Catherine Niemiec, J.D., L.Ac., is the President/CEO and Founder of the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture. After her studies (University of Arizona, University of California-Hastings), she practiced law in California and also served as director for a national legal education company specializing in bar exam preparation. She became a Certified Practitioner of Chinese Herbology, through the residency program at the Institute of Chinese Herbology in Oakland, California. She co-authored Arizona’s acupuncture law that was enacted in 1998. She served as President of the Arizona Consortium of Complementary Healing Organizations, Chair of Arizona’s Acupuncture Board of Examiners’

Subcommittee on Preceptorships, and is Founder & President Emeritus of the Arizona Society of Acupuncture and Arizona Society of Oriental Medicine & Acupuncture. She served 5 years as Vice-President of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) and was a representative to the National Education Dialogue and the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Healthcare (ACCHAC). She served as Chair and Commissioner for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), and continues to serve as a Site Visitor. She is also the Founder of the Foundation for PIHMA Research & Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, research, foundations and scholarships, and nonprofit integrative medical clinics.