Meet The Pod Spa & Wellness Team

Optimal health outcomes and unmatched care are the key reasons patients keep
coming back to see Frances Johanna, a Board Certify Family Nurse Practitioner with
over 20+ years of experience in the areas of Pulmonary, Internal Medicine, Cardiology
and Emergency Medicine. Her passion and dedication to help others have guided her to
instill health promotion and wellness into every aspect of her interaction with all patients.
She does not hesitate to always advocate for the wellbeing of her patients. As a health
care provider, she believes in the power of working together, side by side with her
patients to achieve the goal of illness prevention. Known for her ability to form close
bonds with her patients, she is distinguished as one capable of successfully guiding one
on the journey to feel and live to one’s full potential.

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At Pod Spa our focus and goal is to attend to your immediate health concerns and
improve your functional health so you are ready to live a better, healthier, more fulfilling
and greater quality of life.

Katie has always been passionate about health and wellness, which drove her to change careers and study esthetics. She enjoys educating her clients on product knowledge and customizing treatment plans for each individual. Her clients appreciate her genuine enthusiasm and gentle approach to client satisfaction.

Amanda’s passion for health and wellness inspired her first combined Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees in Health Promotion. Her desire to deliver high quality hands on patient-centered care, led her to achieve an additional BSN and MSN as a Registered Nurse to achieve her goals. Amanda began her career in a NYC Emergency Department and has continued to develop her practice here for the past 12 years. Seeking anti-aging results for herself, she was impressed with the natural looking results that lasers and injections could provide and this inspired her love for aesthetic nursing. Amanda brings a wealth of expertise and healthcare knowledge to Pod Spa where she has access to the highest quality laser technology and will help you achieve natural results with minimal downtime.

Stacey Hirschmann (Param Atma) Shares a Vinyasa flow that offers a sense of coming home to yourself through inviting deep presence. She combines a variety of yoga styles, breath-work, meditation techniques and various levels of postures to encourage inner and outer strength, relaxation and rejuvenation. Her yoga classes are great for a yogi who wants to explore in a safe and nurturing environment with an experienced teacher. Her passion resides in proper alignment with powerful breath, flow and mindfulness. She honors the individual and encourages students in their process of self inquiry and self realization.

Stacey is a Level 2 Kundalini Teacher with Passion for this powerful practice because of the immediate positive effect for her body, mind and spirit. Her classes are nurturing and challenging and light up the space.

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Stephanie Durso joined a local gym in 1994 after her second daughter was born as a way to get back into shape and meet new friends. Little did she know that she would fall in love with the energy and new found friendships that the group exercise classes offered. She immediately began her certification process through AFFA and started teaching group fitness shortly afterward at local fitness facilities.
In about 2005 she began taking yoga classes and realized that her yoga practice and breath work began to change her life in a very positive way as she was more easily able to focus and function in her daily life, even with the challenges that came with her different roles as a parent, spouse, daughter and teacher. She achieved her 200 hour yoga teacher certification in 2007 with Om Shanti Yoga and has been teaching hatha yoga, yin & restorative as well as chakra balancing every since becoming certified. Stephanie’s goal is to have her students learn how to breathe effortlessly while performing yoga poses in an effective and safe manner so that they leave each of her classes feeling clear-minded, lighthearted and energized so that they too can face the challenges and joys of everyday life.
Her philosophy is “It’s only yoga, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Enjoy the journey and just breathe”

Julia has a dedication towards being a lifelong learner. She has undergraduate degrees in English, Education and a graduate degree in Library and Information Science. Aside from this she is a certified Yoga Instructor, Reiki 2 Practitioner, and a certified Sound Healer. She spends her days working in an elementary school as a teacher. But the teaching doesn’t stop there. She loves to host wellness events, workshops, yoga, and meditation classes.

Julia’s passion for all things yoga and mindfulness shine through her dedication to her practice. She guides with her heart and intuition to share the beauty of universal love with her students. In Julia’s classes you will go deeper within, and heal from the inside out.

Chris has been performing massage since 2013. He attended and graduated from the prestigious and highly regarded Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in Manhattan. A true believer in an actual “full body massage”, Chris evokes his innate ability to communicate with each individuals body to tailor each treatment specifically to what is needed at that time. He has practiced his craft at several big companies and eventually settled into Xpressa at JFK airport, where he worked for almost a decade. He worked on many celebrity clients there, including Derek Hough, whom was his regular. Chris implements various stretching techniques into his massage as he is a firm believer in its importance for clients of all ages. He loves what he does every day and loves meeting new clients from all backgrounds to see how he can assist in helping them achieve their goals through the art of massage.

I’m a firm believer in the power of proper skin care and healthy habits, and their ability to improve multiple aspects of women’s lives. While it’s certainly true that real beauty is about who you are inside and how you feel about yourself rather than simply your physical appearance, feeling comfortable in your own skin plays a very important role in building confidence and helping you feel empowered. When women feel better about themselves on the outside, it changes how they view everything in life. I make it my mission every day to educate women on the best ways to take care of their skin and empower them to feel good about themselves.

I believe in the magic skincare can hold and the positive aspect it can have on anyone’s life, men and women. Although we like to say your true beauty and confidence is within us -which we are all beautiful- as people we tend to focus on what’s on the outside and our physical appearance. Your aspect of yourself can play a huge factor in not only your mind but your body, when we feel good in our skin, everything can change. My passion for skincare stemmed from my childhood. As a young girl, growing up I was never comfortable in my own skin. Having cystic acne and PCOS all through my teen and young adult years, it was very challenging and frustrating for me to find a solution. I learned very early in life that the importance of maintaining healthy skin is from the inside out. Although it took lots of trials and errors, enormous amounts of patience, research and knowledge, I managed to clear my own skin. I had finally brought my glow back with the right skincare regimen for me.

Self motivated and hardworking Physician Assistant with over 22 years experience, and expertise in Aesthetic injectables. Graduated PA school in 1998 and began working for an Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Center on Long Island. There she learned and got the base of her training on neurotoxins and dermal fillers. She was the solo injector for the practice for 15 years. She continues to educate herself with the latest advances on product and injection techniques. She currently offers her expertise to various clinics. We are excited to have her join our practice and are confident you will love her!

Christina Karkouta is the founder of Consciously Kriyating and the Consciously Kriyating Membership. She is a kundalini yoga teacher, breathwork specialist, spiritual mentor, and soon to be an AFPA certified Holistic Nutrition and Wellness Coach and Reiki Level 2 Practitioner. She created Consciously Kriyating to empower people just like you to live a life that you relentlessly love- a life full of joy, abundance, and high-vibrational energy through breathwork, meditation, kundalini yoga, nutrition + more! It’s time to level-up to your highest potential and embrace who you truly are using the tools that are already within you.

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LCSW, ACSW

I am a clinical social worker in private practice. I have forty years of experience working with people with a multitude of issues including anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting, relationships, personal growth and life challenges. My training is vast and varied as I am a perpetual seeker of knowledge and self-expansion. My presence has evolved as a spiritual healer invoking mind/body, energetic, psychodynamic and divine guidance in assisting individuals on their journey.

Hi, I’m Peg the LMT. I've been a licensed massage therapist for 17 years and I still love what I do. My purpose is to heal one body at a time with a firm and confident hand. My time with you is your time, not mine. I am here to facilitate your therapeutic needs. I am flexible in my care and I create a safe atmosphere so you can let go and relax. Your comfort and safety is my greatest concern. I listen to my clients and provide deep tissue, relaxation, therapeutic, prenatal, swedish and some medical massage. I have a stretch protocol I follow as well. Looking forward to treating and gaining client confidences so a long lasting relationship can be had. Thank you for your time- peace n love, LMT Peg

Being an esthetician is a motivation in itself. I really enjoy providing facials, hair removal and other skincare treatments. I am very passionate about helping clients maintain their personal appearance and making them feel good about themselves. 

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With 12 years of surgical nursing experience in dermatology, orthopedics, and women's health, Courtney Roberts RN BSN is the Nurse Administrator at Pod Spa and Wellness. 

Renée began her career in fashion design working as a menswear designer for both Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. She pivoted to the world of wellness when she became a certified Yoga instructor and teaching ignited a new passion for healthcare. Renée now holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in nursing and for the past decade has been caring for patients in busy NYC Emergency Departments while also working for some of New York’s top celebrity plastic surgeons. Through this work she developed an affinity for aesthetic nursing and a desire to individualize treatments for clients. Pod Spa allows Renee to provide her clients with excellent results that combine her expertise in beautiful design, wellness and healthcare. She would love to work with you to co-create an individualized plan for your wellness journey.

Melissa has an undergraduate degree in psychology that helped deepen her interest in the human condition and has a Master's Degree in Special Education. She has learned to be flexible, differentiate her healing work with others and is a lifelong student. She is a trained and certified Shamanic Practitioner using The Way of the Shaman, the Michael Harner Method as well as a Usui Reiki Master teacher. She completed a yoga teacher training at Serenity Yoga and is a certified Asana for Autism instructor. Somatic trainings include Chakra Dance by Natalie Southgate, and Kunda Dance by Maya Fiennes. She is also certified in Mindfulness, Meditation and Movement through Breathe 4 Change. She is a certified Akashic Record Reader, uses sound therapy in all sessions and brings years of experience to these sessions. Sound, movement and deep introspection are her passions and hopes to help others heal with these as well. Born on the beach and spending her life by the ocean identifies who she is in every way

Allison Noelle Megherian Mindset Mentor, breathwork/mindfulness facilitator, author and educator. Allison works with guided Meditation and breathwork to clear out unwanted energy, and have you feeling powerful.

Damon Baram is trained in many approaches of holistic healing and has worked on hundreds of clients since 2005. He is a NYS licensed Acupuncturist, Massage Therapist, certified Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher and Ayurveda Wellness Practitioner. He is a graduate of the Swedish College of Health Science, Pacific College of Health and Science, Kerla Ayurveda, Integral Yoga Institute, and holds a Masters of Science Degree in Traditional Chinese medicine. Damon brings together his diverse education and experience to design a healing session custom to your individual goals. Damon will be offering Thai Massage Bodywork at Podspa. It is a combination of Acupressure, Stretching, Joint manipulation, and Compression Massage. Thai massage has been described as assisted Yoga. It uses no massage oils and the client is fully clothed with a special Thai mat. Book an appointment with Damon on Saturdays 2:15-7pm for 60min appointments.