Our Philosophy
Everyone is unique, and it is through understanding these inter-individual differences that the best health solutions may be found. For some people, achieving good health is a complex and arduous endeavor – they may take endless vitamins, exercise, and eat right but are still battling chronic disease. For other people, good health is effortless: their lifestyle is far from healthy, yet they never seem to get sick. Everyone has variability in both their genetic heritage as well as the environmental, social, and physical stresses which affect them on a daily basis. This complex variability is why there is not one single diet, exercise program, or medical treatment that is appropriate in achieving the best health for everyone. So how do you optimize health and the treatment of disease for each individual? We believe the first step lies in fitting the right treatment to the right person, which is why we offer multiple natural health modalities and will encourage you to start in one or the other depending on your health concerns.
Our History
Ryan Kirkby and Angelica Lemke are a husband and wife team who established the Westchester Center for Natural Health in Pleasantville, New York. Ryan and Angelica first met while studying medicine in Seattle, Washington; Ryan was getting his masters at the Seattle Institute of Oriental medicine and Angelica was getting a doctorate in naturopathic medicine at Bastyr University. Since beginning medical school they have shared the same vision; to practice medicine as an art-form as well as a science, to understand people not just as a collection of anatomical parts, but as a unique and unified whole, and to contribute to the advancement of medical practice as well as social and environmental sustainability. They decided to move back to New York from Seattle to bring the world of natural medicine, which is prevalent on the west coast, to the east coast where it is just starting to gain in mainstream popularity. Recently, in order to expand the practice and meet growing demand for the services offered, Dr. Marizelle Arce has joined the practice. Marizelle is a naturopath who currently practices in Queens, NY, and offers natural treatment modalities that complement and help diversify the existing services at WCNH.
Our personal bios, on the next page, speak more to our individual interests, experience, stories, and training in natural medicine.
Personal Bios
About Angelica Lemke, N.D.
Dr. Lemke earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND) from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington fully accredited doctorate program. Dr. Lemke received five years of rigorous graduate medical training in the medical sciences as well as clinical diagnosis, pathology and such specific topics as pediatrics, gynecology, oncology, dermatology and gastroenterology, comprehensive clinical training and groundbreaking research.
Dr. Lemke extended her training in classical homeopathy for four years with the New England School of Homeopathy. To feed her passion for homeopathy she continues to study with leading homeopaths including training with Pierre Fontaine RSHom, CCH in New York City in his unique approach to ASD in particular.
She has clinical experience treating a broad range of conditions and populations with homeopathic and naturopathic medicines from ADHD to allergies and pediatrics to geriatrics.
Dr Lemke holds a professional license in the state of Connecticut where naturopathic physicians are licensed as primary care providers and pass national board examinations.
Dr. Lemke grew up in Valhalla, New York and received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.. Angelica enjoys yoga, rock climbing, and spending time with her husband Ryan and family. Dr. Lemke is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
What makes Dr. Lemke unique as a practitioner is her wide ranging knowledge in alternative medicine along with a high level of warmth and compassion. She strives to form lasting relationships with her patients and create a space that is therapeutic and relaxing. She believes that to truly address a patient’s symptoms successfully, a deep understanding of each patient is required. Optimally this leads patients towards a path of healing and education that helps each patient become their own best doctor.
Dr. Lemke had a completely different career path before entering the world of naturopathic medicine. She grew up in Valhalla, New York and received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She worked as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers and as a research assistant at the political risk consulting firm Eurasia Group for three years after college. Having worked long hours in the corporate world in Manhattan, Dr. Lemke has a particular empathy for the hard-working stressed-out population of the tri-state area. Realizing that she wanted a career path that would directly and positively impact people’s lives, she shifted gears and discovered Naturopathic medicine. She is very excited to be providing naturopathic medicine to the Westchester community where she grew up. Angelica enjoys yoga, rock climbing, and spending time with her husband Ryan and family. Dr. Lemke is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
About Marizelle Arce, ND
Dr. Arce graduated from the University of Bridgeport Naturopathic Medical College and received her doctorate. Within the four and a half years of her graduate education, Dr.Arce was trained in classical medicine such as clinical diagnosis and pharmacognosy as well as phytotherapy, nutrition, and hydrotherapy.
Unlike most doctors, Dr. Arce's knowledge base started in college. With three years of Cultural Anthropology concentrating on nutrition and medicinal methodologies in a wide variety of cultures around the world, she learned from the research of countless doctors, including Drs. Weston Price, Gunther Enderlein and Royal Lee and did extensive studies on the history of food.
After her degree in Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Arce continued her passion for studying the traditional ways of Naturopathy and became certified in Iridology and personal training.
Dr. Arce's latest accomplishment was becoming certified in Applied Kinesiology, taught by Dr. Eugene Charles. This, along with her expertise in sports medicine, gives her a unique approach to physical ailments such as minor muscle injuries to facilitating the healing of fractures. She also creates unique fitness programs that enhance the body and supports the functionality of the muscles and joints.
Her main focus for every individual is to help them understand their own bodies and teach them the simple ways to lead clean, healthy, optimal lives. Dr. Arce's goal is to help as many people who want to be helped – who have the motivation and the courage to better themselves. This includes people already living in pretty good health to those with serious degenerative diseases. For more info, visit www.naturopathicsun.com
Charmaine Oakley, L.Ac., LMT
Charmaine graduated from Dartmouth College, cum laude, in 1995. She began practicing meditation and bodywork in 1996. She has been a licensed massage therapist in New York for over ten years, graduating from and assistant-teaching at the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy. She received her Masters of Science with honors from Tri-State College of Acupuncture and currently interns with Tom Bisio, an internationally renowned Chinese medicine and martial arts practitioner, teacher and author. His NYC clinic specializes in treating sports/trauma injuries with Chinese orthopedic medicine. Charmaine's medical qigong training began in 2000 with Master Yuwen Ru, a Tai Chi master and healer treating complicated illness, and continues with Tom as part of Ba Gua Zhang. Her diverse medical experiences include volunteer work in Mother Theresa's children's shelter in Calcutta and with cancer and HIV + patients in New York and San Francisco, as well as her own process of healing from serious illness.
Charmaine Oakley, MS LAc LMT, believes that wellbeing always is available in our experience, even as various symptoms and circumstances obscure its presence. She treats patients with Eastern medical knowledge, acupuncture and bodywork to cultivate this sense of wellbeing and relieve suffering in practical ways. Eastern therapies work by harmonizing patients' body structure and function to increase ease and comfort: weak or deficient areas become stronger, and constricted or overactive areas relax. Patients often are amazed to discover corresponding feelings of possibility and shifts in understanding. Charmaine's goal is to help patients respond to symptoms naturally in a healing process that results in good health and a positive relationship with our world.
Charmaine applies a wide range of therapies drawn from Eastern medical traditions - including acupuncture, bodywork (tui na), gua sha, moxibustion, cupping, and qigong, as well as craniosacral work and patient education - to treat patients with diverse symptoms including musculoskeletal pain and trauma, internal disorders and stress-related conditions. Charmaine encourages questions and the development of a patient's awareness of his/her individual capacity to feel well, and she appreciates collaboration between Western and Eastern medical professionals in order to provide the best possible service to patients. As the mother of two, she also sees first-hand the value of using these methods to care for the whole family.
About Ryan Kirkby, L.Ac.
Ryan earned his Master’s degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine at the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine in Seattle, Washington, and is a licensed acupuncturist in New York and Connecticut. His oriental medical training included 4 years of classroom training and supervised clinical practice in Japanese and Chinese acupuncture styles, as well as Chinese herbal medicine and western biomedical training. He has also completed 4 years of professional homeopathy training with Dr. Paul Herscu and Dr. Amy Rothenberg through the New England School of Homeopathy, based in Amherst, Massachusetts. His previous educational background and work experience was in biology and environmental science. Mr. Kirkby spent 3 years working on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulation and research in safe drinking water issues in Boston, Massachusetts. He has a unique interest in the study and understanding of the overlapping fields of biology, environmental science, and medicine.
His main interest and focus in clinical medicine is Homeopathy, where he has completed a comprehensive two year didactic/clinical training program followed by two additional years of clinical-based training. Mr. Kirkby continues in training with Dr. Herscu and Dr. Rothenberg, who have a special focus the homeopathic treatment of children and teach world-wide. Dr. Herscu is recognized as one of the foremost experts in the homeopathic treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other severe developmental disorders in children, and has written several books on the subject. Mr. Kirkby also focuses on the homeopathic treatment of children, and is currently helping to edit a forthcoming book by Dr. Herscu on the homeopathic treatment of severe behavioral problems and developmental disorders in children. Mr. Kirkby has past experiencing teaching environmental education in pre-school and kindergarten, enjoys working with children and their families, and is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the next generation.
Mr. Kirkby has a broad interest in the science of modern medicine, and is involved in ongoing medical research outside of his clinical practice. For the past 2 years he has been working on clinical research on the homeopathic treatment of influenza, including authoring multiple articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. This project, as well as other diverse research on alternative medicine, has been done in association with Herscu Laboratory. He is also a partner and researcher at Personalized Pharmaceutical Systems (PPS), a company which focuses on improving the way in which pharmaceutical drugs are targeted to the right patients, improving drug efficacy and reducing side effects. PPS uses understanding of overall patient phenotypes (or symptom presentation) to effectively subgroup patient populations into smaller groups with predictable drug response.
Overall, Mr. Kirkby hopes to contribute both to the current practice of natural medicine as well as the future development and direction of medicine as a whole and its integration into the movement towards social and environmental sustainability.