Dr. Teresa Tottenham Sievers Scholarship Fund

“I always knew my Teresa would do something extraordinary in her life,” says Mary Ann Groves, about her daughter, the late Dr. Teresa Tottenham Sievers. “Even as a young child, she seemed to know things beyond her years, so when Teresa spoke, we all listened.”

Outrageously funny, vivacious, and spirited, Teresa defied the studious stereotype, but nonetheless graduated Ansonia High School’s Valedictorian in 1986.

After receiving her Bachelor of Science from Fairfield University and graduating with honors from Ross University School of Medicine, Teresa became board certified in internal medicine. Unsatisfied with the status quo of treating disease with prescriptions, Teresa returned to school earning her Master of Science in Metabolic Medicine.

Craving still more knowledge, Teresa returned to school again adding certifications with the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine, and later Functional, Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine.

Armed with knowledge beyond western medicine and a healing toolkit that surpassed her colleagues, many of Dr. Sievers’ patients were getting off their medications, but for those who weren’t, Dr. Sievers wanted to know why.

Her timely discovery of cell biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton’s research was revelatory: the onset of disease had less to do with genetics and everything to do with unresolved emotional distress. Dr. Lipton’s research lit a fire of curiosity and determination within Dr. Sievers.

Boldy, she adopted energy healing into her practice and spent time talking to patients, asking what was going on in their lives or in their past that might be expressing as disease in their body. Teresa’s patients adored her, and soon people started coming from all over to meet this one-of¬-a-kind doctor with a passion to facilitate their journey to emotional and physical wellness.

“Teresa was determined to reach the masses and shake up western medicine. More than anything, she wanted people to understand the powerful connection between their emotions and their health,” says Teresa’s sister, Annie Tottenham Lisa. “This was a very provocative, proclamation from a western trained physician, and it put Teresa in a class of her own.”

After Teresa’s untimely passing in 2015, her classmate and beloved friend Kathy Strom began a scholarship with great support from Teresa’s classmates. With a desire to provide a lasting memory for her daughter, Mary Ann chose to establish the Dr. Teresa Tottenham Sievers Scholarship Fund at the Valley Community Foundation as a perpetual gift to honor the Valedictorian of Ansonia High School.