As the founding Executive Director of Infant Massage USA (IMUSA), I have been blessed to be of service to the organization and witness its exponential growth over the years. Our work has been shared with thousands and thousands of parents and babies across the country to help them experience the many benefits of infant massage for babies, parents and their communities. When IMUSA was founded, we energetically reached out to agencies and programs across the country. It has been rewarding to see how we have expanded and have been able to reach more and more families. Our Board has grown over the years and been effective in establishing goal and objective to support the growth. The Staff has worked passionately to achieve the goals and work with the Trainers and Certified Educators of Infant Massage (CEIMs) to provide the needed support. The Board and Staff have made wise decision to effectively move the organization forward and be in tune with the needs of our audience and it’s members. The enthusiasm, encouragement and responsiveness of the staff has built a harmonious atmosphere that spills over through the multiple outlets they have created.
The talents, skills and communication has brought IMUSA to a stable and productive position to support our mission “so parents and babies feel loved valued and respected through the world community. .
Infant Massage USA brought a top notch conference last year with over 19 speakers talking about the Science of Nurturing Touch! I learned so much with this event. More important is what I learned during the actual training itself with Trainers who are professional and engaging in teaching the education of infant massage. Highly recommend this organization.
I am 73 years old. I have been blessed with two careers, both with not for profits...and both amazing experiences.
I am continually amazed at the passion and level of commitment demonstrated on a daily bases from the staff and volunteers. They firmly demonstrate their understanding of the Mission and Vision of Infant Massage USA and have dedicated their lives to the families and babies in their communities. I have been affiliated with IMUSA for over twenty years and am proud of the people I have joined in fulfilling our MISSION. Congratulations to all those that have served.
Infant Massage USA is a critical resource to many families in the US. With a focus on bonding and nurturing interaction, IMUSA supports its many certified educators as they connect with families and share a beautiful, comprehensive infant massage program.
I have been involved with the organization in several capacities, as an educator, a trainer, a board member - roles that bring true joy to both my personal and professional life. I highly recommend connecting with them as a parent, educator, home visitor, health care provider or other family-focused professional.
I have been connected to this wonderful nonprofit since 2001. I first became a certified educator of infant massage and saw the amazing work of the organization I decided to apply to be a board member. I served on the board for a few years and recently came back on the board to support the work of Infant Massage USA. This organization supports parents and caregivers to learn more about their babies and now to nurture their development through nurturing touch.
The mission and vision for Infant Massage USA are so important, and I am blessed to help make those values come to life every day. I work with trainers, CEIMs, students, and board members who bring so much to the table to help parents and infants through nurturing connections. I cannot wait to see what the future brings for Infant Massage USA and its beautiful circle of support.
I was introduced to Infant Massage USA in 2020. During my Training, I was impressed with their professionalism and knowledge of the education of infant massage. I feel with their mission of nurturing touch and communication we could change generations of the future!
Working with the Trainers, Staff, and Board I feel IMUSA has great talents who invest their time, energy, and skill into the organization. I am able to see firsthand how open the communication style is and strategic their plan is for the future growth of the organization.
I have been an infant massage instructor since 1994 and I became a trainer in 2015 because I think this organization has a wonderful approach to supporting the developing parent-infant relationship through a focus on letting babies lead the touch interactions. The way of working in a supportive environment with parents is also important to me, and I love to be part of the circle supporting the dance between babies and their parents.
I've done social media and marketing for Infant Massage USA, and I've absolutely loved my experience. It's refreshing and exciting to work on a brand that does so much good for the world. There are so many problems in our world that we forget how fundamental small moments can be in a life. The connections that are formed between parents and children as a result of Infant Massage USA's trainings last lifetimes. It's an honor to help bring that experience to families everyday.
One day a mother came with the Educator of Infant Massage whom I had trained and with her 15 month old daughter. Her doctors' prognosis was that her baby with cerebral palsy at birth would likely never walk well if at all. She wanted to thank me in her words, "Because I know the Infant Massage that I did with her several times a day made all the difference for her life."
Here in my office was her now 15 month old daughter running around like any other child her age with a little bit of stiffness in her legs to only the trained eye. After much mutual admiration and a few tears of joy that day, I think now of that precious moment with much gratitude to the Int'l Assoc of Infant Massage started in the USA and our Infant Massage USA Chapter, one of the fastest growing non-profits in the world today, in 90+ countries in about 35 years. www.infantmassageusa.org
Past: I became a CEIM in 1997 after taking the training in 1996. I first learned of Infant Massage in a Parenting Education Training I was attending. It was included in the Nurturing Parenting program. I had been charged with Parenting education in the first professional position I was employed at the first Parent and Child center west of the Mississippi River, now Early HeadStart. I was smitten! As an adult child who had been greatly deprived of touch as a child, I was a very hands-on mother. I did massage my children as infants however, it was an intuitive response, not an educated response. I became certified just in time for my next position as an Executive Director of a non-profit Family Center whose primary goal was to reduce child abuse and neglect. When I was hired the building was empty. It was like handing an artist a blank paper to paint on. First, we implemented the Nurturing Parenting program and then began announcing Infant Massage Classes. I trained each of our employees who provided emergency care for children and they massaged the little ones once a day, a critical response to help the infants and toddlers calm their systems down and allow them to flourish under difficult circumstances. We also posted the classes in the community for the benefit of all parents who were expecting and/or already were parents of newborns. We found that grandparents raising grandchildren were another unseen population and they responded well. Some were adoptive and foster parents and others were family caregivers (more children in foster care are placed in relative care ). It was an exciting time to reach out to the largest geographical rural area in Utah. Since then I have taught in Florida and Delaware. I was privileged to teach IM to the first two fathers in the State of Florida who were married when the law was passed they could. They adopted a little girl (newborn) and reached out and registered for classes. They were such a joy! Since then I completed a Qualitative Research project which became my Dissertation on First Time Fathers Massaging their Infants and published an article on the same topic.
Present: I now have a private practice where I teach Infant Massage, Baby Sign Language, and Baby Whispering (all science-based courses) and will be adding a course on money for teens and emerging adults. I also provide Transformational Coaching for Parents, Individual Adults, and Emerging Adults. I am a Certified Life Educator and am the Chair of Applied Family Science, M.S. OnLine Program at Wilmington University. In 2022 I stepped into the president of the board after three years in the position of Vice-President. I was delighted to be on the Research Committee as we developed and hosted the 1st annual Virtual Infant Massage US -Chapter conference! It was an amazing adventure and greatly successful due mostly to the new Executive Director and Assistant! I hope my experience benefits you as well. I really wished I had this knowledge when I was raising my own children who are now parents and I am delighted to say each has massaged my grandchildren. "Everything begins in childhood and society is the result!" MKK Past: I became a CEIM in 1997 after taking the training in 1996. I first learned of Infant Massage in a Parenting Education Training I was attending. It was included in the Nurturing Parenting program. I had been charged with Parenting education in the first professional position I was employed at the first Parent and Child center west of the Mississippi River, now Early HeadStart. I was smitten! As an adult child who had been greatly deprived of touch as a child, I was a very hands-on mother. I did massage my children as infants however, it was an intuitive response, not an educated response. I became certified just in time for my next position as an Executive Director of a non-profit Family Center whose primary goal was to reduce child abuse and neglect. When I was hired the building was empty. It was like handing an artist a blank paper to paint on. First, we implemented the Nurturing Parenting program and then began announcing Infant Massage Classes. I trained each of our employees who provided emergency care for children and they massaged the little ones once a day, a critical response to help the infants and toddlers calm their systems down and allow them to flourish under difficult circumstances. We also posted the classes in the community for the benefit of all parents who were expecting and/or already were parents of newborns. We found that grandparents raising grandchildren were another unseen population and they responded well. Some were adoptive and foster parents and others were family caregivers (more children in foster care are placed in relative care ). It was an exciting time to reach out to the largest geographical rural area in Utah. Since then I have taught in Florida and Delaware. I was privileged to teach IM to the first two fathers in the State of Florida who were married when the law was passed they could. They adopted a little girl (newborn) and reached out and registered for classes. They were such a joy! Since then I completed a Qualitative Research project which became my Dissertation on First Time Fathers Massaging their Infants and published an article on the same topic.
Present: I now have a private practice where I teach Infant Massage, Baby Sign Language, and Baby Whispering (all science-based courses) and will be adding a course on money for teens and emerging adults. I also provide Transformational Coaching for Parents, Individual Adults, and Emerging Adults. I am a Certified Life Educator and am the Chair of Applied Family Science, M.S. OnLine Program at Wilmington University. In 2022 I stepped into the president of the board after three years in the position of Vice-President. I was delighted to be on the Research Committee as we developed and hosted the 1st annual Virtual Infant Massage US -Chapter conference! It was an amazing adventure and greatly successful due mostly to the new Executive Director and Assistant! I hope my experience benefits you as well. I really wished I had this knowledge when I was raising my own children who are now parents and I am delighted to say each has massaged my grandchildren. "Everything begins in childhood and society is the result!" MKK