Faculty & Staff
Who We AreTeachers make the school. AIH works hard to find the best faculty so that we can deliver the best programming.
Only the Best
Combining theory and experience in every class
A school is only as good as its teachers. So we put significant time and attention to finding truly excellent teachers. In East Asian medicine, some people are great practitioners but not great teachers; others are great teachers but not great practitioners. AIH gathers those rare individuals who are both.
Meet the team
Autumn Faculty & Staff
AIH draws on some of the most talented and experienced practitioners around. Read about the people who will compose our core faculty, guest professors, and administrators.
Henry Claflin, R.Ac
Director, Teacher, Clinical Supervisor
Henry is a registered acupuncturist, teacher, and martial artist. He takes a patient-centred and trauma-informed approach, with treatments that are gentle, dynamic, and effective for both adults and children. He maintains an acupuncture practice at Kinesis Health Associates in downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Henry’s professional continuing education has focused on Qigong practices, classical Chinese language, Japanese acupuncture methods, and clinical skills to apply traditional teachings to contemporary health care practice.
Jen Bowers, R.Ac, R.TCMP
Teacher
Jen Bowers (she/they) has been teaching and practising Traditional Chinese Medicine for almost fifteen years. Originally from Nova Scotia, Jen practices in downtown Toronto in both private and community settings with a focus on mental health as well as reproductive and sexual health. Jen is on the faculty at the Institute of Traditional Medicine as well as Humber College. They teach clinical skills and trauma informed care based on an anti-oppressive, intersectional model.
Ali Jopp, Dip.DTCM, R.TCMP, R.Ac
Teacher, Clinical Supervisor
Ali Jopp (she/her) is a Registered Acupuncturist with NSAA. In her practice, she focuses on mental health, insomnia, auto-immune conditions, digestive issues, and gynaecology. Early experiences inform her understanding of epigenetic trauma, poverty, and intersectionality, and shape her perspective of how to offer accessible clinical care.
Sunny (Chun Lan) Song, Dip.DTCM, R.Ac
Teacher
Dr. Sunny Song has a lifelong connection to medicine and healing. Her love of Chinese medicine started when she was young, growing up in China and interested in Daoist philosophy, Qigong and Taiji. Her passion lead her to learn tuina and qigong with the Daoist master Zhang Zhi Shun. Sunny completed formal studies at the Xi’an Massage Hospital. After many years as a massage therapist in China and then Canada, Sunny pursued her lifelong dream of studying Chinese medicine, completing a Doctor of TCM from Vancouver’s PCU College.
Derek Laventure
Taijiquan Instructor
Derek Laventure (he/him) has practised Yang family Taijiquan for over 15 years under the teaching of Sifu Paul McCaughey. He and Henry completed their Taiji instructor apprenticeship together in Toronto before moving to Halifax to be closer to family. Derek brings a balance of lightheartedness, clarity, and simplicity to teaching this rich tradition, making his classes enjoyable and beneficial for people of all ages and skill levels.
Sunchang 'Ian' Kwon, R.Ac, B.TCM (China)
Clinical Supervisor
Growing up in South Korea, Ian Kwon came to understand the benefits of natural medicine early on. As a high-level athlete who practiced Taekwondo, Judo, kickboxing, and was a competitive bodybuilder, visiting the doctor for acupuncture or herbal medicine to treat his aches and pains was common practice. His experience with these natural therapies and their effectiveness as well as his interest in the human body led him to study these therapeutic modalities in China.
Alicia Fordham, R.Ac
Clinical Supervisor
Alicia Fordham is a Registered Acupuncturist and member of the Nova Scotia Acupuncture Association. After completing her Diploma of Acupuncture at Eight Branches Academy of Eastern Medicine, the Pan-Canadian exams, and a clinical internship in Toronto, Alicia has worked in community acupuncture, as well as her own private practice, recently opening a multidisciplinary treatment space in the North End of Kjipuktuk/Halifax: sunmoon room.
Christian Saint-Pierre, R.Ac
Teacher
Christian Saint-Pierre is a registered acupuncturist with a deep commitment to both classical and contemporary concepts of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. In 2002, driven by a desire to explore Chinese medicine and its philosophies more deeply, Christian moved to Nelson, BC, to study at the Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences.
After earning his acupuncturist certification in 2005, he started practicing privately in Ottawa, Ontario. There, he pursued post-graduate studies in pre-Maoist medicine, Daoist medicine, Ba Zi, and Yi Jing. He is among the few practitioners in Canada to hold the highest level of certification in The Balance Method and is also a certified Ba Zi consultant and Yi Jing practitioner.
Calvin Crichton, R.Ac, D.TCM
Teaching Faculty
Calvin first became involved in Traditional Asian medicine through his lifelong study of Japanese and Chinese martial arts. He holds one tuina diploma, two acupuncture diplomas and two Doctor of TCM diplomas, from three different schools across Canada. Calvin received a Traditional Japanese medicine Menkyo Kaiden (PHD equivalent in Japan) diploma from the Nippon Isshinho Nokkan Igakube in Toyama, Japan after several years of undertaking a mentorship (which he continues today).