Homecoming Speaker Biographies

2019 Speakers (In alphabetical order)

Mary Frost, D.C., M.B.A., graduated from Palmer’s Davenport campus in 1996. She was in private practice with her husband for 11 years before joining the Davenport campus faculty in 2008. In 2010, she was a part of the business curriculum task force. More recently, she served as Senior Director of Accreditation and Licensure until she accepted the position of Senior Director of Continuing Education in 2018. Dr. Frost has regularly studied and reported on state laws affecting chiropractors, as well as serving as the College's Accreditation Liaison Officer to the Higher Learning Commission. She is also an advisor to the Palmer Center for Business Development.

Nate Hinkeldey, D.C., DACRB, is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and earned a degree in biology from Iowa State University. During his time at Palmer, he was a member of the Vogt Leadership Society and served as the president of Motion Palpation Club. Dr. Hinkeldey was chosen fora DoD/VA internship at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. This experience stressed the importance of service and evidenced-based multi-modal care models. After graduating, he opened Team Chiropractic and Rehabilitation in Johnston, Iowa. He also teaches at Des Moines Area Community College and is the chiropractor for Grand View University Sports Medicine Team, and he speaks nationally as an instructor for Graston Technique.

Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D., became chancellor of Palmer College of Chiropractic in December 2009 and was named chancellor and CEO in 2017. He graduated with his doctor of chiropractic degree from Palmer College in 1990, and went on to earn his M.S. degree in anatomy at Palmer in 1992. In 1995, he completed a three-year residency in radiology at Palmer College leading to diplomate status with the American Chiropractic Board of Radiology.Dr. Marchiori received his doctorate in policy, planning and leadership from the University of Iowa in 2005. He has had faculty appointments at Palmer College in the Research, and Diagnosis and Radiology departments. His administrative tenure at Palmer includes the roles of department chair, dean, vice president of academic affairs for the Davenport campus, and vice chancellor for academics for the College system. In addition to his teaching and administrative service, he has published numerous scientific articles and three editions of a comprehensive textbook in radiology, “Clinical Imaging with Skeletal, Chest and Abdomen Differentials.” He also serves as chair of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges.

Casey Okamoto, D.C., is a recent graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic, where he graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian. During his time at Palmer, he clerked at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, W.V., prior to accepting a position as a chiropractic resident at the VA Western New York Healthcare System in Buffalo, N.Y. He is the author of two papers in peer-reviewed literature.

Greg Rose, D.C. is a board certified Doctor of Chiropractic and holds an engineering degree from the University of Maryland. Dr. Rose specializes in sports biomechanics, strength and conditioning, manual therapy, rehabilitation, nutritional supplementation and therapeutic exercises as they each relate to sports. Combining an engineering background with an expertise on the human body, Greg helped pioneer the field of analyzing 3-dimensional motion capture models of athletes. That research has helped teaching professionals all over the world gain a better understanding of how the body works during athletic movements. Greg is the Co-Founder of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), located in Oceanside, California. TPI is the world-renown research and testing facility built by Titleist, to help analyze, train and develop the best golfers in the world. TPI’s “Body-Swing Connection” seminar series has made Greg one of the most requested speakers in golf health and fitness. Greg was the co-host of The Golf Fitness Academy seen on the Golf Channel for 10 years and was shown in over 30 countries. Greg is also one of the co-developers of the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) and co-owners of FMS (Functional Movement Systems). FMS has revolutionized the field of movement assessment and changed the way many sporting organizations and healthcare practitioner diagnose musculo-skeletal injuries. Recently, Greg founded and launched RacquetFit and OnBase University. RacquetFit is the first tennis-specific certification program offered by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) for health and fitness professionals. While, OnBase University (OnBaseU) is the first baseball-softball specific certification program of its kind, offered for health and fitness professionals.

 

Dan Weinert, D.C., Ph.D., DACRB, is the provost for Palmer College of Chiropractic. Prior to that appointment he served as Main campus provost, interim vice president for Academic Affairs, dean of Academic Affairs and department chair for the Diagnosis and Radiology Department. Dr. Weinert is a 1996 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic. As a faculty member, he has taught Physiotherapy, Biomechanics, Anatomy and Physiology and Biochemistry. He’s currently a professor in the Division of Life Sciences. Dr. Weinert received six Thelma Fordyce Mack Faculty Incentive Awards for Teaching Excellence from 1999 through 2005. He was the recipient of the student body’s Faculty of the Year Award for second trimester each year from 2002 through 2010. His master’s degree is in exercise science from the University of Massachusetts, and he received his Ph.D. in higher education, leadership and policy from the University of Iowa. He’s a graduate of Palmer’s Rehabilitation and Sports Injury Residency Program, where he earned a Diplomate from the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board and passed the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist examination.

2019 Speakers

Mark Charrette, D.C., is a 1980 summa cum laude graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. He wrote a book on extremity adjusting, produced an instructional video series, is a frequent guest speaker at various chiropractic colleges, and has taught more than 1,400 seminars worldwide. His lively seminars on extremity adjusting, biomechanics and spinal adjusting techniques emphasize a practical, hands-on approach.

Katherine Clark, D.C., graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2010 and was in private practice for four years before joining the Palmer faculty as a faculty clinician. She has extensive experience working with children, pregnant women, athletes and older adults. Her focus includes health and wellness as well as working with and learning from special-needs children.

Ashlee Drover, D.C., grew up in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland. She attended Brown University in Providence, R.I., on an athletic scholarship for Women’s Ice Hockey. Following graduation, Dr. Drover spend a year playing hockey in the National Women’s Hockey League. After graduating from Palmer in 2011, Dr. Drover practiced full-time in Collingswood, New Jersey. She has training in several specific chiropractic techniques including NUCCA, Atlas Orthogonal, Activator, NIMMO and Flexion Distraction. Dr. Drover currently serves as an instructor in the diagnosis and radiology department at Palmer College of Chiropractic.

Michelle Barber-Drover, D.C., M.S.W., earned a Master of Social Work degree from Ohio State University in 1993 and worked in the child and family welfare field for seven years. She graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2000 and practiced for 16 years in Colorado, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. She started her career at Palmer’s Davenport campus in 2006. In 2016 Dr. Barber was named Associate Dean for Life Sciences and Foundation. She has received the Faculty of the Year Award every year since 2008 and was named Palmer College’s Outstanding Faculty of the Year in 2011. She received the ICAA Female Chiropractic Achievement Award in 2010 and 2013, and the Sigma Phi Chi Chiropractic Service Award in 2014 and 2015.

Mary Frost, D.C., M.B.A., graduated from Palmer’s Davenport campus in 1996. She was in private practice with her husband for 11 years before joining the Davenport campus faculty in 2008. In 2010, she was a part of the business curriculum task force. More recently, she served as Senior Director of Accreditation and Licensure until she accepted the position of Senior Director of Continuing Education in 2018. Dr. Frost has regularly studied and reported on state laws affecting chiropractors, as well as serving as the College's Accreditation Liaison Officer to the Higher Learning Commission. She is also an advisor to the Palmer Center for Business Development.

Mario Fucinari, D.C., CCSP^®, graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1986. Dr. Fucinari has helped train doctors and staff for the last 20 years. He completed studies in chiropractic orthopedics and attained his certification as a chiropractic sports physician. Dr. Fucinari currently practices full-time in Decatur, Illinois, and is on the faculty and postgraduate faculty at Logan Chiropractic College. He is a certified medical compliance specialist and received the 2003 President’s Award from the Illinois Chiropractic Society for his work with education and training.

Bill Hemmer, D.C., owns and operates a successful chiropractic and functional-medicine practice in Tuscola, Ill. He also is a co-founder of Functional Wellness Systems, a comprehensive business system rooted in providing specific guidance on how to effectively integrate functional medicine into any existing health care practice.

Roger Hynes, D.C., D.Ph.C.S., is from St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is an associate professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic and teaches in the Technique Department where he is the instructor for Principles and Practice, the technique capstone class. In addition, he serves the Palmer Foundation for Chiropractic History and Undergraduate Studies programs. Dr. Hynes is a 1998 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic. After graduation, Dr. Hynes practiced in Glasgow, Scotland, before returning to Iowa to teach at Palmer. He lives in Iowa with his wife, Rachelle, another Palmer faculty member, and their two children.

Sara Le Brun-Blashka is the Director of Education and Practitioner Engagement at Standard Process, where she led the team to launch a new educational website, holisticmatters.com. Sara is a nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and food science from Iowa State University and is finalizing her master’s in nutrition education at American University. She worked for several nutrition organizations over the course of the last 20 years, and also provided consulting services to a wide range of health-focused corporations. Sara is a member of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Sara has a passion for community supported agriculture and is an active on multiple charitable boards.

Siri Leech, D.C., DACBR, is a native of both Montana and South Dakota. She earned her doctor of chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Davenport campus in 2011 and her diplomate from the American Chiropractic Board of Radiology in 2016. She was appointed to the Palmer faculty in 2016 as an assistant professor, teaching in the Life Sciences Department.

Peter Martin, D.C., graduated from the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy in 1964, then earned his doctor of chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1968. He served in faculty and administrative positions at Palmer College and Los Angeles College of Chiropractic from 1968 to 1978; owned a chiropractic equipment and supplies and had a private practice in Lancaster, California, from 1982 to 2000. Dr. Martin was president of Palmer College’s West campus from 1992 to 2000, when he accepted a position as dean of the College of Naturopathic Medicine at the University of Bridgeport. He returned to Palmer West in 2004 as interim president and was named president in February 2005. In July 2005, he assumed the additional duties of president of Palmer’s Florida campus, and since the appointment in November 2006 of Dr. William Meeker as president of Palmer West, has been serving as president of the Florida campus exclusively. Dr. Martin is a past president of the Council on Chiropractic Education and the California Chiropractic Association and is a former board member of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges.

Sherry McAllister, D.C., M.S. (Ed)., CCSP®, serves as executive vice president for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), the national public-relations organization creating billions of positive impressions of chiropractic each year. She also consulted with the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. A graduate of Palmer’s West campus, Dr. McAllister frequently serves as guest speaker, alumni ambassador, preceptor doctor, commencement speaker and community liaison. She is also a California qualified medical examiner and expert chiropractic witness. She has been in private practice in San Jose since 1996.

Mark Murdock, D.C., R.N. has served as a professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic for 10 years. He is a registered nurse and chiropractor who teaches on first aid, CPR, venipuncture and blood-borne pathogens. His experience in the emergency room combined with more than seven years of clinical practice will help you understand HIV in multifaceted way and provide practical information that you can use in your daily practice.

Matthew Richardson, D.C., DACBR, serves as director of Clinical Radiology at on Palmer’s Florida campus and provides diagnostic imaging interpretation services through Palmer Imaging Consultation Services. He completed his doctor of chiropractic degree at Palmer’s main campus in 2006. Dr. Richardson became board certified chiropractic radiologist (Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Radiology) in 2010. He is published in peer reviewed literature and contributed to Skeletal Imaging: Atlas of the Spine and Extremities, Second Edition, and Clinical Imaging with Skeletal, Chest, and Abdomen Pattern Differentials, Third Edition.

Gina Sirchio-Lotus, D.C., CCN, graduated magna cum laude with her D.C. degree from National University of Health Sciences in 2005 and her post-graduate certification in clinical nutrition in 2007. She is the owner of the LG Institute of Health, LTD, an alternative health medical center located in Chicago’s Fulton River District. Dr. Sirchio-Lotus is also an avid educator and has lectured extensively throughout the nation. She also developed the accredited postgraduate program, “The Women's Health Series, an interdisciplinary approach to all aspects of women's health care.” She’s been in private practice for over 12 years.

Michael Shreeve, D.C., is a 1974 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Davenport campus. After 30 years of chiropractic practice in Tampa, Florida, he joined the faculty at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida campus. He also maintains a part-time chiropractic practice in Port Orange, Florida. He wrote several articles published in peer-reviewed literature and is a past board member on the Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine. He is past-president of the Florida Chiropractic Society and currently vice president of the Gnostic Procedure Society. Dr. Shreve lectures internationally and was honored by the Florida Chiropractic Society with the Lifetime Achievement Award and by the Florida Board of Chiropractic with the Distinguished Service to the Chiropractic Profession Award.

Lora Tanis, D.C., DICCP, graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1989. In 1997 she received her diplomate from the International Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics, and she has served on the ICA Council on Pediatrics since 2001. Dr. Tanis lectures internationally on topics relating to pediatric chiropractic, and currently operates a private practice in West Milford, N.J., where she focuses on family and pediatric care.

Dan Weinert, D.C., Ph.D., DACRB, is the provost for Palmer College of Chiropractic. Prior to that appointment he served as Main campus provost, interim vice president for Academic Affairs, dean of Academic Affairs and department chair for the Diagnosis and Radiology Department. Dr. Weinert is a 1996 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic. As a faculty member, he has taught Physiotherapy, Biomechanics, Anatomy and Physiology and Biochemistry. He’s currently a professor in the Division of Life Sciences. Dr. Weinert received six Thelma Fordyce Mack Faculty Incentive Awards for Teaching Excellence from 1999 through 2005. He was the recipient of the student body’s Faculty of the Year Award for second trimester each year from 2002 through 2010. His master’s degree is in exercise science from the University of Massachusetts, and he received his Ph.D. in higher education, leadership and policy from the University of Iowa. He’s a graduate of Palmer’s Rehabilitation and Sports Injury Residency Program, where he earned a Diplomate from the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board and passed the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist examination.

Susan Welsh, D.C., DACBSP, F.P.A.C., is a 1980 graduate of Palmer’s Davenport Campus. Dr. Welsh practices in Florida and has extensive experience caring for Tampa Bay teams such as the NHL’s Lightning, the NFL’s Buccaneers, the AFL’s Storm, and the MLS’s Mutiny. In 2015, Dr. Welsh joined the clinical faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair. Although she continues to practice full-time in the USF Morsani Health Center, she also mentors 4th-year medical students, teaching them about chiropractic in an integrative setting.

Mark Williams, D.C. is a 2008 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida Campus. He practices in an integrative health care setting at Rosen Medical Center, established by Rosen Hotels and Resorts in Orlando, Florida. The center includes medical doctors, nurse practitioners and chiropractors, all working together for the good of their patients. Florida hotelier Harris Rosen founded the center 25 years ago.

2019 Speakers