My Journey (so far)
Suffering under the weight of colonial capitalism
My herbal journey began when I realized that the life I was living was not compatible with truly being and feeling well. I had a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a full time job in the career that I had spent decades cultivating. I had invested a lot of time and resources to get to where I was, but my job was not fulfilling or sustainable, I dealt with numerous chronic health concerns, and I didn’t feel a true sense of balance and wellness in my life.
There’s little doubt that the pressures of capitalism and a colonized society had played a part in getting me to that stage in my life. I may have been “living the dream,” but it wasn’t my dream. I was spending the great majority of my time at work - where I was unhappy, unfulfilled, and unappreciated - just to pay for the education that was necessary to get me the job to begin with. The emotional and spiritual toll began to manifest as physical ailments, and I felt trapped. The common coping mechanisms offered by an unwell society only made things worse. I started to yearn for a change.
Searching for fulfillment and purpose
When I started to become disillusioned with my career and relationship to community, I began to search for more.
Teaching and Mentoring
I’ve always had a passion for teaching and mentoring others, and often leveraged my educational and professional experience to find ways to support people. In 2018, I began working as a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University Camden, where I spent a total of 8 semesters teaching. I created and developed forensic chemistry and forensic toxicology courses, and taught students in the graduate program; I also taught a forensic methods & techniques laboratory course to undergraduate students.
I served on the capstone advisory committee and as a project mentor to numerous students, assisting with various projects from bias in data interpretation, to contaminants in CBD vape products and detecting infant exposure to drugs of abuse.
Veganism and Sustainability
I began to reduce my consumption of animal products and have been eating an entirely plant-based diet since 2020. While that may not be appropriate or accessible for everybody, we can all benefit from a diet enriched with fresh, unprocessed, sustainable and nutritious plant-based foods. I’ve experienced great improvements to my own personal health, and am also excited about contributing to environmental sustainability and the ethical treatment of all living beings. I began to understand the concept of “food as medicine” and started to really think about all the phytochemicals found in the many plants that we humans share the planet with.
Remembering my passions
I started to remember what used to bring me joy and make me feel well; things that provided a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and belonging.
Time in Nature
I grew up in the southwest United States, and childhood memories are full of spending time on the beaches of California or in the desert of Arizona (and later amongst the lush greenery of my native Pennsylvania). My childhood and early teenage years were full of time outside, exploring the land and communing with the plants and animals. Many people have similar memories, but we tend to forget how regenerative and healing time in nature can still be for us. I’ve been reconnecting with this wisdom on my journey, and I hope to be able to help others do the same!
Food and Gardening
I come from a family of many amateur gardeners and home chefs, and like most people, many of my fondest memories are associated with a particular meal or dish. Food and diet are extremely personal, and it can be deeply nurturing and healing to reconnect with the cuisine and ingredients of one’s own culture or family history. Living in a big city can make it difficult to connect with your food, but part of my journey has been to establish a home garden in an attempt to do just that. I grow a few different fruits and vegetables, as well as a handful of medicinal herbs!
Chemistry and Toxicology
I finished my college studies with a BS in toxicology and eventually earned a masters degree in forensic science. I learned about how foreign substances act on the body - what they do, how the body responds, and how the process can help or hurt those who are exposed. Throughout my journey, I’ve been able to use this formal education to better understand how our bodies respond to things like medications, drugs, pollutants, and the chemicals found in plants. Understanding how our bodies process and respond to foreign substances has helped me to appreciate the interconnectedness of life, and the foundational biochemistry explains how things like stress, food, plants, medicine, pollution, and so much more can directly impact our physical health and wellbeing.
Healthcare
I’ve always wanted to help people, and have spent a great deal of time in healthcare and medical-adjacent roles. As a young teenager I maintained basic first aid and CPR certifications, and in my late high school/early college years I worked as an assistant in a veterinary clinic and nursery. Later, while searching for a more fulfilling career, I took classes and earned an EMT certification. I eventually learned more about herbal medicine, and in 2023 took my first online class. A few months later I enrolled in a more intensive course, and I’ve been studying herbalism ever since! By mid-2024, I began to help close friends and family members as a community herbalist. I made the decision to fully embrace this new journey, continued to fill gaps in my knowledge with intense studying and coursework, and took the steps to leave my job and build a business as a clinical herbalist.
Decolonizing and focusing on holistic wellbeing
I realized that herbalism was a perfect fit for me - a way to incorporate all my passions and leverage my educational and life experiences to truly help others.
I also began to study Buddhist philosophy and paganism; mindfulness and meditation, along with a deep appreciation and gratitude for nature and natural cycles, have been instrumental in my personal healing journey. I started to build new relationships with stress and the stressors in my life, and continue to learn how to manage them skillfully. I realized that we’re all deeply connected to one another and that everything in life has its own natural rhythm and cycle. I started to understand that the underlying root cause of many of my “problems” was the capitalistic/consumer lifestyle that I was living, and the pressures of a colonized society that I couldn’t escape. So I turned to our oldest and wisest teachers - the plants - to begin to heal my own mind, body and spirit.
Foundational Studies in herbalism
Throughout 2023, I began my herbal education with courses on numerous topics including sleep, gut health, traditional practices, first aid, and “kitchen medicine.” In the fall I attended the medicine making foundations portion of the Goldenrod Herbal Studies program with Kelly McCarthy, eventually completing 35+ hours of education in the program including introduction to body systems and herbal materia medica. In early 2024, I completed the 10-week Energetics 4 Herbalists course (24 hours) with Shabina Lafleur-Gangji, and in October 2024 I earned a Botanical Support in Aging certificate (20 hours) from the American Herbalists Guild.
I earned a certificate in Foundations of Bioregional Herbalism from the Northern Appalachia School in December 2024, following 300 hours of study with Calyx Liddick. Then, with more than 240 additional educational hours with Calyx, I earned the certificate in Herbal Therapeutics in June 2025.
Community and Clinical Herbalism
Throughout 2025, I continued to help family and friends work towards holistic wellness with herbs, by nourishing and supporting their bodies through things like inflammation, pain, digestive and skin issues. I continued my herbal education in areas including energetics, botany, plant chemistry, materia medica & formulation, nutrition, physiology, and pathology. I also began to build foundational skills in clinical practice, assessment, and therapeutic strategies for holistic wellness, while learning from my primary teachers Calyx Liddick and Kelly McCarthy. And I’ve had the pleasure of learning a great deal from others, like Maria Noël Groves, Jim McDonald, Shabina Lafleur-Gangji, Christopher Hobbs, Camille Freeman, and many more.
I have been participating in clinical observation and collaboration sessions with groups of herbalists throughout 2025, including observing intake and follow-up interviews, group collaboration sessions, research, and assessment for numerous free clinic client consultations. In the summer, I enrolled in the Advanced Health Concerns certificate program with Maria Noël Groves, and I continue to attend herbal conferences and other educational opportunities regularly.
Connect with me
Are you ready to harness natural rhythms, traditional knowledge, and plant medicine to achieve personal sovereignty and autonomy over your own health and wellness? I’m accepting new clients for holistic consultations!