Board of Directors Bio

Board of Directors:

Richard McNulty has a BS in Psychology from The University of Scranton. He travels the world and promotes change. Richard is a 21st Century business man and a Philanthropist for the good of man, woman, and child. He has studied with McNeil Lao Tzu for over 20 years.

Christine Holmes is the youngest child of Sifu James McNeil. Growing up, as his daughter and neutral observer, she has witnessed her father’s role as a Sifu and how much Little Nine Heaven means to him. She is in a unique position of being someone who can see the impact he has had on the lives of others and what he means to his students from a unique perspective.

Christine hopes that her father is remembered for his contributions to the martial arts community as a whole and the knowledge he has imparted on his students can be accredited to him as their teacher.

She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and USC, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the owner of Compassionate Heart Counseling. As a working professional, she knows what it takes to put in the groundwork, organize, and structure of a business, as she has done so with her own. She has the dedication, drive, and the will to make sure that the L9H non-profit accomplishes what it was instituted to be, in order to protect and respect the brand and teachings of her father.

John T Lysaught is the co-Treasurer for Little Nine Heaven, Inc. overseeing the non-profit’s accounting and payroll functions. He is a CPA with over seven years of accounting experience. Mr. Lysaught has studied Chen Tai-Chi, Shih Shui, and Ju Kung with Sifu James McNeil.

Colin Kane is the Vice President of The Little Nine Heaven Inc. Colin works in a managerial/instructional capacity for the US Government and has extensive training in advanced leadership. Colin has studied Chinese Gong- Fu with McNeil Lao Tzu since 2001, receiving his black belt in Splashing Hands in 2002 and his black belt in Hsing-I Chuan in 2003. He continues to teach and train under the guidance of Master James McNeil.

Jim Doty has been a student of Lao Tzu James McNeil since 1980 and attained a second degree black belt in the Little Nine Heaven System in 1992. He continues to practice and teach Hsing-I, Ba Kua, Chen Tai Chi, Hsaio Chui Tien (L9H), Tzu men Chuan and Splashing Hands Kung Fu in Phoenix, Arizona.

Andrew Jackson MSc BSc, is a qualified Chartered Physiotherapist and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has run a successful physiotherapy and acupuncture practice for over 20 years in Manchester, England. He trained at the Northern College of Acupuncture in York, England and gained a Masters of Science Degree in Acupuncture. He also attend the University of Salford, Manchester, England where he achieved a
Bachelor of Science Degree, with honors, in Physiotherapy. He is a member of the British Acupuncture Council, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, Acupuncture Associate of Chartered Physiotherapists and the Danish Acupuncture Union. Andrew has written articles for magazines on the use of acupuncture and moxibustion in Chinese medicine and has given talks and seminars across the UK on Chinese Medicine and internal martial arts. He has appeared on local and national radio discussing the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine within his practice. He regularly works with elite athletes from various sports, specializing in the use of acupuncture for treating muscular skeletal injuries. Also based from his practice in Manchester, England, is the Little Nine Heaven UK Kung Fu School, which Andrew heads up under the guidance of Master James McNeil. Representing the Little Nine Heaven International Kung Fu Association in the UK, at his school he promotes and teaches the systems of Kung Fu, Chi Kung and health practices, taught to him by Master James McNeil. He continues to train as a private student with Master McNeil.

Andrew-Jackson-Physiotherapist-and-Acupu

Ajay Kumra is a board member for Little Nine Heaven, Inc. serving since August 2020. He currently works in the healthcare field as a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Mr. Kumra has studied with Sifu James McNeil since the age of 16 and continues to train in Master McNeil's systems of Kung Fu.

ADDITIONAL BOARD MEMBERS:

Nickolay Bickbau
Cho Hwa "Nina" McNeil
Dr. Iris Seeley
Beth Trachtman