Dr. Charmaine Herman is being saluted in our Member Spotlight.

Highly accomplished, passionate about chiropractic and advancing the availability of chiropractic education to people across all walks of life; and passionate about promoting chiropractic care, Dr. Charmaine Herman is someone willing to say yes to serving on committees that advance the profession. ICA member, ICA Council on Upper Cervical Care and ICA Diversity and Inclusion Ad hoc Advisory Council.

Dr. Charmaine Herman is a first-generation Doctor of Chiropractic.  The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, she grew up in Brooklyn, New York.  Dr. Herman received her undergraduate degrees in history and biology from the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia, in 1991 and 1992 respectively.  After working in environmental health, she returned to USC to complete a master’s degree in US history in 2002 and certification women’s studies in 2003.

After graduating from Sherman College of Chiropractic in 2009, she moved to Atlanta with her husband and began working at Life University as an adjunct instructor in the undergraduate college teaching history and biology. Today she is an Associate Professor in the College of Chiropractic’s Division of Clinical Science.

At Life University Dr. Herman teaches the lecture and lab for the Head and Neck clinical case integration course (CLET 3826) required for 8^th quarter chiropractic students. Additionally, she teaches visceral diagnosis labs, clinical skills labs, advanced clinicals skills lab and the Blair condylar misalignment and analysis elective.

Dr. Herman has been an advisor for various student clubs such as the Blair UC Technique Club, Toggle Club, Upper Cervical Club, NUCCA Club, The Remarkable Practice and the Student American Black Chiropractic Association. Also, Dr. Herman was a faculty adviser for 117 students in the College of Chiropractic.

Dr. Herman is a member of the Blair UC Society research and college liaison committees, the American Black Chiropractic Association (ABCA), and the Christian Chiropractic Association.

At Life University, Dr. Herman is the secretary for the Diversity Committee, a member of the Black Faculty and Staff Association, Black Affairs Council, Rank and Promotion Procedural Committee, Title IX Review Board, College of Chiropractic Assessment Council, Research Track Committee, Diversity Council Liaison and Conduct Review Board. She is also the cultural competency trainer for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

In 2016, she was the recipient of the Chiropractor of the Year award by the Blair UC Society. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the Top Chiropractors in Atlanta by Atlanta Magazine. Additionally, in 2018 she received the Life University Club Advisor of the Year award. In 2019, she was awarded Upper Cervical Researcher of the Year by the ICA Council on Upper Cervical Care. She has also been awarded the Faculty Excellence award from four College of Chiropractic graduating classes. In 2020, she received the Vulcan Materials Teaching Excellence Award that recognizes an outstanding faculty member who demonstrates strong academic skills in the classroom and provides leadership and support in other areas of campus life.

Dr. Herman, with her husband, Pastor Stephen Herman, own and operate Agape Upper Cervical Health Center Inc. in Alpharetta, GA.  The referral-based cash practice, opened in May 2013, has provided specific and effective Blair chiropractic care to their community and beyond.

Lastly, Dr. Herman has published upper cervical chiropractic and cultural competence in chiropractic education research articles. She has presented research at the International Research and Philosophy Symposium (IRAPS), the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Society National Convention, and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges Research Agenda Conference (ACC-RAC) and at Life University Fall Continued Education events. Between 2014 and 2020 she has received six Life University faculty research awards for her research accomplishments.

The International Chiropractors Association is honored to feature Dr. Herman in our Member Spotlight.

BIO – Dr. Charmaine Herman (submitted by Dr. Herman)

Several months ago, Dr. Bob’s work and dedication to the chiropractic profession was highlighted in his local newspaper, The St. Thomas Source. Excerpts of the article by Amy H. Roberts. are featured below.

From the St. Thomas Source: Dr. Robert De Bonis, a chiropractor in Coral Bay better known as “Dr. Bob,” found there truly was a silver lining when Hurricane Irma destroyed his office. “The International Chiropractors Association had been wanting me to take an active role in promoting chiropractic for a number of years, but I could never make the commitment,” said De Bonis. With the loss of his office, however, he decided to take the opportunity to travel.

De Bonis joined a group of eight western chiropractors traveling in China. Accompanied by interpreters, they fanned out, each taking a different route, to treat tens of thousands of patients. Since 2017, De Bonis has been to 30 cities in China on four different trips. “They treat me like a rock star,” he said, his eyes revealing a smile mostly concealed by his face mask worn throughout the interview – a sign of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Though chiropractic was not known in most places he went, the basic idea is not a strange concept for the Chinese. “Chiropractic and eastern philosophy are well-matched,” De Bonis said.

“Chiropractors understand that there’s an ‘intelligence’ or power to the energy that dwells in everyone,” he said. “The Chinese call it ‘Chi.’ This intelligence uses the brain, spinal cord – the entire central nervous system – as the master communication system.”

Dr. De Bonis adjusts a patient in China. (Photo provided by Dr. De Bonis)

“When you’re healthy and you’re functioning correctly, all the body parts are getting the necessary information from the brain and giving necessary feedback to the brain. There are literally millions and millions of signals all the time” regulating blood pressure, kidney functions, the digestive system – all of the body’s functions, De Bonis said.

“Chiropractors are trained to detect and correct nerve blockages. When a spinal bone [vertebra] is out of alignment, it is the first step in disease – a lack of harmony in the body. I check the spine, find imbalances and correct them.” He compared the body to a well-tuned instrument. “There’s a correct tone, like a guitar string. That’s why everyone should come in for a tune-up.”…

To qualify for a degree, chiropractors take 5,000 hours of academic training, taking courses in anatomy and physiology that are almost identical to those required in medical schools. Like traditional medical doctors, they honor the Hippocratic Oath, “First, do no harm.” “We screen people,” said De Bonis. “How you treat a 97-year-old with osteoporosis is different from how you’d treat a healthy middle-aged person. For a baby, you’d use the amount of pressure you’d use on an eyeball. It would be different for a 250-lb guy who lifts rocks all day. I do what’s appropriate, as little as possible, so the body can do the most.”

Dr. De Bonis shares a moment with a baby while in China. (Photo provided by Robert De Bonis)

De Bonis was impressed by the differences between the overall health of the populations of the U.S. and China. “In China, I found more people needed less care. It has to do with the eastern lifestyle. At 9 p.m. you’d find in the town square someone with a little speaker and a microphone, and elderly women and men line dancing. They’ve adopted a healthier lifestyle.” However, with the increased availability of American fast food in China and a love of “all things American,” De Bonis wonders if this will change.

When Hurricane Irma left him with a couple of rain-soaked diplomas and a portable table for treating patients. He took that table to the firehouse in Coral Bay to adjust anyone who needed it following the hurricane. One day, when adjusting a first responder who arrived on St. John from New Jersey, the man looked up and said, “Don’t I know you? You adjusted me at the Javits Center in New York City after 9/11.”

In the last two years, De Bonis has also made two trips to Tonga, an archipelago nation in Polynesia, and one trip to India, where more than a million followers of a guru gathered in a tent city north of Mumbai.

To read more of Dr. De Bonis’ story, please click below.

Story acquired from Dr. Robert De Bonis and written by By Amy H. Roberts – The St. Thomas Source – July 2020 (Photos provided by Amy H. Roberts and Dr. Robert De Bonis)