IFPA Board

To bring balance into her life, over several years Jane gained experience and qualifications in a variety of holistic therapies including Aromatherapy and became a full member of IFPA in 2007. Jane is passionate about the use of complementary therapies in the pursuit of improved wellbeing and lifestyle and enjoys sharing her knowledge and the benefits with others to promote awareness. Jane is also a Trustee and Treasurer of the British Society of Dowsers (BSD)

Jane believes that linking the diverse aspects of her life together enable her to offer a broad range of skills and experience to support the IFPA Trustees.

Russell has worked as a company secretary for the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and its commercial subsidiaries, and at director level in strategic development and operations including business continuity, office relocation, facilities management and human resources as well as education management, professional standards, and complaints and disciplinary processes.

Hong Kong based Cary Chan has worked in the banking industry for almost 30 years and for two of those three decades her major focus was on training. In this role she provided training for frontline staff and branch managers and also ran management training programmes.

In 2006 she joined the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers and was responsible for promoting professional qualifications to mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. Cary therefore brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the promotion of professional qualifications to the work on the IFPA Board.

Christine Courtney has over 40 years’ experience in business, and was a company director of a major Irish stationery company for 20 years, having numerous responsibilities in that role including sales management, purchasing and staff welfare. She is currently Managing Director of Obus Limited, and Principal Tutor of Obus School of Healing Therapies. She brings an abundance of skills to her role on the Board including marketing, staff management and forward planning and project management.

In 2014 she qualified in clinical aromatherapy and massage and , as a volunteer, offered aromatherapy and craniosacral therapy to residents of a women’s refuge. She currently offers aromatherapy and craniosacral therapy at her weekly clinic in an East London yoga centre.

Milena Ivanova MBA, IDP-C, MIFPA comes from a career in corporate finance, equity research and asset management for financial institutions. At the start of her career, she worked in the executive search and recruitment industry in Poland, experience which has given her a solid foundation in managing teams and businesses. After a successful 23-year career spanning the USA, Poland, France, Austria, the UK (London is home), Kazakhstan, Russia and Bulgaria (her home country), Milena was drawn to the field of aromatherapy and completed studies in Clinical Aromatherapy and TherapeuticMassage at ITHMA from 2017-2018. She recently launched Oshadhi Bulgaria, and is dedicated to bringing high-quality aromatherapy products to, and educating, the local market. Milena holds an MBA degree from INSEAD, France (2003), and is a certified Director, having completed INSEAD’sInternational Directors Program in 2018. She has a strong interest in corporate governance, sustainability and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) issues, and looks forward to making a positive contribution to further the strategic goals of the Federation.

Debbie Moore qualified as a Beauty Therapist in 1986 and entered employment with Shirley Price Aromatherapy, where she qualified as an Aromatherapist in 1987. She was the resident aromatherapy practitioner offering, in addition, Shirley Prices’s newly-devised Swiss Reflex treatment. She also became the in-house examiner, applying high quality standards. In 2003 Debbie started to work with Shirley’s daughter Penny at her school, where she gained a teaching certificate and taught extensively. In 2016 Debbie established Tranquil Heart Academy, which became an IFPA-accredited CPD centre and later an accredited IFPA-accredited Training Provider offering Clinical Aromatherapy. Debbie continues to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for all things aromatherapy and plant-based, offering residential courses and workshops in the Limousin, France. Debbie has been a member and has supported IFPA for many years, and recognises the work it has done to maintain its standards as a leading aromatherapy association.

Sunita has given lectures and courses in Alternative Therapies in Dubai, London and Hong Kong with her focus on Clinical Aromatherapy. After moving from Hong Kong in 1997 to U.A.E, she was the first person to open an Aromatherapy Centre in 1999 and challenged the health authorities that men and women should be treated equally, which she did achieve.

She has studied with Dr. Brian Weiss, Greg Braden, Anita Moorjani to name a few and continues in her path forward, to encourage like minded people about the effects of Alternative and Complementary Therapies.

At present she is re-vamping the IFPA curriculum to fit into the schedule of students that are keen to qualify in this field, with some online (distance) learning and practicals hands-on skills in person. Later she plans to translate the syllabus into Arabic so she can target the audience in Arab speaking countries.  

She believes in a well-rounded approach to health and so emphasis on both western and eastern sciences, and the art of natural healing.

Beth Thomas is a qualified aromatherapist and massage therapist. She is a long-time advocate of natural therapies and has seen first-hand the benefits of using complementary therapies side-by-side with conventional medicine. She has an honours degree in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh. After a year-and-a-half of working with wildlife in the national parks of Africa, Beth came to the realisation that a love of Nature alone wasn’t going to pay the bills, and therefore embarked on a 16-year career in sales, marketing and Public Relations in the luxury travel and hospitality industry— roles that allowed her to live and work around the world. However, Beth’s love of Nature stayed with her, and in 2015 she enrolled on an IFPA-accredited Diploma course. Despite the challenges of a full-time marketing job, she passed the course with distinction and started her new vocation as a Clinical Aromatherapist. Beth currently lives in Bahrain with her husband and two young children.