ABOUT US
Meet the Team!
Ashley Baleno (she/her/hers), LAc, LMBT, D.Ac.
Ashley is a licensed acupuncturist (License #LAC-2211) and licensed massage therapist (License #19345). She holds her Doctorate of Acupuncture and her certificate of massage from Pacific College of Health and Science in Chicago, IL, and is heavily trained in the use of massage, acupressure, cupping, gua sha, auricular acupressure, and other healing modalities.
Ashley is passionate about making healthcare feel safe and accessible to all people. She takes a body positive, empowering approach to healthcare. Ashley has significant experience working with the lgbtq+ community, as well as survivors of trauma. When working in Chicago, she specialized in working with people who are living with PTSD, and has a special interest in helping survivors of childhood trauma and survivors of assault heal in whatever way they feel would be beneficial.
Ashley strives to provide her patients with thorough, individualized, comprehensive care. She takes a multidisciplinary, integrative approach to healthcare and is happy to work as a team with her patients and their physicians and medical care team in order to help patients achieve their health goals.
Ashley was a veterinary nurse prior to starting acupuncture and massage school. She still enjoys spending time with animals every chance she gets. She shares her home with the NCIW board of directors, listed below. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, crocheting, and attempting to learn to play the ukulele for the tenth year in a row.
Board of Directors:
Tucker Baleno, President
Tucker works hard to oversee the productivity of the rest of the board and keep the company founder in check so that she can deliver the most effective treatments to her clients. He is extremely attentive to detail, always ensuring that a routine treat schedule is upheld. Tucker provides the essential task of maintaining work-life balance by delivering sticks, frisbees, and tennis balls to the other board members. He coordinates play time, walk time, and nap time, and provides countless other essential “behind the scenes” services for the company. In his spare time, he enjoys destroying paper towel tubes, receiving butt scratchies, and playing with his friends of all species.
Uno Baleno, Vice President
Uno is a vital part of the leadership team at NCIW. His primary roles are to maintain proper lap warmth for the company founder, and to establish proper relaxation protocols. His secondary roles include sitting on important paperwork, erasing dry erase boards, and demanding that the laser pointer is once again tested for full functionality. Uno requires transportation around his home on the shoulders of the nearest human. He is a very busy board member, but when he has spare time he likes to nap, purr, and snuggle with his brothers.
Roomba Baleno, Secretary
Roomba has been lending his secretarial services since his birth in 2017. He contributes to the organization and management of the company by eating chunks out of any papers that fall on the floor, thereby ensuring the utmost organization. His contribution began long before NCIW was founded, and will continue for decades to come. We, at NCIW, are unendingly grateful for his selfless labor. Ashley is also thankful to have graduated so that she is never forced to say “The tortoise ate my homework” to another professor ever again.