Faculty and Guest Instructors

Sandy Chase, BS, LMT, MMP

Middle Georgia School of Massage Program Director

Sandy grew up in Middle Georgia and graduated from Jones County High School in 1987. She was a member of the Georgia Army National Guard from 1986 to 1993.

Sandy became a Licensed Massage Therapist by attending the Georgia Massage Institute, Massage Excellence Program in 2006. She graduated from Macon State College & University with a BS Psychology in 2014. She obtained a Certified Medical Massage Therapist Certification from the LMT Success group in 2014 and an Advanced Medical Massage Therapy Certification in 2016 from David Morin’s School of Medical Massage. She is currently certified through the International Sports Science Institute as a Certified Fitness Trainer (2017) and as a Nutritional Coach (2020). Recently she obtained a Lymphatic Drainage Massage Certification at Gwinnett College through Knowles Rehabilitation (2024).

After finishing massage school Sandy went to work for several different Chiropractors. At each place that she worked, she learned new techniques for medical massage, as well as advanced stretching and relaxation techniques. She has been self-employed for over twelve years has continued to develop her own style of Integrative Massage. Sandy is passionate about Massage Therapy and can’t wait to share that joy and train other therapists. When not working, Sandy is an avid animal lover and cares for her many rescue animals, which includes horses, cats, a dog and a pig. She enjoys the camping and the great outdoors.

Samantha Chase, M.M.Ed

Middle Georgia School of Massage Educational Program Director

Sam Chase is currently serving as the Band Director at Sweetwater Middle School, Georgia. She has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Columbus State University and a master’s degree in music education from the University of Georgia. She is a current member of the Atlanta CV Drum and Bugle Corps and has over 5 years of drum corps and marching experience, both domestic and abroad. She has worked as a teacher and choreographer in the marching arts for over 10 years.

Sam Chase is the Program Educational Director and Instructor Training Facilitator for the Middle Georgia School of Massage. She is responsible for providing massage therapy instructors with teaching pedagogy tools and training in order to effectively teach. This includes, but is not limited to, classroom management, differentiation, accommodations for teaching students with disabilities, lesson planning, creating assessments, and instructional strategies. She also serves as an educational advisor to the students at Middle Georgia School of Massage. She provides resources and instruction in time management skills, study skills, and leadership skills. In addition, she assists the Program Director with administrative duties as needed.

Keisha Callins, MD, MHP

Dr. Keisha Reneé Callins is passionate about women’s healthcare especially for rural and underserved communities; physician recruitment and retention; community engagement; and pipeline mentorship. She is an obstetrician/gynecologist with Community Health Care Systems (CHCS), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) network in central Georgia. She also serves as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), and was recently awarded the Joy McCann Professorship to expand her leadership and mentoring with women in medicine. Prior to joining CHCS, Dr. Callins, worked at the Mirian Worthy Women’s Health Center with Albany Area Primary Health Care, an FQHC network in southwest Georgia.

Dr. Callins earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of Virginia (UVA), and a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. After earning her MPH, Dr. Callins worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center at UAB. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), and completed her graduate medical training at the MSM OB/GYN Residency Program at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Callins was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve on the Georgia Composite Medical Board (2014 – 2018), and appointed in 2017 to serve on the Inaugural Board for the Sandra Dunagan Deal Georgia Center for Early Language and Literacy. She is a recent graduate of the Community Health Advanced by Medical Practice Superstars (C.H.A.M.P.S.) Transformational Leadership Fellowship at Morehouse School of Medicine; an alumnus of the Medical Association of Georgia’s Physicians Leadership Academy (2017), and an alumnus of Leadership Georgia (2015).

Dr. Callins has been a member of the Junior League and the Rotary Club while living in Albany and now Macon. She serves on the board of the Healthcare Georgia Foundation and the Georgia State Medical Association. In addition, she is actively involved with the Medical Association of Georgia where she serves on several task forces on rural health, diversity, and physician resilience. She also serves as chair of the Breastfeeding Medicine Committee with the Georgia OB/GYN Society. Dr. Callins has been a National Health Service Corps scholar and loan repayor. She now serves as chair of the National Advisory Council for the National Health Service Corps.

Dr. Callins’ personal mission statement is, “You may not be able to change the world, but you can choose to change the world of anyone you interact with”.

Nancy A. Atkinson, Esquire

Attorney at Law

Middle Georgia School of Massage Guest Instructor

Ms. Atkinson has been practicing Law in the State of Georgia for over 35 years. She attended Atlanta Law School where she received the degree of Juris Doctorate in Law. She teaches a comprehensive class in Ethics and Georgia Law at Middle Georgia School of Massage. Her expertise and insight are invaluable for obtaining a better understanding of The Georgia Board of Massage Therapy rulings, current cases in review, and scope of practice for massage therapists.

All Instructors:

Faculty Instructors and Guest Instructors must teach at the physical address that was provided to the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy (2134 Hwy 18 East, Macon, Georgia 31217). Lead faculty must demonstrate competence in their respective areas of teaching as evidenced by a minimum of two years or 2000 hours of experience in their field. Instructors teaching massage therapy shall hold a current Georgia State Massage Therapy license. Instructors teaching human science courses must demonstrate competence in their respective areas of teaching as evidenced by a minimum of two years or 2000 hours experience in their field and/or by appropriate degrees/certificates from approved colleges, schools or institutions.

The Ratio of Students to faculty in the lab/clinical/community area shall not exceed 20 students to 1 instructor with no more than 10 student therapists and 10 students serving as clients. Lecture classes are not subject to this ratio.