About the Acupuncture Workforce Alliance
The Acupuncture Workforce Alliance formed in response to a growing crisis: the pipeline of licensed acupuncturists in the Pacific Northwest is shrinking, while community need, particularly among Medicaid patients and underserved populations, continues to grow.
Our Focus
We work at the intersection of workforce policy, health equity, and professional education reform. Our current campaigns target licensure rules in Oregon (OAR 847-070-0016) and Washington (WAC 246-803-240), advocating for pathway diversification away from sole reliance on a single accreditor and examination body.
Our Approach
Our advocacy is evidence-based, grounded in workforce data, international training standards, and the documented outcomes of community acupuncture models. We work collaboratively with state agencies, legislators, and allied health organizations to build durable policy solutions.
Who We Are
The Alliance is dedicated to bringing together a broad coalition with a shared stake in a thriving acupuncture profession: licensed acupuncturists and students, professional associations, employers and clinic owners, health insurers and managed care organizations, suppliers and product distributors serving the profession, researchers and educators, and community health advocates working at the intersection of integrative medicine and health equity. We are united by the recognition that a shrinking workforce is bad for patients, bad for business, and bad for the profession.
Founding & Leadership
Dr. Rebecca (Bex) Groebner, DAc, LAc — Founder
Bex is a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Oregon and Washington. A graduate of the National University of Natural Medicine and the Pacific College of Health Sciences, she has served as faculty at both NUNM and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and as a past board member of the Oregon Association of Acupuncturists. She currently serves as Clinical Training and Program Manager with the Acupuncture Relief Project in Nepal, where acupuncture is integrated into primary care in a low-resource health system. Dr. Groebner has worked across private practice, community-based, and academic settings, and brings to this work the perspective of a clinician, educator, and longtime participant in the systems she examines.
Dr. Danielle Reghi, DAOM, LAc — Oregon Lead
Danielle is President of the Oregon Association of Acupuncturists and leads the OAA Education Task Force, which is advancing licensure pathway reform through the Oregon Medical Board. She brings institutional leadership and deep roots in the Oregon acupuncture community to the Alliance’s state campaign work.
Dr. Debbie Yu, DAOM, AEMP — Washington Lead
Debbie is supporting the Alliance’s Washington State work, where we are in active stakeholder engagement and information gathering as we develop a parallel campaign targeting WAC 246-803-240.
Kelly Ilseman, MSOM, LAc — Research & Policy
Kelly serves as Research Chair of the Oregon Association of Acupuncturists and is a core member of the OAA Education Task Force. Her work grounds the Alliance’s Oregon campaign in rigorous workforce data and policy analysis.