About

– Google results, July 2019
The goal of LMT Body Politic is to create a cohesive, organized voice for the massage therapy profession for the purpose of promoting massage therapy as a healthcare profession.
Our Founder

Deborah Kimmet, M.S., LMT, CMBE, BCTMB
Deb is the founder of LMT Body Politic. When she was young, her mom handed her the phone book (remember those?) on the day before the general election. She told Deb to call all the B’s to get them out to vote. On that day, a political activist was born.
Deb’s been involved in massage therapy politics since she became a massage therapist 32+ years ago. Her goal has always been to do what’s right for her profession. In 1991, Deb co-founded one of the first bodywork coalitions in the U.S., The Montana Association for Bodywork and Massage Therapy (MABMT). While efforts to pass legislation at that time were unsuccessful, Deb’s facilitation skills brought some notable successes: development of legislation using the consensus process and agreement among the various competing factions to bring a bill forward in 1997 to license all somatic practices.
Over the years, Deb co-founded other legislative groups. She has lobbied and continues to lobby for and against legislation on the state and local levels. She has provided legislative monitoring since 1991 and board monitoring since the massage therapy practice act was enacted in Montana in 2009. To enact that legislation, Deb was instrumental in bringing the feuding stakeholders together to hammer out a compromise that benefited the entire profession. Deb was appointed to the first Montana Board of Massage Therapy and served as a member for 4 years, and as chair during the latter 2 years. She holds Montana license #1. Deb also served as a delegate to the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards.
Deb is an educator; both of her undergraduate degrees are in education. Every moment is a teaching moment, and those nuggets of insight can lead to more creative solutions. She listens to all the stakeholders, but she is data driven: If someone’s reasoning is better, she adapts and incorporates those ideas into the solution. She excels in looking at the big picture, then figuring out the small steps to get there.
Deb has way too many initials after her name so only picked a few for this bio. She is a member of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education and was one of the first educators certified by that group (CMBE). She also believes in excellence in the profession and was one of the early adopters to become nationally, then board, certified (BCTMB).