Stephen is the founder and director of Health Traditions Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Clinic in Lakeview. Educated at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine — one of the premier acupuncture and Chinese medicine programs in the country — he received a Masters of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine.

Stephen is licensed as an acupuncturist in Illinois and is further qualified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in the practice of both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. In addition to his practice, he teaches herbal medicine and Chinese medical theory classes at PCOM, supervises in the student clinic, and is the Chair of the Oriental Medicine Department. Finally, he is the Branch Director and is a Senior Lecturer for the Chicago Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine, which is an organization dedicated to the education and research of the classical writings of East Asian medicine for the promotion of their effective clinical application and the improvement of modern public health.

Stephen has a wide range of interests in the health sciences. His current interests include the use of herbal medicine and acupuncture in the treatment of internal medicine, women’s health, stress and pain disorders, and cancer care. He is also a long-time practitioner of meditation and qigong, and he likes to remain mindful of the wisdom of nature and its ability to heal. His philosophy is that natural therapies provide the least invasive route of treatment for most ailments; these modalities should be tried first before attempting more invasive procedures.