Board of Directors

Anne Smyers first learned tai chi from the STCC in 1975, becoming an apprentice in 1978. She began training B1 apprentices in the mid-1980s and organizing US summer and winter trainings in the early 2000s. Her current classes for the public focus on health and balance for seniors. 

Anne lives in northern Virginia with her husband, Dennis. She has worked in the horticulture and home design fields, but she is an artist at heart. Her medium is fiber. She creates art quilts, which she sells locally and online. 

I’ve been part of our global TCF community for about 12 years now, ever since I first discovered there was a local STCC in St Albans by traveling over to NL for a European Summer Training in 2008. Many of you will know me from subsequent European trainings and, for those who don’t, here are a few words about me.

Robert Etherington earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College in 1978 and a Masters of Music degree in 1983 from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Bob has performed as a singer in over one thousand concerts throughout the United States and abroad, including more than two hundred performances with the New York Philharmonic. In 1991 Bob completed a four-year certification program to become a Feldenkrais Practitioner. He has had a thriving practice helping more than a thousand people with pain and movement issues in group classes, private lessons, and public workshops.

Peter started his studies with the School of Tai Chi Chuan (STCC) in Dublin with Patricia McNally in 1988. Having completed the student program, he became an apprentice in 1998. He taught with the Dublin team for a few years before moving to France. Since then, he has continued his studies and taught at summer training and occasionally as a European school guest teacher. Peter's work background includes the Service Industry, Media - Radio Production, Painting and Decorating, Health and Beauty, Photography, Financial Services, and Higher Education.

I live in England in the small city of St Albans, a few miles north of London. I started out as an electrical engineer, managing military aviation projects and I am now an executive coach and consultant in culture change. We have a thriving tai chi community in St Albans. I became an apprentice in the mid-nineties. I served previously on the TCF Board from 2008 to 2011, contributing in particular, to the development of TCF’s strategy and vision. It has been a privilege being part of both the global and local tai chi family. I look forward to many more years of learning and teaching.

Ten years ago I took my first T’ai Chi class in Dublin, Ireland where I live with my husband and children. I traveled to Dorset in the UK for my B1 apprenticeship in 2010 and have been teaching classes every week since. In the past, my work life has been based in retail and customer service. Over the last few years, I’ve re-trained and studied to become a Five Element Acupuncturist.  My practice, while in its infancy, is growing slowly.