NCCAOM GOVERNANCE
NCCAOM Board of Commissioners
The NCCAOM is governed by the Chief Executive Officer and ten Commissioners. In approving nominations, the Board Development Committee considers diversity in ethnicity, gender, geographic distribution, professional experience, education and school of thought within the profession.
Janet Zand, Board Chair
O.M.D., Dipl. Ac., C.H., O.M. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac., CCN
Education and Experience
Nicholas Dougherty, Vice Chair
and Member at Large
DAOM, Dipl.Ac. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac.
Education and Experience
David Canzone, Board Treasurer
Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac,
Education and Experience
P. Divya Parikh, Secretary
MPH, CAE
Education and Experience
Jayne Tsuchiyama, Member at large
DAOM, D.Ac., Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®
Education and Experience
Zonglan Xu, Board Commissioner
MD(China), Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac.
Education and Experience
Belinda (Beau) Anderson, Board Commissioner
PhD, MA(Ed), Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac.
Education and Experience
Wu Hsun(Tom) Yang, Board Member
ND, Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®, L.Ac,
Education and Experience
Tuesday Wasserman, Board Member
DACM, Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)® L.Ac
Education and Experience
Mina Larson, CEO
M.S., MBA, CAE,
Education and Experience
Nicholas Dougherty, DAOM, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCAOM)<sup>®</sup>
Dr. Dougherty has worked in private practice settings as well as one of the leading Integrative Medicine clinics in the United States, the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. Through this work, he has garnered a unique view on the integrative approach to healthcare.
Dr. Dougherty is a graduate of the Master’s program at the American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) in Minnesota, 2009. His need for further personal advancement and passion for education led Dr. Dougherty to continue his education by enrolling in the first doctorate program for TCM in Minnesota, of which he graduated in 2018 with a focus on integrative psychology and reproductive health.
Dr. Jayne Tsuchiyama, D.A.O.M., Dipl. O.M. D.Ac. (NCCAOM)<sup>®</sup>
Dr. Jayne Tsuchiyama, L.Ac. DAOM, MS, Dipl. OM (NCCAOM)®, is a graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, NY. Dr. Tsuchiyama is a licensed acupuncturist in New York and Hawaii and an NCCAOM diplomate since 2004. She founded the acupuncture programs in the cancer and women’s centers at The Queens Medical Center, the largest hospital in the Pacific Basin. Appointed by two governors, she served for 8 years on the state Board of Acupuncture – four years as Chair.
Dr Tsuchiyama has received major grants from Susan G Komen for the Cure to support acupuncture treatment for low income breast cancer patients. Her collaborative work in the hospitals with oncology patients, young and old was recognized with awards by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Healthcare, Acupuncturists without Borders and I’mi Hale, a native Hawaiian Cancer Network.
An advocate for the profession and for better health outcomes overall, Dr Tsuchiyama coordinates with those on the strategy side – national and state legislators & associations, media, and the health care community – to ensure patient safety and support.
Dr. Tsuchiyama joined the NCCAOM Board of Commissioners in 2020.
Beverly L. Black, MHSA, CAE
Beverly L. Black, MHSA, CAE, has over 25 years of managerial experience with national, statewide, and community-based programs in non-profit, health-related, and educational associations and organizations. Her primary focus is on organizational excellence, strong governance skills and leadership development. She also has worked with many boards to optimize their performance, created strategic plans that guide organizations’ growth, and enhanced and updated many organizations’ bylaws and policies.
Currently, she is retired from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and now serves association clients as a consultant and educator on Board training, strategic planning and bylaws review and enhancement.
Additionally, Ms. Black has served on state and national Boards of Directors in the health field. She was elected Chair of both the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE) and its Foundation. She currently serves as a Public Member of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants Board of Directors. She has also worked as an active member of the American Society of Association Executives’ CAE Commission and Small-Staff Committee. She also currently serves on the Education Committee for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence.
Ms. Black has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of NC at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from George Washington University. She was awarded the Certified Association Executive designation in 1996 and GSAE’s Clifford M. Clarke Award.
Ms. Black is a Public Member and her service as Commissioner on the NCCAOM Board of Commissioners began in February 2021.
Zonglan Xu
Zonglan Xu Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM), L. Ac., MD(China)
is a graduate of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jinan, Shandong, China.
She began volunteering for the NCCAOM in the mid-1990s, initially as a point location examiner and item writer for Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology (she was a part of team that developed the first Chinese Herbology exam for NCCAOM) and later as a subject matter expert on the Acupuncture and Point Location Exam Development Committee. She was also served on the 2012-2013 Job Analysis Blue Ribbon Panel, as well as an professional member for the NCCAOM Board of Commissioner from 2013 to 2022.
After graduating in 1982 with training in the integrated medical environment in China with specialization in traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology, she has been an educator and practitioner of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in China and the U.S. She has been an NCCAOM Diplomate and Florida Licensed Acupuncturist since 1990. Because of her decades of quality teaching/practicing experiences and enthusiasm for the patients and profession, she was appointed to the Florida Board of Acupuncture by the Florida governor in 2002 and served eight years including chaired the Board from 2004 to 2008.
She had numerous publications on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in both China and U.S., and her Pocket Handbooks on Chinese Herbology have received worldwide praise by practitioners and students alike. Besides dedicated herself in TCM education, she has been working in the Government sponsored Acupuncture Detoxification Program and maintained her active private practice in South Miami between 1991 and 2021. She has served on the Board of directors for Florida Acupuncture Association and maintains her outstanding membership.
Throughout her professional career, she has contributed countless hours to build and maintain the high standards for the profession as well as for the protection and benefit of public safety. She currently works as an Acupuncture Physician in an integrated medical center in Tampa, Florida
Belinda Anderson
Belinda (Beau) Anderson, PhD, MA(Ed), LAc. Dr. Anderson is Associate Dean and Professor of Allied Health at Pace University in the
College of Health Professions (NY), an Associate Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine (Bronx, NY), and a Research Professor at Pacific College of Health and Science (Pacific College, NY). She earned her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Sydney (Australia), her Masters in Higher Education from Teachers College Columbia University, and her Masters in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (New England School of Acupuncture).
Dr. Anderson has over 25 years of administrative, clinical, research and
teaching experience. She was the Academic Dean at Pacific College for 12 years (2006-
2018). Dr. Anderson is an NIH-funded researcher, and her recent research focuses on
implementing acupuncture in community-based clinics, educating clinicians in evidence based medicine, and the use of Chinese herbs to treat COVID-19 symptoms.
Dr. Anderson was a member of the NIH National Advisory Council for Complementary and Integrative Health 2018-2021, serves as Deputy Editor for Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, and is Co-Chair of the Research Working Group of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health (ACIH) within the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM).
From 2009-2018 she maintained a Chinese medicine private practice at New York
University Fertility Center and is an internationally recognized expert in the use of
acupuncture to improve assisted reproductive outcomes. In 2020 Dr. Anderson completed the Duke University year-long Leadership in Integrative Health and Medicine program.
She was elected to the NCCAOM Board of Commissioners in 2023.
Janet Zand
Janet Zand, L.Ac., O.M.D., Dipl. Ac., Dipl. C.H., Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®, has over thirty years of private practice experience in natural medicine including: acupuncture, herbal medicine, functional medicine and nutrition. She has taught and lectured to physicians, acupuncturists, chiropractors and nurses since 1983.
Dr. Zand earned her B.A. degree from Sarah Lawrence University in 1972, and a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from California Acupuncture College in 1983.
Dr. Zand is the author of Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child, A Parent’s Guide to Medical Emergencies, and Smart Medicine for Healthier Living (Penguin/Putnam Publishing, 1994, 1997, 1998, respectively).
She was the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Zand Herbal Formulas, Inc. from 1978-2002.
In 2009, Dr. Zand engaged in a unique nitric oxide research project and the ultimate co-formulation with the University of Texas of NEO40, by Neogenis Labs. There have been more than 1.5 million doses of this ground breaking nitric oxide nutritional supplement sold.
In 2015, Zand was inducted into the Hall of Legends, and acknowledged by the National Nutritional Food Association and New Hope as a thought leader, innovator and leader in the natural products industry.
Zand began her first term on the NCCAOM Board of Commissioners in February, 2017 and was elected Chair of the Board in 2023.
David Canzone, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM), L.Ac
David Canzone, DOM, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM)®, Dipl. NBAO has practiced Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine full time since 1989 in Santa Fe, NM. He graduated from Southwest Acupuncture College in 1988. In 1996 he was appointed by the Governor of New Mexico to serve on the New Mexico Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He finished his last year in 2002 as Chair of the Board. He has been directly involved in successful legislative efforts, in New Mexico, to help create one of the broadest scopes of practice for DOM’s in the U.S.A.
Dr. Canzones’ passion is Integrative Medicine and he continually works to advance the integration of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine into his community. In 1996 he created a framework for Santa Fe’s St. Vincent’s Regional Hospital to allow for the credentialing of acupuncturists to practice Oriental medicine within a hospital setting by acquiring hospital privileges. Dr. Canzone and his wife Sandra Canzone, DOM were the Integrative Medicine providers for St. Vincent’s Cancer Center and worked closely with the Center and the hospital’s foundation to provide Acupuncture and Oriental medicine services to the community both at the Cancer Center and in out-patient settings.
Tuesday Wasserman
Tuesday Wasserman, DACM, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)® holds a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) from Pacific College of Health and Science and maintains clinical practice at the Birth Center of Boulder; teaches budding and experienced acupuncturists in Masters and Doctoral Chinese medicine programs; supports the quality of the profession though her volunteer work with the ASA and NCCAOM; and continues to educate and collaborate with medical colleagues by creating continuing medical education (CMEs) for MDs, and by presenting acupuncture research in hospitals, medical conferences and to policy makers.
Tom Yang
Wu Hsun(Tom) Yang, ND, Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)® L.Ac., DABMA, ABIHM, Certified GUNN-IMS achieved his Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and currently practices as a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist based in Seattle, WA and currently works with a team of holistic medicine practitioners at the University of Washington Osher Center for Integrative Health and operates a private practice in Burien, WA. His goal is to introduce acupuncture and other natural medical modalities to Integrative Care settings in clinics and hospitals. Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Yang contributes to the field as an adjunct faculty member for the Acupuncture and Eastern Asian Medicine department at Bastyr University.
P. Divya Parikh, MPH, CAE
P. Divya Parikh, MPH, CAE is the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Data Governance for The Doctors Company (TDC), which is the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer. Prior to joining TDC, she served as Vice President of Research & Education for the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association for nearly 15 years, with responsibilities in leading key strategic initiatives for research, education, and technology. Ms. Parikh has published numerous articles discussing MPL claims trends in medical journals as well as industry-related publications. She presents at workshops and meetings for the MPL industry domestically and internationally. Prior to joining the MPL community, Ms. Parikh served as the Clinical Research Coordinator and Intramural Training Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ms. Parikh holds a Master of Public Health Degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Mina Larson, M.S., MBA, CAE
Mina Larson, M.S., MBA, CAE
Mina Larson has utilized her association management and leadership experience to serve the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) for the past 16 years, moving up to the Chief Executive Officer position in July 2019. Ms. Larson helped create the public relations and marketing department and launched a media campaign that brought national recognition to NCCAOM and its Diplomates. She also led the Advocacy team that has helped bring federal recognition to NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturist™.
Ms. Larson has devoted many hours overseeing NCCAOM’s Regulatory Affairs Department, partnering with states to adhere to NCCAOM standards for the safe and ethical practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM). She also utilizes her years of legislative and lobbying experience to advocate for the advancement of NCCAOM certification both at the state and federal level. Ms. Larson also spearheaded the Vision 2020 Plan that resulted in NCCAOM to become paperless, improved staff productivity, and enabled NCCAOM to move their headquarters to Washington D.C. with a focus on advocacy and services for its Diplomates. Prior to arriving at the NCCAOM, she served in former California Governor Pete Wilson’s Executive Office and Communications Office and handled media relations for the California State Assembly. Ms. Larson holds a Master of Science in Non-Profit Association Management and MBA from University of Maryland Global Campus as well as a CAE from ASAE. She also has a dual bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Government from California State University, Sacramento. She has also taught various training workshops throughout the country on improving media relations, marketing and advocacy.