Our Instructors
Welcome to Santé Wellness! Meet our dedicated team of instructors who are passionate about guiding you on your journey to mindfulness and well-being. Each instructor brings a unique set of skills and experiences to help you achieve inner peace and healing and balance in your life.
Laveta Claudine Thomas-Struck
Retreat Leader & Mindfulness Coach
Claudine is our retreat leader and mindfulness coach, bringing a deep personal understanding to her work, as she has also faced and overcome significant health challenges. With a background in psychology and mindfulness practices, she is dedicated to helping individuals find clarity and purpose through our transformative retreat programs. Her own healing journey has enhanced her ability to connect deeply, listen intently, and truly understand her clients. Claudine’s health and wellness coaching, combined with over 15 years of experience, allows her to foster meaningful connections, guide others on their path to renewal, and inspire possibilities for healing and growth.
As Claudine says, “I have been placed here to help. By experiencing what I went through—my dance with cancer—it is an enemy, but I decided to make it my friend. You may ask, how do I make it my friend? I made a commitment to make self-care and myself the top priority. Conventional medicine is a necessity and has its place. But there are pieces of the self that are left behind as a result of this major process.”
Dr. Lisa Wiechmann
Surgeon Specializing in Breast Cancer
Dr. Wiechmann is a board certified surgeon specializing in breast cancer, who was recognized with honors by the Breast Cancer Alliance, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation and the Society of Surgical Oncology..
Dr. Wiechmann is a breast surgeon with over 10 years of experience at the Comprehensive Breast Center of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, a multi-site, multi-disciplinary entity that incorporates the legacy of innovation and trust associated with the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
She works closely with a multi-disciplinary team including radiologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons and other breast cancer support staff. Her goal is to make patient and family experience as simple, thorough, and streamlined as possible. Dr Wiechmann approaches each patient in a personal, kind, and compassionate way and believes in shared decision-making and teamwork.
Maria Gorens
Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Specialist
Maria is licensed and board-certified acupuncturist and Feng Shui consultant. She is practicing for over 25 years.
Maria’s goal is to help patients attain optimal mental and physical health conditions.
She is offering wide range of healing arts to improve general well-being, make her patients feel and look better.
Michelle Clifton
Sound Healing Therapist
Michelle is a licensed massage therapist specializing in sound healing with Tibetan Singing Bowls.
She is a craniosacral therapist , a certified Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner and has studied energy healing since 1987.
Tibetan Singing Bowls create a celestial harmonic sound that resonates with our energy fields.
The rhythmic sounds of the singing bowls have a profoundly healing effect on the nervous system
affecting our mind, body and soul.