Ben LeVine is the Chief Herbalist & Co-Founder at Rasa, an adaptogenic coffee alternative company, where he formulates blends and manages sourcing, sustainability, quality control, and herbal education. In his own words, “the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism has played a huge role in my love affair with herbalism. It’s where I found my people and my passion, and discovered the power of plants.”
In addition to his studies at CSCH, Ben has an MSc in Clinical Herbalism from Maryland University of Integrative Health and was formerly an herb buyer at the tea giant Celestial Seasonings. Ben currently teaches a series of classes on the international herb industry as well as a class on adaptogens for the CSCH Fundamentals program.
Fun Fact: Ben first met Lopa, the CEO/Founder of Rasa, at a CSCH Herb Faire. Lopa was trying out her new business idea and Ben was contemplating attending herb school!
Faith Rodgers is a certified clinical herbalist and mom of three. She created the Little Herbal Apothecary in 2015 to support her local community by providing access to high quality organic herbal remedies and all-natural, botanical skincare products. One of her biggest passions is teaching people how to make their own herbal remedies at home. You can find a ton of great recipes on the Little Herbal Blog or visit the store for a hands-on workshop!
Amber Wood is a certified clinical herbalist and general manager of Little Herbal Apothecary. She studied herbalism at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. She is passionate about helping others take control of their own health with the support of herbs, food and exercise. She loves learning about local plants and discovering new ways of using them as both food and medicine.
Orenda & Sage was founded in 2015 by a community herbalist, Cadíz Gómez, while she was studying herbal medicine at the Colorado School for Clinical Herbalism. The name of this business encompasses the entire philosophy from concept to practice – “orenda” is an Iroquois term that refers to the power inherent in all people to affect change in themselves and in the world.
Orenda & Sage’s mission is to empower people with tools and knowledge to make positive and educated changes in their wellness practices. The company focuses on encouraging people to take control of their health and wellness and demonstrating that making medicine is fun and taking medicine doesn’t have to be a chore. Orenda & Sage currently specializes in offering hand-crafted organic tea blends and small-batch organic herbal powders, seeking to create a fun and engaging community space for any and everyone interested in healthy living and wellness.
Miriam Schaffer co-owns a gardening business, integrating the principles of organic farming, aesthetics, and herbal medicine in order to generate functional, ecological, and beautiful gardens. From her many experiences landscaping and farming, she has built a strong environmental ethos based on the importance of local and sustainable agriculture and healthier communities, believing that the health of the planet is intimately connected with the health of the individual.
Dana is an energy-based clinical herbalist, Chinese medicine practitioner and flower essence therapist fascinated with the healing power of herbal medicine. Dana is a registered herbalist (RH) with the American Herbalist Guild. Over a decade ago, she was diagnosed with Lichen Sclerosus, a rare autoimmune condition, shortly after her mother started battling terminal brain cancer.
These consecutive events served as the catalyst for her inspiration to study and research links between emotional trauma and the development of physical disease. With over 8 years of combined herbal education and an immense desire to improve the vitality of others, Dana opened the Wildflower Clinic in Denver, Colorado in 2016.
The Wildflower Clinic is a traditional Chinese medicine and western clinical herbalism clinic offering health consultations, customized herbal protocols, and flower essence emotional therapy. Her specialties include autoimmune conditions, fertility, endocrine/hormonal imbalances, and emotional trauma. She has extensive experience in TCM diagnostic assessment where she interprets the pulse, tongue, skin, and nails of her clients in order to uncover their root causes of imbalance. She is dedicated to the ongoing research of herbal medicine and advocates for the availability of natural health care alternatives for all individuals.
Sarah’s practice combines a blend of traditional herbalism and wisdom as well as the latest research and knowledge on herbs and nutrition. In this way she has the ability to use what has worked for centuries by traditional healers as well as the many advancements that the modern health field has to offer, creating a blend that is as adaptable and personalized as each of her clients.
Her passions lay in bringing herbal medicine back into mainstream society and helping people achieve their health goals naturally. She is passionate about using food as medicine and helping her clients find their body’s unique dietary pattern.
She specializes in hormone balancing, digestive issues, specialized dietary issues, and increasing overall health and vitality.
Julie was born on the land of the Nisenan and Miwok people, today known as the central valley of Northern California. She found her way to herbalism through her studies in ecology and natural history. The connection she felt during her field studies led her to deepen her relationship with and knowledge of the plants, eventually taking her all the way to the Front Range.
Before becoming a Certified Nutritionist and Clinical Herbalist at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, she began her career as an outdoor educator, working as naturalist and mentor for grade school kids from the farm fields of Oregon to the waters of the Atlantic. Her time farming and teaching inspired her passion for food justice, sustainable farming practices and conservation, work that she still feels a pull towards and deeply affects her work as an herbalist.
During a consultation, Julie uses the power of food, herbs, supplements, and lifestyle recommendations to support balance in the body. Julie recognizes that true healing comes when her clients harness the healing power of their own bodies. Her specialties include children’s and teen health, diet and digestive issues, and reproductive health.
Kate Miller
Kate Miller is a Community Herbalist, Biodynamic Herb Grower, Permaculture Design Educator, and founded Alpine Botanicals. Kate strives to grow or locally source most of her herbal products.
“Balance is dynamic, and there are still days when I have felt that achieving the balance was basically impossible, but it always comes back to the reality of priorities. Too many of us have learned the hard way that you can’t pour from an empty cup, and when life becomes all about work, your cup will dry up quickly. Even if it’s just committing to evening time with my husband and family (away from my phone), a walk in the woods, or a soothing bath, self-care takes shape differently each day and helps me stay renewed and ready for whatever comes up in my business. If the very core of what I do is about bringing greater healing and joy to the experience of life, I have to include myself in that too. I believe that those simple moments of joy and gratitude are the propelling force behind a business with staying power.” ~ Kate Miller
Alex Svoboda is a certified clinical herbalist who emphasizes compassionate and individualized care that strives to empower her clients and seek the root of their health concerns. She runs Arise Botanicals in Lincoln, Nebraska, offering workshops, classes, and health consultations. Some of her areas of specialization include stress management, burnout, trauma-informed care, reproductive health, and improving sleep.
Adrian is a botanist, herbalist, and wildcrafter with special enthusiasm for the Rocky Mountain herbs. He started Mountain Herbalism as a platform for doing herbal consults, hosting workshops, and teaching others about local medicinal plants. Adrian enjoys thinking of teaching as performance art, and incorporates song, dance, and mnemonic teaching techniques into many classes to improve student retention of the material.
As a white person of German, Czechoslovakian, Scott-Irish, and English ancestry, Adrian is working to better understand and address the forces of racism, colonization, and capitalism that impact the health of our communities. As an herbalist, he believes that the deepest healing can come from building reciprocal relationships with land. He teaches botany, ethical wildcrafting, and bioregional herbalism as a way to reconnect humans with their local ecosystems.
Inspired by Milda, the Lithuanian goddess of love and nature, Analise nurtured her reverence for botany, Milda Apothecary’s products use only organic, wildcrafted, and sustainably sourced herb and flora. A distinctive slow infusion process extracts precious nutrients and eliminates inactive elements to deliver essential bio-active ingredients that support and transform your skin at the molecular level.
Liz Faermark is a certified clinical herbalist and clinical nutritionist. Since completing her education at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in early 2020, she has focused her professional pursuits on teaching. Liz is passionate about sharing valuable information that fosters resilience in individuals and communities alike. Consider joining her for one of my upcoming classes or workshops at Little Herbal Apothecary! Accessibility is central to her personal herbal philosophy. She’s a big fan of doing what you can and using what you have and values thrift, ingenuity, and creativity in the practice of herbalism (and in life).
Malia Thompson is a member of the American Herbalists Guild and works with herbs, nutrition, and lifestyle changes to educate and empower her clients to take charge of their own health. She is a certified herbalist and nutritionist with 1380 classroom hours in herbalism, nutrition, and flower essences for emotional support; trained in the Vitalist tradition of western herbalism and nutrition at the Colorado School for Clinical Herbalism in Colorado.
Vitalism has roots dating back to Hippocrates in the 4th Century BC. Vitalism means to examine, investigate, and remove obstacles to health on all levels – physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. It incorporates all aspects of science, specifically physiology and pathophysiology, and equally values knowledge from ancient herbal traditions, empirical observation, instinct, and intuition.
“Everything we need can be found in nature.” ~ Malia Thompson
Alli Barber is a certified herbalist. She graduated from the Advanced program at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in 2019. Born and raised in Colorado, she has been drawn to herbs since my teens and found them even more important when she became a mother. Alli loves to use herbs in her everyday life, especially when she can use them in her cooking!
Christine (she/her) believes that health and healing are multi-dimensional and that our bodies will innately move towards wholeness and vitality when given the right conditions. She loves the depth of support (physical, emotional, and spiritual) that herbalism, food as medicine, and vitalist practices have to offer.
Her work as a holistic health practitioner is informed by her past work as a horticultural researcher, urban farmer, and school garden educator. These experiences have helped her cultivate a holistic and systems-based perspective as a clinician observing patterns of imbalances in the human body.
As a health practitioner, it is Christine’s goal to provide an inclusive space to empower and educate her clients to be active participants in their healing journey.
Christine is a first-generation Filipina-American and raised by an immigrant mother in a single parent household. She identifies as a BIPOC and as a cis-gendered female. She acknowledges the privilege she holds as a health practitioner and educator.
