Blake Nemec(he/his/they/them)

Thank you for visiting my profile. I want to share my path to becoming a Somatic Coach to portray my broad understanding of wellness. I entered healthcare as a CNA, thirty years ago, and that led to long-time work as a PA for folks with disabilities. It was around that time, in my early 20s, that I also came out as queer and began my long journey to understand my sexual, ethnic, gender, class, or ability identities. The Bay Area (SF) Radical Health Collective trained me as a street medic in 2001. That was the year I also came out as nonbinary (but we called it genderqueer then). After I became physically disabled (temporarily), in 2004, I became an HIV/STI counselor/tester, and licensed Phlebotomist, which was my entrance point into community & peer-based health work at drop-in clinics such as the Aids Health Project, & St. James Infirmary. This experience turned into Coordinating the transgender and training departments at St. James Infirmary. While most of my health work has been providing direct care, I have also managed community clinic labs and acted as a liaison with the SF DPH. I currently volunteer as a Phlebotomist and Medical Interpreter at the Chicago Community Clinic.