Bachelor of Science, University of Georgia ‘17
Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Nutritional Therapy Association ‘18
Certified Holistic Herbalist, BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies ‘23
Doctor of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Candidate, Daosit Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts ‘28
The love of herbs started very young for me.
Whenever my mom looked for me, I was usually out in the garden looking at plants, being absolutely mesmerized by the intricacies and variety that I found. My love for herbalism, that is the study and practice of herbs, began when I was a teenager. After being hospitalized with migraines and running through the gauntlet of Western medicine treatments without luck, my mom found acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. I am very grateful to report that I’ve been migraine free for well over a decade. In part, I attribute that to the excellent prescription of herbs by my Chinese medicine doctor.
Seeing the power of acupuncture and herbalism sparked a curiosity in me to become acquainted with the herbs that grew around me. I poured over every book I could get my hands on in Western Herbalism, took many online classes, and jumped at learning from mentors. My desire to explore this new and expansive world of herbalism was insatiable. Through this exploration I also began to reflect on how closely the cycles of nature were reflected in my own body and life. Where I felt isolated in my migraines and ailments, I started to feel a part of a whole ecosystem. This paradigm shift helped me understand that my body wasn’t fighting against me, but instead was giving me very clear signs of communication. Slowly, I started moving away from seeing myself as a broken thing and instead as a capable person, able to embrace healing challenges as methods to learn more about my individual needs.
Around the same time, I was apprenticing and working at an acupuncture clinic. Naturally, I felt an affinity to Chinese medicine and wanted to gain as much exposure and knowledge to it as I could. I interned at various clinics from 2012-2018.
At this time had a strong basis in herbalism, was being taken excellent care of by Chinese medicine doctors, but felt like something was still missing. I met with a functional nutritional therapy practitioner and my world changed, yet again. Being a lover of knowledge and education, I decided to go back to school to learn about nutrition.
During my time getting my Functional Nutritional Therapy Certification, I learned I was eating totally wrong for my body. A well taught lesson that you can’t “herb your way out” of a misaligned diet and lifestyle. Soon after, my chronic fatigue and acne cleared up, I didn’t feel nearly as bloated after eating, and most importantly, I solidified the relationship I had with my body. At this point, with my new certification and half a decade of herbal experience under my belt, I was alive with trying to help others learn more about themselves too.
For a long time I found a love for teaching, especially alongside Eileen, and we eventually opened a business teaching easy techniques to bring vibrant food back into the home as well as creating herbal products. Together we spoke at the Organic Growers Symposium about adaptogens, won awards from the American Herbalist Guild, taught many workshops ranging from making kimchi to taking the first steps towards understanding herbalism, and were featured speakers for the Nutritional Therapy Association.
After almost a decade of herbal knowledge and mentorship, I decided to attend the illustrious BotanoLogos with Patricia Kyritsi Howell to solidify my herbal identification and foundations.
In 2024, I knew that my path was not done, and decided to pursue my doctorate in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. Along with making herbs easily accessible to all people, learning this medicine inspires a deep passion in me. Chinese medicine has meant a great deal to me and learning it feels like another step in coming back home to myself. Having the opportunity to be the person that listens to and stands with someone else in their need is a huge honor. I get to be the person that I once needed for my patients.
When I’m not in school or working on ILA, I’m usually playing in the rivers around Western North Carolina, looking for herbs in the wild, visiting (and eating through) the little towns in the area with my husband, or working up a new project on my knitting needles. I also read about 40 non-fiction books a year, love bird watching, and inventing new teas and morning lattes. My current favorite is a black sesame latte with Shatavari, Vanilla, and Cardamom.
