Laura E. Cortner
Executive Director | President of the Board
LauraCortner@Ruscombe.org

Laura Cortner has dedicated decades of service to Ruscombe, contributing in nearly every role—from resident property manager to Central Office Coordinator, then Director, and now Executive Director and President of the Board. Her deep commitment to the organization’s mission is reflected in every step she takes to ensure its continued growth and community impact.

As the President of Ruscombe Community, Inc., established in 2023, Laura is guiding the organization into its next chapter by expanding holistic wellness offerings and strengthening community connections. Under her leadership, Ruscombe is deepening its role as a sanctuary for healing and education through initiatives like Cooking for Health, meditation workshops, and a new accessibility program designed to make services available across all socioeconomic backgrounds. She is also forging partnerships with local organizations to extend the reach of wellness resources, ensuring Ruscombe remains a welcoming space for all who seek balance and connection.

Laura brings additional experience in media and communications through her role as Executive Producer for Hieronimus & Co., where she has overseen a long-running radio program and podcast exploring frontier knowledge. She has also coordinated public art projects, delivered lectures, and co-authored five books. A graduate of Goucher College, she earned her degree cum laude with a double major in English and Spanish. These efforts reflect her commitment to integrative thinking, public education, and creative outreach—skills she now brings to bear in shaping the future of Ruscombe.

Nazaahah Amin
Business Development Manager
Nazaahah@ruscombe.org

A proud Baltimore native and longtime nonprofit leader, Nazaahah brings over 22 years of experience weaving together healing, education, and community care helping mission-driven organizations grow in ways that are both sustainable and deeply human.

A certified yoga therapist and former school teacher, Nazaahah’s work has always been guided by love for her city and a commitment to those most often left out of traditional wellness spaces. Her life’s work always involves creating healing spaces for historically marginalized communities, particularly Black women, girls, and families. She is the founder of Ama Wellness and co-founder of Bmore Empowered, and has partnered with schools, universities, and nonprofits across the region to create trauma-informed, culturally grounded programs that honor lived experience, ancestral wisdom, and the body as a site of healing.

At Ruscombe, Nazaahah is devoted to stewarding the Mansion as a sacred place of restoration while helping shape its next chapter as a welcoming home for community wellness. Her vision is rooted in reverence for Ruscombe’s legacy, a deep belief in the healing power of nonprofit work, and a commitment to ensuring that care remains accessible, inclusive, and infused with dignity for all who enter its doors.

Summer Cullen
Property Manager for Ruscombe Mansion and Director of Community Outreach
Summer@ruscombe.org

Johnai Clark
Office Manager
Johnai@ruscombe.org

Johnai Clark has 10 years of experience in Human Resources and virtual support. She now serves as Office Manager for Ruscombe Community Health Center. Currently pursuing her path to becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Johnai is deeply committed to holistic well-being and lifelong learning. Her unique blend of administrative expertise and passion for health makes her a special part of Ruscombe’s team

Jennifer M. Dyer
Treasurer

Jenny Dyer is a seasoned freelance graphic designer and copywriter with over 30 years of experience serving nonprofits and foundations.

As a specialist in donor communications, she develops compelling annual reports, success stories, and marketing materials that help organizations engage supporters and deepen their impact.

She joined Ruscombe Community, Inc. because she was inspired by its commitment to holistic well-being, which aligns with her own passion for energy work, herbalism, and other traditional healing methods.

Outside of her professional and board service, Jenny enjoys hiking, playing Frisbee in local parks, and immersing herself in video games and dance. She welcomes connections and conversations about Ruscombe Community’s work.

Jennifer Cortner
Secretary

Jennifer Cortner is a veteran marketing executive with decades of experience delivering high-impact marketing and communications campaigns. She is known forleading high-performing teams, inspiring innovation, and building a culture of collaboration.

Most recently, Jennifer was part of the executive marketing leadership team at Hilton as a Vice President of Creative Content Production and Marketing Operations. Before that, she led Discovery Channel’s in-house marketing team as V.P. of Creative Operations & Partnerships.

Jennifer has served on multiple non-profit and business association boards, including the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, the DC Ad Club, and the In-House Agency Forum. She is a 2019 graduate of Leadership Greater Washington.

Jennifer is now pursuing her passion for helping to prepare the next generation of leaders, learning how to conduct and leverage oral histories, and lending her experience to organizations that build strong and healthy communities.

Peter Hinderberger, M.D.
Director

Dr. Peter Hinderberger received his medical degree in 1979 and his Ph.D. in 1980 from the University of Berne, Switzerland. He retired in August 2024 after practicing integrative medicine as a primary care physician for 40 years. He was the founding medical director of Ruscombe, where he helped shape its holistic health vision.

He was introduced to anthroposophic medicine and mistletoe therapy in 1978 during his internship at the Lukas Klinik in Switzerland (now Clinic Arlesheim). Dr. Hinderberger integrated mistletoe therapy for cancer into his practice starting in 1984.

Mistletoe therapy gained national recognition in 1999 after Johns Hopkins conducted a phase 1 clinical study on mistletoe, and Believe Big’s executive director and co-founder Ivelisse Page was cured by mistletoe therapy.

He was one of the faculty members of the mistletoe training course and co-author of the book Mistletoe and the Emerging Future of Integrative Oncology.

Cynthia Zanti Jabs, L.Ac.
Director

Cynthia “Zanti” Jabs has practiced and taught East Asian Healing Arts for more than three decades, mainly Acupuncture and Qi Gong. She graduated with the class of ’93 from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (now the Maryland University of Integrative Health) in Columbia, Md.

Her specialty is developing individualized at-home practices to help clients further their healing processes, drawing from the ancient collection of Medicinal Movements known as Qi Gong (“Chee Kung”). She is passionate about bringing these under-utilized tools of the acupuncture tradition back into the hands of modern practitioners and their patients.

Zanti is nationally certified to teach credit classes for acupuncture practitioners. Over the years, she has taught medical students at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, acupuncture students at Maryland University of Integrative Health, and others at Ruscombe, local colleges, businesses, professional associations, churches, and recovery centers. She helped initiate acupuncture treatment for women in the Baltimore Detention Center and was involved in creating and long-time staffing of the Penn-North Resource Center, a recovery center in Northwest Baltimore.

A longtime resident of Baltimore, she has three children, one of whose life-changing experience with acupuncture sparked her interest in studying Asian Healing Arts. Before then, she worked as a journalist in Oregon and Washington, D.C.

Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus, DHL
Founder of Ruscombe & Executive Director Emeritus

J. Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus is a pioneer in holistic health and the founder of the Ruscombe Mansion Community Health Center in Baltimore, Maryland, established in 1984. Under her leadership, Ruscombe became a model for integrative health care, offering holistic services and programs to clients throughout the East Coast. In recognition of her contributions, she received the Garland of Excellence Award in 2005 from a Sir Paul McCartney–sanctioned charity, and in 2010, a Doctorate in Humane Letters from Saybrook University for her impactful body of work.

In addition to her health care leadership, Zohara is an accomplishedauthor, radio broadcaster, and advocate for spirituality, environmental justice, and animal welfare. For over three decades, she has co-hosted the nationally syndicated 21st Century Radio program with her husband, Dr. Robert Hieronimus. She also hosted The Zoh Show, one of the longest-running whistleblower programs in American radio (1992–2001).

Zohara is the author of several books exploring mysticism and consciousness, including Kabbalistic Teachings of the Female Prophets and White Spirit Animals: Prophets of Change. A student and teacher of Kabbalah and Chassidut, she is known for her work on the inner meanings of the Hebrew alphabet and the Tree of Life.

Her lifelong dedication to healing—of people, animals, and the planet—continues to inspire those who follow in her footsteps.

Robert R. Hieronimus, Ph.D.
Past President and Co-Founder of the AUM Esoteric Study Center and Savitria

Robert R. Hieronimus, Ph.D. is a visual artist, symbologist, and educator best known for his pioneering role in esoteric studies and symbolic art. In 1969, he co-founded AUM, the first state-approved school of esoteric studies in the United States, offering certifications in occult sciences, mystic arts, and religious metaphysics. AUM –located at the Ruscombe Mansion — became a hub for spiritual seekers and scholars during a time of cultural transformation, earning national attention with the 1971 PBS documentary The Artist of Savitria, which profiled Dr. Bob’s teachings and visionary art.

Also in 1969, Dr. Bob gained unexpected fame when his painted VW bus, Light—now known as the Woodstock bus—was photographed at the iconic Woodstock Music & Art Fair. The image became a lasting symbol of the 1960s counterculture. That same spirit of visionary creativity fueled his murals, especially the 2,700-square-foot Apocalypse at Johns Hopkins University, a controversial yet critically acclaimed work completed in 1968.

Blending scholarship with artistry, Dr. Bob received a Ph.D. from Saybrook Graduate School in 1981, based on his groundbreaking research into American symbolism, which later formed the basis of his book Founding Fathers, Secret Societies. His work bridges ancient wisdom and contemporary consciousness, a theme continued through his radio career and symbolic paintings.

Dr. Hieronimus’s contributions to spiritual education, public art, and consciousness studies have left a lasting imprint on both academic and cultural spheres.