About SafeTech NC

Founded originally in 2016 as SafeTech Kids NC, we were a grassroots organization focused on educating public officials and parents on the health effects of wireless radiation on children. We have evolved into a non-profit with a broader focus, more expertise, and a committed Board of Directors – all who have actively promoted education on wireless radiation in NC.

We have presented on numerous occasions to NC policy makers, healthcare practitioners, and parents. A team of us have provided education on EMF health effects and international policies for the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC Dept of Health & Human Services, the NC General Assembly’s Utilities Commission, numerous legislators, and school district officials in Buncombe County.

Late in 2021, we received funding from several private donors to create a non-profit that can serve as a consistent source of reliable information for NC residents on why and how to use technology safely. We are committed to “planting seeds” each day and building the capacity of North Carolinians to practice SafeTech every day.

Mary Anne Tierney, RN, MPH, is an Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist certified by the Building Biology Institute. She worked in healthcare for 25 years, first managing public health programs, and later as a registered nurse in acute care and mental health. Mary Anne’s concern about her child’s EMF exposure in schools prompted her to found our first grassroots organization, SafeTech Kids NC.

Mary Anne now devotes her career to our SafeTech NC education on the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and simple solutions, along with home EMF assessments and coaching through her private company, Blue Ridge EMF Solutions, located outside of Asheville, NC. She often teaches this complex issue to healthcare practitioners needing continuing medical education units (CME). In 2021, Mary Anne served as faculty of the EMF Medical Conference 2021 (which is still available online and on-demand for 24 credits until May 2023). She was also faculty of the 2021 Scientific Symposium of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists and the 2022 Southeastern Regional Integrative Medical Conference.  Mary Anne is an active member of the NC Integrative Medical Society.   She can be be reached at MATierney@ProtonMail.com

Diane Douglas, OT/L, is a mother of two and an occupational therapist working at The Center Within in Black Mountain, NC. This EMF-minimized center (office, living, and educational space) is owned and managed by Diane, who is committed to safer technology both her own home and business locations.

She is an avid and supportive EMF educator with her clients, coworkers, and her community.  “Pervasively, this is the number one impactor on cellular health.   Our own, our families, and our environment’s future health is dependent on correcting our current relationship with radiation ingestion.”

Len Arcuri is the co-founder of Warrior Parent Coaching and the co-host of the Autism Parenting Secrets podcast with his wife, Cass.  They believe a better life for a child with Autism starts with their parent’s own transformation into a stronger, more confident version of themself.  

Through their coaching and podcast, Len and Cass empower and equip parents to find answers that are right for their unique child.  And creating a less stressful environment by reducing toxic exposure from chemicals and EMFs is a key way they can help their child thrive.

Christiana Dillingham is the mother of two boys who are now young men. In learning how to shepherd her sons to a bright adulthood, she began studying issues of health and safety. Since 2015, she has been committed to educating and informing youth, teachers, healthcare practitioners, and legislators about the successful steps to creating healthy EMF environments in school and at home for children and families.

Christiana is one of our founding volunteers and serves as Treasurer of the Board.

Elizabeth Foley, has more than 20 years of professional health research experience, ranging from community-based epidemiologic studies to large national surveys on mental healthcare.

Her experience includes analysis of epidemiological data for RTI International’s Behavioral Health Epidemiology program (based in NC’s Research Triangle Park) and adaptation of academic text for public use. 

Elizabeth devotes her free time to raising awareness of the health effects of wireless radiation on humans, wildlife, and birds, and advocating for the protection of flora and fauna through more responsible use of wireless technologies. She resides in Hillsborough, NC,

Mary Golob is a Wilmington-based physical therapist with over 45 years of experience, now working part-time in her private, hard-wired practice, Golob Physical Therapy. Mary specializes in an integrative approach using manual therapy techniques, which she provides in her hard-wired office. 

She is fortunate to live close to her daughter and two grandchildren, who inspire her organizing of local educational events regarding adverse health impacts of EMF radiation and mitigation strategies. Mary is also an active volunteer with the Cape Fear River Watch.

Mary organizes our statewide lending of the meter that measures wireless radiation: the Safe & Sound Pro II.

Anne Hines, MD, is a board-certified family physician whose practice has been informed by her first career as a registered nurse and by family experiences with autism. She is a graduate of Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed her family practice residency in Tacoma, WA.

She has studied integrative medicine since 1998 when she attended her first Defeat Autism Now! conference. Her practice is dedicated to the biomedical treatment of autism and related disorders.

Dr Hines is a former Diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice, and member of the American Academy of Family Practice, Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, and former president of the NC Integrative Medical Society.

She resides in Winston-Salem, NC, and can reached at AnneHinesMD.com

Jamie-Lee Nix is a Certified Animal Naturopath  and Energy Healer residing in Asheville, NC. She received her bachelor degree in Environmental Studies from Stony Brook University and has always had a passion for researching best health practices and studying healing modalities.

Jamie-Lee became active in EMF issues during the initial roll-out of smart meters and 5G technology in 2018. She collaborated with volunteers from Stop 5G Asheville to organize, share resources, educate the community and bring awareness to local elected officials for the safety and welfare of our community.

Dr. Larry Burk is an appointed member of the Non-Ionizing Advisory Committee Member for the NC Radiation Protection Commission.

He is former Associate Professor of Radiology at Duke University Medical Center and co-founder of Duke Integrative Medicine. He has been a past member of the Society for MRI Safety Committee and the Bioelectromagnetic Society. Dr Burk is an active member of the NC Integrative Medicine Society.

He resides in Durham, NC and can be reached at LarryBurk.com.

Rudy Ballentine, MD, is a graduate of Duke University Medical School and practiced holistic psychiatry for 40 years before his retirement. He served as a professor of psychiatry at Louisiana State University.

Author of a number of books, including the classic Diet and Nutrition and Radical Healing on holistic medicine, he established the Center for Holistic Medicine in six cities. As its director for 25 years, he offered an integrative approach to treatment, using psychotherapy, homeopathy, Ayurveda, yoga, movement, and meditation. He also served as the president of the Himalayan Institute for 12 years and the director of its Combined Therapy Department for 18 years.

He adds, “I am very committed to making this issue of wireless radiation becoming more present and mainstream in our discourse.”

Melanie Hempe, BSN, is the founder of ScreenStrong and the non-profit, Families Managing Media, based in Charlotte, NC. She is a retired RN, mom of four, speaker, coach, consultant, and author of multiple books and courses, including The ScreenStrong Solution, Will your Gamer Survive College?, Can Your Teen Survive—and Thrive—Without a Smartphone, and the ScreenStrong courses: Kids’ Brains and Screens and The ScreenStrong Solution, all of which are available here.

“We help parents prevent screen addiction, rescue their kids, and enjoy family life again. I am passionate about using my background as a nurse and mom to help parents avoid the same screen mistakes my husband and I made with our oldest child, whose screen addiction caused him to drop out of college.”

Some of Melanie’s free podcasts can be found here.

MARTHA HERBERT, PhD, MD, is a pediatric neurologist, neuroscientist, and writer. Dr Herbert practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as an assistant professor of neurology for 25 years at Harvard Medical School, where she founded the directed the TRANSCEND Research program, which takes a whole-body-brain approach to autism spectrum disorder and challenged brain development. She founded the Higher Synthesis Foundation, to study successful regenerative approaches to complex health and environmental problems.

Dr Herbert is currently the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the Hope Documenting Hope Research Program to find immediate solutions for the epidemic of chronic diseases among children.

She is the author of the book The Autism Revolution: Whole Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be as well as many scientific papers. Dr Herbert’s research papers on the connection between autism and wireless radiation can be found here: Part I and Part II.

Hardy LeGwin is a retired building designer and Building Biology Environmental Consultant/EMR Specialist.  

He and his wife Susan live in a low-EMR home in Asheville and have been avid supporters of sharing this crucial health information statewide.

Denise Mewbourne is a grant writer, editor, and nonprofit program development professional who has worked as an independent consultant since 2016. To date, she has raised close to ten million dollars for small, community-oriented nonprofits in North Carolina and California.

Her skills include grants writing and management, program development, communications materials, and SEO-based writing. Prior to establishing her own business, Denise spent 20 years working at various Bay Area nonprofits, doing policy advocacy, community organizing, strategic development, and fundraising. After becoming around the health effects of wireless radiation in 2019, she has immersed herself in research on the effects of EMF radiation and conducted many EMF assessments for family and friends. Denise resides in Leicester, NC, outside of Asheville.

Paul J. Mills, Ph.D. is Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine and Director of the Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health and former Chief of Behavioral Medicine at the University of California, San Diego)

He has over 400 scientific publications in the fields of pharmacology, oncology, cardiology, psycho-neuroimmunology, behavioral medicine, and integrative health. His work has been featured in Time magazine, The New York Times, National Public Radio, US News and World Report, Consumer Reports, The Huffington Post, Gaia TV, and WebMD, among others. Dr. Mills has presented his work at hundreds of conferences and workshops globally, including the United Nations.  He resides in Weaverville, NC.

Leven Morton is a graduate of NC State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. A resident of Greensboro, NC, he is retired from AT&T/Western Electric/Bell Laboratories (33.5 years) and IBM (8 years).

Leven’s broad engineering experience included communications (telephone, satellite, and intercept technologies), U.S. and foreign government control systems, voice and data cryptographic systems, satellite launch vehicle guidance, and underwater sonar signals detection. With IBM, his focus included cybersecurity consulting, and security policy development.

Leven’s interest in the prediction of the power density of electromagnetic fields is driven by his concern about the wellbeing of his grandchildren.

Cindy Russell, MD, is the Executive Director of Physicians for Safe Technology. 

She is a plastic surgeon practicing in Mountain View, CA. Treating breast cancer and witnessing the epidemic of breast cancer over the last 30 years, she became interested in public health and root causes of chronic illness, along with prevention strategies.

Dr Russell is the immediate Past President of CA’s Santa Clara County Medical Society (SCCMA), and has also served as Chair of SCCMA’s Community and Environmental Health Committees. She has authored many policy resolutions on reducing environmental toxins at the CA Medical Society’s House of Delegates.

With a private practice in holistic psychiatry now based in Black Mountain, NC, Dr. Sadler has practiced medicine for 31 years. She regularly treats those with electro-hypersensitivity and works in a hard-wired office.

She graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Medical School, now McGovern Medical School. She completed her residency in psychiatry at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, NC.

Robert (“Rusty”) Turner, MD, MSCR, is a pediatric neurologist in Charleston, SC and Associate Professor of Pediatrics Neurology at the Medical University of SC.

He has board certifications in 10 areas of specialization and completed two fellowships after his internship and residency in pediatrics. 

Dr Turner uses an integrative, whole-person approach to treating neurological disorders, including seizures/epilepsy, brain developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders, as well neurological aspects of anxiety/depression and other mental ill-health disorders. His approach included a careful evaluation for causes of symptoms, especially concerning environmental and lifestyle issues, especially related to lowering EMF exposures and protecting sleep and a healthy sleep environment.

He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications, a textbook on neuromodulation, and several book chapters, including one soon to be published related to EMF and lifestyle contributions to seizures/epilepsy and other brain disorders. 

Dr. Turner can be reached at RobertTurner@NetworkNeurology.com

Doug Wood is the Senior Project Director of Tech Safe Schools  which provides support nationally for communities working to reduce radiation exposure in schools. He is also the Director of Americans for Responsible Technology, a national coalition of organizations working to support safe and reliable communications infrastructure. Both of these projects are part of Grassroots Environmental Education, an award-winning non-profit run by Doug and his partner, Patti Wood.

Doug has designed, produced and coordinated hundreds of public relations and advertising campaigns for business, political and non-profit organizations. Join Tech Safe Schools’ Advocates program here.