Meet the Chico Community Acupuncture Team
We’re excited to learn more about you and how we can serve you!
Olivia Peters-Lazaro, L.Ac.
Olivia Peters-Lazaro has been a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) in California since 2009.
She started Chico Community Acupuncture in 2010.
She attended Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, earning a Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. After her third year at Five Branches, Olivia traveled to Hangzhou, China to study at Zhejiang University, getting in contact with the roots of acupuncture. There, she observed Traditional Chinese Medicine is used in hospitals as a regular form of treatment for basically any kind of ailment or dysfunction.
Olivia has pursued specialized training in treating pregnant women as well as children. She apprenticed with Raven Lang (midwife and acupuncturist), a leading expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine Obstetrics and pediatrics in the United States. She also interned at Nurture Acupuncture, a bay area clinic that exclusively treats women and men for fertility health.
Olivia grew up in Chico. After being gone for many years, she returned to start Chico Community Acupuncture in 2010. She absolutely loves her hometown and living in the beautiful Sacramento Valley.
Scott Whitfield, L.Ac., DAOM
Scott was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, of California. He graduated from Five Branches Institute of Santa Cruz with a Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine (MTCM) in 2003; and again from Five Branches University of San Jose with and a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) in 2011.
Scott became licensed to practice acupuncture and herbal medicine in California in 2004. His career path has afforded him experiences in many types of clinical settings, including the front desk and reception for two separate acupuncture clinics, private practice, working as an employee for other providers, in the Worker’s Compensation system, in a hospital, in a community clinic, doing home visits, and as a contractor.
He’s had a busy time in practice so far, delivering nearly 30,000 acupuncture treatments in the 9 years he spent at the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City medical center alone. Scott has focused his continuing education on acupuncture-specific disciplines and has acquired significant skills and experience in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Auriculotherapy, Master Tung’s Acupuncture, Richard Tan’s Balance Method, Kiiko Matsumoto Japanese Acupuncture, Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture, and Sports Medicine Acupuncture. Additionally, Scott has sought out specialized training in adjunct modalities such as Medical Qigong, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and health coaching with the I Ching. He recently picked up his study of herbal medicine again, inspired by the materials of Huang Huang (China) and Classical Chinese medicine.
Since 2003, Scott has developed specialties in acupuncture for neuromuscular medicine, pain management, women’s health, trauma relief, neurological disorders, stress-related conditions, acute conditions, as well as complex, chronic conditions.
Elinore Schafer, L.Ac.
Ellie is retiring and we wish her all the best, her last day at the clinic is March 23, 2023.
Elinore "Ellie" Schafer, L.Ac., has been a licensed acupuncturist in California since 2004. She has been an upbeat part of the Chico Community Acupuncture team since 2015. "One of my best decisions was making acupuncture my craft."
She obtained her master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley in 2003.
Ellie is getting close to retiring and her dream is to live close to nature learning more skills to be self-sufficient. In her free time, she walks and bikes everywhere, enjoys cooking and sharing time to relax with friends, traveling when she can to keep an eye on her mom who lives in Maine.
Sarah Morris, Reception
Sarah has been heading the desk here since 2019. She will help you get scheduled, and all other things “front end.” Born and raised in Chico, she loves walking her dogs and being with her family at home.
Board of Directors
Chico Community Acupuncture is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our board of directors consists of the following members.
Olivia Peters-Lazaro, L.Ac. President
Bonnie Pipkin, Vice-President
Orien Nelson, Secretary
Scott Dakof, Treasurer
Dr. Deborah McMenemy, L.Ac., Board Member