About the International Feng Shui Guild

The International Feng Shui Guild serves as the central source for our members and the greater Feng Shui community, uniting all professional practitioners, educators, and students as we embrace and support all approaches in this ancient art. Members have the ability to develop new techniques and skills by tapping into the vast resources available to them.

The IFSG was founded in 1996 in response to a need for establishing professionalism within the Feng Shui community. Today, the IFSG recognizes the importance of setting high professional standards for our members and communicating those ethical principles to the general public as a way of inspiring their trust and support for our members.

To support that desire for professional and ethical standards, all Professional and Student Members, Affiliated and Standard Schools are required to sign the IFSG Code of Ethics as a condition of membership.

Our Mission

We are a professional non-profit organization dedicated to:

• Advancing the practice, teaching and use of Feng Shui worldwide
• Promoting and serving our membership with resources, networking opportunities, publications and a website
• Inspiring public confidence and unifying the Feng Shui community by establishing and upholding universal standards in professional practice and education.

Our Organization

The organization is largely run by volunteers who are passionate about Feng Shui and our members and see the importance of furthering both around the world.  The Board consists of four Executive Directors (Chair, CEO/President, Secretary and Treasurer), two General Board advisors and four Committee Directors. The IFSG Committees are: Education, Strategic Marketing, Finance, Web, and the newest Committee, Green Living & Design.

Operating around the world, we have over 20 chapters throughout the United States as well as one in Curacao.  We have seen our membership grow 35% from the beginning of 2005 to the middle of 2008.   We are proud of our over 30 schools who provide excellent Feng Shui training programs around the world.  Creating two ongoing publications electronically we regularly spread the good news about Feng Shui to our thousands of subscribers.  The IFSG Connections is a free monthly public newsletter, and the Quarterly, published 4 times a year, is for members only.  Both provide excellent resources for our readers and opportunities for our members to shine. 

History of the Organization 

In the mid 1990s, John Lanterman envisioned bringing the Feng Shui community together, and therefore formed the Feng Shui Guild in Boulder, Colorado. John published the first newsletter and literally ran the group from his kitchen table with dedication for several years.

In May of 1999, a group of practitioners were invited to publicly discuss the topic “Feng Shui Certification - To Be Or Not To Be” at the Feng Shui Conference in Monterey, CA.  John invited several of those attendees who became the Guild’s founders to lunch; and they realized while meeting that they shared similar views, visions, desires, and intentions for the Feng Shui community.  Those shared ideals and values soon led to the creation of the International Feng Shui Guild.  Initial visionary founders include John along with Mary Dennis, Christina Hile, Gary Hendrickson, Bob Longacre, and Rich Welt.

The common goals of uniting the Feng Shui community, education, and creating world harmony bound the group together. And freely understanding these were volunteer positions with no treasury, each founder shook hands and formulated a plan, each taking a piece of the responsibilities.  Considering the demands of the positions and entering the second year, four continued to volunteer their time including Mary Dennis, Gary Hendrickson, Bob Longacre and Rich Welt. This group became IFSG Council Members and remained as such until the close of 2002.

During this time the Council accomplished:

• Website ranking on top search engines and exposure for our members
• Non-profit status
• Treasury
• IFSG Code of Ethics
• Introduction of Feng Shui Market Place
• Many local chapters around the US
• Feng Shui Quarterly, our member only newsletter

By the fall of 2002, the organization was re-structured to support and validate the new non-profit status.  The four Council Members were replaced with five Board of Director positions, still volunteer. Nominations and voting took place in February 2003, and the new Board was installed. Included were Mary Dennis, Marge Richards, Anne Mansfield, Sara Schoerlucke and Bridget Driggers. During the first three months of this board term, this group accomplished a website redesign, hired an office administrator, and redesigned/published the Quarterly.

By early spring of 2006, the Board of Directors had changed several times, and those remaining included Rosalie Prinzivalli, Anne Mansfield, and Laurie Bornstein.  Fueled by the desire to take the Guild further than had been before and realizing they couldn’t do it all on their own, they asked the membership for additional volunteers to step up.  This formed the first IFSG Planning Board with the task of creating standards and organizational structure in the form of Bylaws, as well as detailed policies and procedures in the areas of Education, Marketing, Membership, Finance, and Web.  One long and involved year later, the Planning Board had created a massive comprehensive proposal package in all the areas for membership review and approval.  This undertaking was incredible as it laid the foundation for the future of the Guild, striving for professional status, as well as for the first time, gave the members a voice.  Wonderfully, the package overwhelming passed.  Included in proposal and policy development on the Planning Board were Rosalie Prinzivalli, Board Chair; Anne Mansfield, CEO/President; Laurie Bornstein, Education Director; LuAnn Cibik, Technology Director; Karen Ferraro, Marketing Director; and Deb DermyerLamb, Membership Director/Treasurer.

During the 2006-2007 year, we also celebrated the Guild’s tenth anniversary with a year of commitments and dedication to our members.  We recognized all chapters, regions, and countries throughout the year and culminated the celebration at the Conscious Design Conference, New Jersey USA, which the IFSG co-sponsored in September of 2007.  This conference also provided the backdrop for the election of our next Board of Directors. The  conference was a major event for us and for the world of design, environmental living, and Feng Shui.  So, we were thrilled to be a part of this event and even more thrilled to kick off another fantastic year of implementation, new beginnings, and amazing initiatives.

We want to acknowledge our founders, all our current and past, members, member schools, committee members, Chapter Directors, Regional Directors and Board members who took the original vision of a united Feng Shui community and made it into a reality that has continued to grow and evolve for over 10 years. As we move forward, the organization continues to grow and evolve from the original dream and vision into a professional organization that embraces the inherent value in each of us and the strength we have in our profession. We honor all that has gone before, and welcome all that is yet to come.

Ten years behind us, and many more to come!


Spring 2008
About the International Feng Shui Guild The International Feng Shui Guild serves as the central source for our members and the greater Feng Shui community, uniting all professional practitioners, educators, and students as we embrace and support all approaches in this ancient art. Members have the ability to develop new techniques and skills by tapping into the vast resources available to them. The IFSG was founded in 1996 in response to a need for establishing professionalism within the Feng Shui community. Today, the IFSG recognizes the importance of setting high professional standards for our members and communicating those ethical principles to the general public as a way of inspiring their trust and support for our members. To support that desire for professional and ethical standards, all Professional and Student Members, Affiliated and Standard Schools are required to sign the IFSG Code of Ethics as a condition of membership. Our Mission We are a professional non-profit organization dedicated to: • Advancing the practice, teaching and use of Feng Shui worldwide• Promoting and serving our membership with resources, networking opportunities, publications and a website• Inspiring public confidence and unifying the Feng Shui community by establishing and upholding universal standards in professional practice and education. Our Organization The organization is largely run by volunteers who are passionate about Feng Shui and our members and see the importance of furthering both around the world.  The Board consists of four Executive Directors (Chair, CEO/President, Secretary and Treasurer), two General Board advisors and four Committee Directors. The IFSG Committees are: Education, Strategic Marketing, Finance, Web, and the newest Committee, Green Living & Design. Operating around the world, we have over 20 chapters throughout the United States as well as one in Curacao.  We have seen our membership grow 35% from the beginning of 2005 to the middle of 2008.   We are proud of our over 30 schools who provide excellent Feng Shui training programs around the world.  Creating two ongoing publications electronically we regularly spread the good news about Feng Shui to our thousands of subscribers.  The IFSG Connections is a free monthly public newsletter, and the Quarterly, published 4 times a year, is for members only.  Both provide excellent resources for our readers and opportunities for our members to shine.  History of the Organization  In the mid 1990s, John Lanterman envisioned bringing the Feng Shui community together, and therefore formed the Feng Shui Guild in Boulder, Colorado. John published the first newsletter and literally ran the group from his kitchen table with dedication for several years. In May of 1999, a group of practitioners were invited to publicly discuss the topic “Feng Shui Certification - To Be Or Not To Be” at the Feng Shui Conference in Monterey, CA.  John invited several of those attendees who became the Guild’s founders to lunch; and they realized while meeting that they shared similar views, visions, desires, and intentions for the Feng Shui community.  Those shared ideals and values soon led to the creation of the International Feng Shui Guild.  Initial visionary founders include John along with Mary Dennis, Christina Hile, Gary Hendrickson, Bob Longacre, and Rich Welt. The common goals of uniting the Feng Shui community, education, and creating world harmony bound the group together. And freely understanding these were volunteer positions with no treasury, each founder shook hands and formulated a plan, each taking a piece of the responsibilities.  Considering the demands of the positions and entering the second year, four continued to volunteer their time including Mary Dennis, Gary Hendrickson, Bob Longacre and Rich Welt. This group became IFSG Council Members and remained as such until the close of 2002. During this time the Council accomplished: • Website ranking on top search engines and exposure for our members• Non-profit status• Treasury• IFSG Code of Ethics• Introduction of Feng Shui Market Place• Many local chapters around the US• Feng Shui Quarterly, our member only newsletter By the fall of 2002, the organization was re-structured to support and validate the new non-profit status.  The four Council Members were replaced with five Board of Director positions, still volunteer. Nominations and voting took place in February 2003, and the new Board was installed. Included were Mary Dennis, Marge Richards, Anne Mansfield, Sara Schoerlucke and Bridget Driggers. During the first three months of this board term, this group accomplished a website redesign, hired an office administrator, and redesigned/published the Quarterly. By early spring of 2006, the Board of Directors had changed several times, and those remaining included Rosalie Prinzivalli, Anne Mansfield, and Laurie Bornstein.  Fueled by the desire to take the Guild further than had been before and realizing they couldn’t do it all on their own, they asked the membership for additional volunteers to step up.  This formed the first IFSG Planning Board with the task of creating standards and organizational structure in the form of Bylaws, as well as detailed policies and procedures in the areas of Education, Marketing, Membership, Finance, and Web.  One long and involved year later, the Planning Board had created a massive comprehensive proposal package in all the areas for membership review and approval.  This undertaking was incredible as it laid the foundation for the future of the Guild, striving for professional status, as well as for the first time, gave the members a voice.  Wonderfully, the package overwhelming passed.  Included in proposal and policy development on the Planning Board were Rosalie Prinzivalli, Board Chair; Anne Mansfield, CEO/President; Laurie Bornstein, Education Director; LuAnn Cibik, Technology Director; Karen Ferraro, Marketing Director; and Deb DermyerLamb, Membership Director/Treasurer. During the 2006-2007 year, we also celebrated the Guild’s tenth anniversary with a year of commitments and dedication to our members.  We recognized all chapters, regions, and countries throughout the year and culminated the celebration at the Conscious Design Conference, New Jersey USA, which the IFSG co-sponsored in September of 2007.  This conference also provided the backdrop for the election of our next Board of Directors. The  conference was a major event for us and for the world of design, environmental living, and Feng Shui.  So, we were thrilled to be a part of this event and even more thrilled to kick off another fantastic year of implementation, new beginnings, and amazing initiatives. We want to acknowledge our founders, all our current and past, members, member schools, committee members, Chapter Directors, Regional Directors and Board members who took the original vision of a united Feng Shui community and made it into a reality that has continued to grow and evolve for over 10 years. As we move forward, the organization continues to grow and evolve from the original dream and vision into a professional organization that embraces the inherent value in each of us and the strength we have in our profession. We honor all that has gone before, and welcome all that is yet to come. Ten years behind us, and many more to come! Spring 2008