Shay Beider's mission is to bring gentle, nurturing touch to children. Shay formed Gentle Massage for Children, LLC to teach massage therapists and other healthcare professionals to massage children of all ages and abilities. Gentle Massage for Children, LLC offers specialized courses nationally and internationally on topics such as massage for children with special needs, massage for children with cancer, massage for children in hospice care and massage techniques for pediatric nurses. Shay is the founder and Executive Director of Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to enhance well-being, minimize suffering and facilitate healing for children with chronic, acute and life limiting illness. ITK works nationally and internationally with families and children with special needs, pediatric hospitals, hospices, and other organizations to provide healing services, consultation, education, program development and support. The most recent project that Shay is spearheading is the creation of a first of its kind healing retreat center for children with special needs and their families. The center will be based in Tucson, Arizona and will use a whole systems approach to health that will provide a range of integrative healing therapies along with appropriate medical supervision and care. Shay is the founder and co-creator of the Integrative Touch Program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles where she worked to create an institutional pediatric massage program that can serve as a model for hospitals around the country. Shay has worked with TrinityKids Care, the only dedicated pediatric hospice in Los Angeles, to co-create a compassionate touch program for infants and children at the end of life. She has been an investigator on several massage research studies including studies of hospitalized children, medically complex infants, children with heart disease and cerebral palsy. Shay regularly consults on massage studies and publishes papers in the field of pediatric massage for medical journals, textbooks, and massage magazines. As a volunteer, Shay has massaged oncology patients, women seeking solace from domestic violence and victims of torture and severe abuse. Shay completed her Masters Degree in Public Health at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2003, she was awarded the Women’s Studies Achievement Award at UCLA. For more information on Integrative Touch for Kids, visit http://www.integrativetouch.org