Dear valued NAMA member,
By now, you’ve likely already heard that Lucia Gutierrez, will officially start as the new Executive Director of NAMA as of January 1, 2023. The Board of Directors and I are excited to have Lucia and the NAMA staff working to serve NAMA members as we move into the next stage of our vision for Ayurveda in the United States together. Lucia, as the Executive Director, will report to me as President, and she will be working for the whole Board of Directors to develop and carry out NAMA’s annual strategic plan and work with all NAMA staff to run the day-to-day operations of the organization. It’s no small task, as our outgoing Executive Director, Hilary Garivaltis, can tell you. Hilary will continue in her role as Executive Director while mentoring Lucia till December 30.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve as Executive Director of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA). NAMA has been invaluable to the many professionals in the field of Ayurveda, and I look forward to working with the board, the committees, and our membership to expand and strengthen our mission to preserve, promote, and advance the consciousness-based philosophy knowledge, science, and practice of Ayurveda for the benefit of all beings. I'd like for you all to join me in thanking the staff transitioning out and welcoming the new staff team, whose outstanding support is indispensable to NAMA.”
Lucia Gutiérrez
Please note that there have been changes to some of your other contacts at NAMA. As of October 1, 2022, Jolynne Flores is no longer in the role of Membership Manager and Arya Hawkins is no longer in the role of Technology Coordinator. Your new NAMA Membership Director is Gail Naas. Please join me in thanking Jolynne and Arya for their service, and in welcoming Lucia and Gail to their new roles.
Gail Naas, LMT, CT (FL License #MA 11404), brings to NAMA her passion for natural health care and nonprofit associations. She is a past president of the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy and has served on many of its committees. Currently she volunteers as the Secretary for the Florida State Massage Therapy Association, Broward Chapter. This background, together with her experience jn managing a massage school and teaching in Ft. Lauderdale for 21 years, testifies to her ability to provide the expert administrative support needed to continue advancing NAMA’s goals.
We are very lucky to have more than 1,600 members, many of whom also volunteer on committees at NAMA. Having this incredible level of participation and engagement from the community integrates the voice of our membership—your concerns, ideas, and perspective—into everything we do at NAMA. It’s one of the things that makes NAMA so successful—so thank you all for staying engaged and continuing to share your ideas and time so we can all bring Ayurveda to more people. If you’re interested in volunteering at NAMA, please visit our volunteer opportunities page.
Please feel free to reach out to NAMA staff should you have any questions or concerns:
Lucia Gutiérrez, Incoming Executive Director, lucia@ayurvedanama.org
Seva Van Why, Certification Administrator & PACE Administrator, seva@ayurvedanama.org
Maeve Mangine, Communications Manager, maeve@ayurvedanama.org
Tracy Stonaker, Event Manager & Organizational Membership Director, tracy@ayurvedanama.org
Gail Naas, Membership Director & Special Assistant to the ED, gail@ayurvedanama.org
