acupuncture umbrella organisation welcoming different and varied acupuncture styles to the table to help and promote acupuncture.
Provide an advocacy group with specific spin off projects and research to help promote and grow acupuncture knowledge and acceptance into mainstream science and public knowledge.
Promote the benefits of acupuncture as a valid system of healthcare.
Safeguard the public.
Promote BAF members’ interests.
Set strategy and policy, in consultation with and advised by members

Chris Davies

CEO

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Chris Davies

CEO

Chris brings together a wide experience of associations and federations to the British Acupuncture Federation and is on the board of a number of other counselling and therapy associations including being the UK envoy for Kokusai Budoin, Japan run by Yasuhisa Tokugawa, the great, great grandson of the last emperor of Japan . He temporarily stepped in as the British Acupuncture Association (BAA) CEO and has been asked to stay on in the current role. Chris Davies is the senior lecturer UK course director for Yanagi Healing Arts and Clinics in Japan. He lectures all over the world on specialist subjects and techniques. His passion for teaching and improvement of techniques has enabled him to specialise in areas of Tendon Healing, Aesthetic and Cosmetic acupuncture procedures as well as older traditional family based acupuncture and ancient acupuncture treatments. His talks on psychotherapies touch and change peoples perceptions at all levels and he coaches many successful business owners and entrepreneurs. Having acquired over 40 therapeutic qualifications as well as numerous medical and health and counselling qualifications he is highly sought after for teaching and lecturing all over the world and recently returned from Los Angeles and New York. He has also spoken on behalf of many other organisations such as BAWMA, AACP and the Liverpool Medical institution. Chris is also a certified NHS phlebotomist.

Claire Hurst

Chair

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Claire Hurst

Chair

After running her own successful business supplying retailers such as Tesco, Boots, Sainsburys, Superdrug and Amazon Claire decided to leave the corporate world and retrain as an Acupuncturist. She now runs a busy clinic specialising in Menopause offering Acupuncture, Mycology and Phlebotomy services to her patients. Claire has featured in Davina McCall’s book Menopausing, has featured on multiple podcasts as a guest and has written a course on acupuncture for Menopause launching early 2024.

Helen Sinclair

Layperson

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Helen Sinclair

Layperson

Helen has spent over 25 years working in healthcare. Originally qualifying as a pharmacist, she worked in a range of settings before moving from clinical practice into regulation. She has spent that last 12 years focussing on stakeholder engagement, patient safety and fitness to practise. She currently heads up service development for the General Medical Council’s Outreach Service. In addition to her pharmacy qualifications, Helen also holds an MA in healthcare ethics and law and is an ILM L7 executive coach.

Tony Dickenson

BAWMA Representative

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Tony Dickenson

BAWMA Representative

Tony Dickenson is a registered member of the British Academy of Western Medical Acupuncture (BAWMA), a member organization within the British Acupuncture Federation and who he represents. He is trained in both Western and Traditional Acupuncture and is a member of The Acupuncture Association of The Republic of China (Taiwan) and has run a very busy practice for over 40 years. He is a former acupuncture college lecturer and examiner and is a founder member of the British Academy of Western Medical Acupuncture. Tony has lectured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Australia and has regularly represented the profession on national TV and in the media.

Don Mei

CMIR Representative

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Don Mei

CMIR Representative

Don Mei is the Chairman of the Chinese Medicine Institute and Register (CMIR) in London, and Director of the world renowned AcuMedic Clinic in London. The CMIR is founder member organisation of the BAF, and is dedicated to the modernisation of Chinese Medicine, and its proper integration into conventional mainstream medical practice. Having worked alongside his father the late Professor Man Fong Mei for the past 15 years, Don Mei has been very involved in the legislative aspects of Chinese Medicine in the EU. In 2014, he was voted in as Vice Chairman of the Committee for the International Communication of Chinese Medicine at the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS Beijing). The CMIR continues important TCM international educational links between the UK and China with universities in Beijing. Don was an invited member of the UK Department of Health ‘Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group’ set up by the British Government to recommend solutions for Herbal Medicine legislation. He is Chairman of the Chinese Medical Council representing Chinese Medicine associations in the UK, and also the Director of Chinalife tea in London.

Jonathan Tarr

Microsystems Acupuncture Society

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Jonathan Tarr

Microsystems Acupuncture Society

Jonathan is Chair of the, Microsystems Acupuncture Society and Co-Principal of The College of Auricular Acupuncture, Jonathan was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2004. He has a special interest in affordable Acupuncture and Auricular Acupuncture within the community and statutory healthcare sector throughout the UK.. He was one of the founding members of the Microsystems Acupuncture Regulatory Working Group (MACRWG) gaining voluntary regulation in the UK.

Michelle Bebbington

Acupuncture Association Representative

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Michelle Bebbington

Acupuncture Association Representative

After receiving an acupuncture treatment which fixed a long term problem that various other therapies hadn’t made any better Michelle decided to change careers from IT and Telecoms and studied various healing arts of Tui-Na, Acupuncture, family shiatsu and Reiki with Yanagi Healing Arts, Japan. Michelle is one of the co-founders of the Acupuncture Association of which she now manages. She also has a wide experience in large organisations and customer led service industries and helps out with the administration of the BAF as well as with the digital marketing. Michelle Bebbington – Acupuncture Association Representative After receiving an acupuncture treatment which fixed a long term problem that various other therapies hadn’t made any better Michelle decided to change careers from IT and Telecoms and studied various healing arts of Tui-Na, Acupuncture, family shiatsu and Reiki with Yanagi Healing Arts, Japan. Michelle is one of the co-founders of the Acupuncture Association of which she now manages. She also has a wide experience in large organisations and customer led service industries and helps out with the administration of the BAF as well as with the digital marketing.

Priti Heath

Tibetan & Eastern Medicine Association Representative

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Priti Heath

Tibetan & Eastern Medicine Association Representative

Priti is the founder of the TEMA, and a registered Member of the Central Council for Tibetan Medicine, Dharamshala, India བོད་སྨན་མཐུན་གོགས་ཀྱི་ཚོགས་མྱི།. Her interest in Tibetan & Eastern Medicine has been from a young age, her own Indian culture sparked the interest and has been present throughout her life. Her interest has taken her to Chang Mai in Thailand practicing with Mantak Chia; yoga studies at SVYASA University in Bangalore, and Yoga Philosophy with Mira Mehta. She has been teaching acupuncture since 2010, first at the Academy of Oriental Medicine and now runs a Diploma Course in Traditional Chinese Medicine at her own practice at Blisski, Greenwich. Priti now regularly travels to the world renowned Tibetan Medicine Doctor, Dr Passang in Pune, India, and has been accepted to further develop her skills in both TCM and Tibetan Medicine knowledge. She has trained in many additional courses (cranio-sacral, NLP, thai yoga massage etc) which all add to her experience. In 2019, Priti graduated from the University of Greenwich as a Fellow in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which involved observation and critical evaluation of her teaching skills which she is using to develop her course further.

Clare Ward

Representative for AAC

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Clare Ward

Representative for AAC

Clare left a successful career in the corporate world spanning 12 years to study for a degree in traditional acupuncture. In the last 15 years, she has worked in a hospice, a GP surgery and now has a busy private practice in North Oxfordshire. She is a general clinical acupuncturist but special areas of interest are paediatrics, women’s health and painful conditions.

Jidong Wu

Representative for FSNAE

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Jidong Wu

Representative for FSNAE

Jidong Wu graduated from the Nanjing Medical School of Chinese Medicine in China and then practiced Chinese medicine in a general hospital for four years. He completed his master’s degree in medicine from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and then worked as a lecturer and associated professor at the Nanjing University of TCM. He moved to the UK in 1993. He has been engaged in Chinese medicine training and practice since then. He was the first programme leader of BSc TCM at Middlesex University London – the first Chinese medicine degree programme in Europe. He also set up and run the Traditional Chinese Medicine Accreditation Board (TCMAB) for over 10 years. He was the president of the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture UK (2003-2006). Jidong Wu is a committee member of the Herbal Medicine Adversary Committee under the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). He lectures acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the Europe, and regularly holds seminars of the Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling (FSN) acupuncture all over the world. He set up a modern acupuncture association – the Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling Association of Europe (FSNAE) in 2018.

Mei Xing

Representative for - ATCM

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Mei Xing

Representative for - ATCM

Professor Mei Xing became a qualified Chinese medicine doctor in 1985 and gained her MSc from Chengdu TCM university later. She practised integrated Western and Chinese medicine in China for 15 years and was promoted to associate professor and medical consultant before she came to the UK in 2000. Mei was appointed senior lecturer in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at the University of Salford in 2001. She became the Programme Leader for BS (Hons) CM-Acupuncture and run the programme until the University ceased the programme in 2004. She then taught Traditional Acupuncture at Manchester Metropolitan University from 2012 to 2017. During her teaching career in the UK, she worked as an accreditation officer, external examiner and academic assessor for many universities worldwide.

Sir Bill Connor

Specialist Professional Advisor For BAF

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Sir Bill Connor

Specialist Professional Advisor For BAF

Sir Bill was general secretary of Usdaw, from 1997 – 2004 and was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2003 New Year’s Honours list for his service to Industrial Relations.. During his time with Usdaw Sir Bill Connor is noted for the launch of the Lifelong Learning programme to teach shop workers everything from computer skills to foreign languages, and the Freedom From Fear campaign against violence at work experienced by shop workers Under Sir Bill’s tenure Usdaw also developed important partnerships with retail giants such as Tesco. In his period of office as GS additionally he is noted for expanding Usdaw’s membership from 40,000 to 323,000, commenting that he believed that there is scope for even more growth. In his 33 years as an Usdaw official he represented members at all levels including international forums in the European Community and at one time held the position of Vice-President of the Commerce sector of the Union Network International. He was appointed independent chair of the BAF in 2013.

Dr Liuzhong Ye

Representative for CAHMA

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Dr Liuzhong Ye

Representative for CAHMA

Dr Liuzhong Ye is Chairman of Chinese Acupuncture and Herbal Medicien Alliance (CAHMA). He graduated from the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1997, and pursued his Master and Ph.D research in the Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2003 Dr Ye arrived in the UK and started his career as a TCM practitioner in the West. In 2008, he established his own independent TCM practice in Norwich and also started lecturing in the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) London on Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. He now also is the supervising professor for the Mater and Ph.D scheme in Shulan College of TCM Manchester, and the senior lecturer at London Academy of Chinese Acupuncture, Wroclaw Academy of Acupuncture Poland and guest lecturer at Swiss Academy of TCM. Dr. Ye’s speciality in meridian palpation differentiation enables him to achieve great success in clinical practice and wins him high reputation in the acupuncture and TCM teaching across the world. He has held many workshops and seminars in many countries on meridian palpation treatment. He is also the general secretary of BISA (British Institute of Scalp Acupuncture), and the committee member of WFCMS (World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies).

Gerad Kite (Ac.M)

Representative for AFEA

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Gerad Kite (Ac.M)

Representative for AFEA

Gerad Kite is one of the UK’s leading Five-Element acupuncturists, a teacher and author with 30 years clinical experience. He received his licence to practice (Lic.Ac.) in 1990 and was awarded his Acupuncture Master (Ac.M.) certificate in 2000. He gained his Master Apprentice Certificate while attending J.R. and J.B. Worsley’s Master Apprentice Programme and holds an Advanced Teacher Training qualification from the Worsley Institute. In 1993, he started the first ever NHS acupuncture service in the UK based at Kings College Hospital (London) working with patients with AIDS and terminal illnesses. At the same time, he ran a successful private practice on London’s Harley Street where, on the back of helping people struggling to conceive, he was dubbed by the national press as the “Daddy of all Fertility Experts”. In 2006, he opened Kite Clinic where he led a team of 12 practitioners performing over 10,000 treatments a year. In 2007, he founded the London Institute of Five-Element Acupuncture (LIFEA) where he personally trained his current team of practitioners and new apprentices. In 2011, Gerad opened his Wimpole Street practice where he currently practices and teaches. In 2016, his first two books, ‘Everything You Need You Have’ and ‘The Art of Baby-Making’ were published by Short Books. In October 2020, Gerad launched Yellow Path, his Five-Element acupuncture training programme with original, online lecture material.

Prof. Dr. Tianjun Wang

Representative for - The Institute of Scalp Acupuncture UK (ISA).

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Prof. Dr. Tianjun Wang

Representative for - The Institute of Scalp Acupuncture UK (ISA).

Dr. Tianjun Wang graduated from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (NUCM) in 1989. He completed his PhD at NUCM. Tianjun moved to the UK and joined the University of East London UK as a Senior Lecturer and the Director of Acupuncture Clinic 2007- 2014. He is a Guest Professor of NUCM and the Master and PhD course supervisor at UK Centre of NUCM. Prof. Wang is also the Principal of the London Academy of Chinese Acupuncture (LACA). Prof. Wang is the Vice President of the Scalp Acupuncture Committee of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) and the president of the Institute of Scalp Acupuncture UK. He owns TJAcupuncture Clinic and Brain Care Centre in London. Prof. Wang has authored and co-authored more than 50 academic papers as well as peer reviewers to many international journals. His authored book “Acupuncture for Brain: Treatment for Neurological and Psychologic Disorders” published by Springer 2020. Prof. Dr. Tianjun Wang has provided numerous CPD courses, particularly Scalp acupuncture courses, not only in the UK, but also other countries such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, Greece, German, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia, etc . Dr. Wang has presented scalp acupuncture on many international acupuncture conferences, from 2008.

Janet Darby

Representative for - Worsley Institute

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Janet Darby

Representative for - Worsley Institute

Janet Darby trained at the College of Traditional Acupuncture (CTA), in Leamington Spa, graduating in 1996. With over 25 years of clinical experience to her credit, she is excited to be teaching the next generation of students with the Worsley Institute Team at Worsley Institute Training (WIT) UK to preserve the integrity of this beautiful system of medicine. For many years working in Sydney and Canberra, Australia, Janet was registered with The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. True to Worsley classical five-element acupuncture, she has successfully completed Teacher Training in Colorado, US, as well as participated in the Masters Apprenticeship Program in Boston, US and Norfolk, UK. Further Janet brings significant experience in finance, commerce and technology, through a twelve-year career in stockbroking and in managing web technology companies in Australia and Singapore. A member of the Great Britain world cup winning ladies modern pentathlon team in 1979, 1980 and 1981. Member of the English world silver medal winning ladies team for mountain running in 1989. Although not involved in competitive sport since commencing an acupuncture career, Janet continues to have an interest in a variety of different sports and supporting athletes to maintain health and well being. Can you add the following to the list of training schools page - The Worsley Institute Training UK, College of Traditional Acupuncture (CTA), SOFEA, COFEA

Maxine Silk

Representative for JAMA

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Maxine Silk

Representative for JAMA

Maxine gained her LIc.Ac in acupuncture at The Acupuncture Academy in Leamington Spa. In addition, Maxine has received further training in Toyohari acupuncture, Zero Balancing, Muscle Energy Techniques and MicroSystems Acupuncture. Maxine’s background has been primarily in ICT management, developing and implementing practical marketing and communication solutions. In her spare time Maxine has many creative hobbies including painting giant outdoor art images, African drumming and using social media to document her numerous travel adventures. Maxine’s artistic and technical background has meant that she has been well-positioned to produce beautiful websites for AAC, JAMA and ARA. She continues to work on aspects of our digital presence and with her attention to detail provides consistent clarity of insight with respect to the consideration of our members’ needs.

Prof. Tiejun Tang

Representative for CMA

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Prof. Tiejun Tang

Representative for CMA

Prof. Tiejun Tang, PhD of TCM, the principal of Chinese Medicine Alliance UK (CMA), Vice principal of the London Academy of Chinese Acupuncture (LACA) Dr. Tang graduated from Heilongjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a BSc degree in 1984. In 1992 he graduated from the TCM Department of the First Military Medical University with MSc degree and worked as a lecturer and senior doctor in that university. In 1998 he got his PhD degree from Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the tutelage of the world famous professor Deng Tietao. He entered Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Science for a 2 year’s post doctoral research in the same year. In 2000 he served as an associate professor of the First Military Medical University. Dr Tang came to London in 2005, he joined the TCM teaching team of Middlesex University served as clinical tutor and senior lecturer of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. From 2013 he stared his private practice at the clinic in Harley street London. Dr. Tang was elected as the executive council member of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Society (WFCMS) and vice Chairman of Special Committee of Clinical Cases Study of WFCMS; Vice Chairman of Special Committee of Epidemic Disease of WFCMS. Dr Tang has published over 70 academic papers in Chinese and English.

Attila Szanto

ANP Representative

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Attila Szanto

ANP Representative

Attila Szanto holds Diplomas in Acupuncture and Naturopathy from the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM). He is a member of the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners (ANP) and the Fédération Nationale de Médecine Traditionnelle Chinoise (FNMTC, France). He is the Director of the Acupuncture course at CNM and practises acupuncture and naturopathy in both the UK and France. In his clinical practice, Attila combines acupuncture, naturopathy and Chinese dietary therapy; he has undertaken extensive postgraduate training in dietary therapy, pulse diagnosis, and the complement channels of acupuncture: the Sinew channels, Luo vessels, Divergent channels and Eight Extraordinary vessels.

Lord Aaron Kenneth Ward-Atherton

Obituary - BAF Co-Founder L

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Lord Aaron Kenneth Ward-Atherton

Obituary - BAF Co-Founder L

Ken was instrumental in forming the British Acupuncture Federation and was our facilitator. He helped to set up the stress acupuncture pilot at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and was active in discussing the next step forward. Ken was also the political advisor to The British Academy of Western Acupuncture for fifteen years. He was the patron and an active fundraiser of a number of Charities and organisations, including the integrated therapies unit at the Christie Hospital, Manchester, and Alkaptonuria Society at the department of Anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine Liverpool at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals. Ken had excellent links in the world of politics and complementary therapies. He was an internationally renowned homeopath and was held in high esteem by fellow homeopaths. He will be very sadly missed by all who had the pleasure to know him. Ken was a natural and integrative health champion and was a Consultant in Integrated Medicine at Spire Healthcare, Sefton Suite, Aintree University Hospital & Pall Mall Medical in Liverpool, UK. He was one of the very few who had been actively practising integrative medicine (including homeopathy and acupuncture) within the National Health Service (NHS). Most of all he was a champion, a connector, and an activist. He was a selected DH funded committee member that produced the first Government report on Acupuncture & Herbal Medicines for the Minister of State for Health in 2008. In May 2015 he was appointed as an Ambassador to the City of Liverpool, under the Ambassador programme led by the Liverpool Convention Bureau and working in partnership with ACC Liverpool. He had great vision, connecting Western and Eastern disciplines, Russians and Americans, and providing a platform – in 2018 – for 5 professors, including two Nobel laureates and founder of Alliance for Natural Health, Rob Verkerk PhD, for a conference focusing on new horizons in water science. We are deeply committed to continuing the work with which we were engaged with Ken. Work that envisions a transformation in mainstream healthcare, one that welcomes, rather than denigrates, systems of healthcare that work with, not against, nature and the body. Ken’s affiliations were as follows: • International Political Advisor – to the ICCHP – Moscow – Russian Federation – (November 2013) • Chair of CMIR Integrative Medicine Conference (March 2007) – Royal College of Physicians – London • Past Chair of the British Academy of Western Medical Acupuncture – Liverpool John Moores University • Past President of the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists • Patron of the Complementary Therapies Unit – Christie Hospital NHS Trust Foundation Manchester • Patron of the AKU Society – University of Liverpool Medical School • Patron of the Cockayne Childrens’ Support Group (Genetic Research) Wirral Merseyside • Patron of the Costello Childrens’ Support Group (Genetic Research) Manchester • Patron of “Sunflowers” Cancer Research Group • Specialties: government liaison (complementary medicine)