Our Therapists
BRENDA
Massage Manager
License Number: LMT-14061
Brenda has a special skill that we are thrilled to have at Overleaf Lodge & Spa. With deep experience as a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), she also has an extensive background helping other massage therapist succeed in our common goal of serving clients.
“Massage is not just a ‘back rub’ that anyone can do,” says Brenda. “Professionally trained and skilled therapists perform magical work that you cannot experience at the massage chairs in the mall. Massage is unique, in that it takes strong focus to set aside one’s personal agenda each day and meet each client where they are at, in that very moment.”
To provide our guests an exceptional experience, Brenda works to identify LMTs who share this philosophy to become part the Overleaf Spa team. In addition to providing team members support, she oversees safety protocols to keep clients, therapists and staff healthy and happy while in our treatment rooms.
Brenda began her journey over 13 years ago with an initial goal of helping others feel better. Today, she is an adjunct instructor for the massage therapy departments at both Lane Community College and Rogue Community College. She is also the owner of Urban Therapeutic, a wellness and therapeutic products boutique in downtown Eugene, Oregon.
Brenda lives in Eugene, with her family and dogs, Waldo and Frida. Several times each month she travels to Yachats to breathe the fresh air, enjoy the beautiful views and work, here at Overleaf Spa.
CRICKET
Licensed Massage Therapist
License Number: LMT-11043
Cricket loves her job, describing it as “getting to play with divine Play-Doh all day long.”
Massage and bodywork support a healthy relationship with our minds, bodies and feelings, she says. Massage helps relieve physical tensions while encouraging our overworked nervous systems to rest and digest.
“I love the one-on-one time with clients, and the invitation to slow down from a busy world and have a posture of support and presence,” she says. “I also love that I can support people to feel better in their bodies and have a positive impact on people’s days and lives.”
She has been a massage therapist for more than 20 years. Cricket is also a Breema practitioner and instructor. It is a philosophy and form of bodywork that focuses on being present and balance between the breath and the body, while letting go of our thoughts and feelings.
Cricket finds her massage work not only helps her patients relax, but that it has a calming effect on her as well.
“I do massage work for relaxation,” she says. “By staying relaxed while I work, I invite my clients and their muscles to relax. Life has a way of balancing and maintaining harmony.”
Cricket lives in Eugene but loves visiting and working at Overleaf Spa. When she’s here, she enjoys watching sunsets over the ocean, writing, hiking and long walks.
“I love coming to the coast,” she says. “I love giving massages. Being able to give massages to people vacationing and restoring themselves at the coast lines up with one of the principles I live by, and that is mutual support. Overleaf provides a friendly and beautiful atmosphere to work in.”
KANDICE
Licensed Massage Therapist
License Number: LMT-19962
Helping, guiding, encouraging people’s bodies to release tension and heal, thanks to intentional touch, is what Licensed Massage Therapist Kandice Ringer brings to the massage tables here, at the Overleaf Lodge & Spa.
A licensed massage therapist since 2013, her experience is wide-ranging, with 20 years in health care and expertise in a variety of modalities, which she adapts to meet clients’ needs. She practices a Swedish-based massage “very intuitively.” She also has studied or attended workshops for acupressure, trigger points, Hawaiian lomilomi, Thai massage, cupping, aromatherapy and myofascial release.
“I have always been drawn to natural treatment options,” says Ringer, who has been inspired by her own journey of personal injuries and her health care quest to discover treatment options that are natural and effective.
Ringer has practiced massage in chiropractor offices, spas, a park recreation center, in private practice and care facilities, even at music festivals.
Born in Alaska, Ringer moved to Gold Beach, Oregon, when she was 7 years old. She has lived in Eugene since 2006 and is thrilled to be practicing massage therapy at the Overleaf Lodge & Spa.
“Yachats has always been my favorite Oregon Coast town. I love the vibe, the architecture of the homes, the artsy feel, the views and the beaches,” she says, adding, “I love being in nature, hiking in the mountains and walking on the beach.”
MARIA
Licensed Massage Therapist
License Number: LMT-25602
As a Licensed Massage Therapist, Maria Erskine values being able to help people heal and relax. Maria utilizes a variety of techniques to release tension, increase circulation and promote overall well-being.
She is passionate about the connection between the mind and the body and what bringing these two into harmony can do in our lives. She shares, “Too many people are unaware of what this harmony truly feels like, which is why I’m so dedicated to and excited about the work I do every day.”
Maria recognizes massage as a tool for easing pain, healing injuries, and restoring you to your core self.
In response to the Holiday Farm Fire near Eugene, Oregon, in the late summer of 2020, Maria provided emergency massage relief at different evacuation sites. She witnessed the relief that a simple 10-minute chair massage provided, creating a space for calm, ease and release.
A resident of Eugene, she has always been drawn to the ocean ̶, its mesmerizing waves and the peace and tranquility of beautiful coastal towns like Yachats. For Maria, exploring the coastal trails is one of her favorite ways to enjoy nature and observe the variety of vegetation.
MICHELLE
Esthetician
Michelle says she has the best job in the world because she gets to help people feel beautiful and healthy in their own skin.
“I get to love people with my hands and heart,” she says. “The connection between people is the very circle of life. We need each other.”
She started as a Certified Massage Therapist in 1994 in Orange County, California. She later developed an interest and passion in the skincare industry and earned her Esthetician License in 2001.
“I wish for guests to understand that I’m here to share my positive energy, full of love,” she says. “I have a huge knowledge base to come alongside them and give them truth in the best ways to care for their skin.”
Around 2010, she was introduced to Oncology Spa Solutions, and it made a big difference in her life.
“More of my clients were being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing surgery and chemotherapy and radiation treatments to help them heal,” she says. “I was trained in how to come alongside my client in treatment to help give them peace in knowing what to do to help them.”
Michelle lives in Seal Rock north of Yachats and appreciates life on the Oregon Coast.
“We moved to the coast for the freedom to live a simpler life,” she says. “God has created the most amazing planet to thrive in all its abundance.”
Michelle says a chance to be part of family-owned Overleaf Spa is an honor.
“The love the Roslund family pours into us spills over in how we treat all our guests,” she says. “They put people first and it shows.”
ROBERT
Licensed Massage Therapist
License Number: LMT-24213
Robert chose massage as a profession after a friend suggested he may have a gift. After 19 years of massage therapy, he still finds it rewarding to help others through his work.
He studied Contemporary Western massage at the Chicago School of Massage Therapy and Eastern massage at Zen Shiatsu Chicago. His focus is relieving pain and creating space in the body.
For the support of pregnant clientele, Robert has been specially trained by Rachel Dolan Wikersham, a registered nurse who provides doula training.
He has foundation in Swedish, myofascial, and BMT (Body Mobilization Techniques), and is well-versed in deep tissue, sports massage and trigger point therapy. He also has extensive kinesiology and anatomy knowledge from recent continuing education in Precision Neuromuscular Massage Therapy.
Massage has a lot of variation from light positive touch to deep clinical work, Robert says. With that understanding, he believes in empowering his clients to speak up anytime during the session and request the type of work they need.
Robert hails from Milwaukie, Oregon. He says working at and visiting the coast is a wonderful way for him to recharge his batteries with long walks and fresh air.
SUSIE
Licensed Massage Therapist
License Number: LMT-28203
Susie says understanding massage from both a client and practitioner’s perspective is very valuable.
“Each client is unique in so many ways,” she says. “I love working in a spa setting because when I get a massage, I go to a spa.”
Susie has been studying and practicing massage therapy since 2022. When she was in massage school, she knew she wanted to work at Overleaf Spa even before she visited.
“I booked a massage to scope out the facilities and knew immediately that my intuition had not steered me wrong,” she says. “Each step of the way, the staff and management were welcoming and encouraging. To join the team was to see a dream and plan come to fruition.”
Susie chose massage therapy because she has always been fascinated by the science of human movement and how to help people feel and move better. She also wanted a career that fostered life-long learning, so all the different modalities, specialties and continuing education required to be an LMT really spoke to her.
She encourages clients to be communicative. “Let your LMT know if they are working with too much or not enough pressure or if you are cold or hot or uncomfortable in any way,” she says. “Please speak up, don’t feel shy. Nothing about you or your body is ‘too much’ or inconvenient.”
In her personal life, Susie enjoys gardening, spin class, foraging for mushrooms, cooking and hosting dinners, and taking beach walks with her two dogs.
She lives in Seal Rock near Yachats. She and her husband moved here from Bend in 2016.
“I love it here and don’t want to live anywhere else,” she says.
