Kat Mackinnon
Kat Mackinnon is the Clinic Program Director at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in Lafayette, Colorado. She mentors students, is a principal reviewer of student intern cases, is a core faculty member for first-year programs, including Rocky Mountain Field Botany, and offers workshops on botany and wild foods.
Kat is a certified clinical herbalist and nutritionist, as well as a certified Bach essences practitioner through the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism. She is also a Registered Herbalist through the American Herbalists Guild.
When Kat isn’t directing the clinic program, she has her own small clinical practice and runs a small endeavor, Meet the Green, through which she teaches classes on herbalism and primitive skills. She also has a blog, Discover the Green, on botany, herbal medicine, and any other information on plants she finds interesting.
Though a transplant from the East Coast, Kat has a passion for working with the herbs nearest to her. Having studied forestry at Northern Arizona University, the plants, animals, and incredible harsh beauty of the Southwest are one of the great loves of her life. Between teaching and working, she spends her time wildcrafting and running in the mountains, gardening in the lowlands, and medicine making in between. Her other interests include art, primitive skills, gardening, and generally geeking out on the natural world.
Adrian Mintzmyer
Adrian Mintzmyer is a botanist and herbalist with special enthusiasm for wild plants. At CSCH, he divides his time between hands-on outdoor classes focusing on our incredibly abundant and diverse medicinal mountain herbs, and classroom lectures on human anatomy, physiology, pathology, and materia medica in the Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism program. 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.
Adrian is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Certified Nutritionist. He’s been formally studying plants for a little more than 10 years, including a 2-year apprenticeship at the Columbine School of Botanical Studies with Howie Braunstein, Steven Jager, and Heron Brae, studies at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism with Paul Bergner, and completing the Clinical Program at CSCH with Lisa Ganora. Adrian is grateful to all who have offered knowledge and guidance, and as always, the plants themselves have been the most valuable teachers. When Adrian isn’t at CSCH, he runs a small business called Mountain Herbalism, where he sees clients and leads workshops on the wild medicinal and edible plants of the Rocky Mountains.
Meghan Pivarnik
Meghan Pivarnik is the Flower Essence Program Director at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. She is a mentor and support for students as they pursue their wellness path within the vitalist tradition.
Meghan is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Certified Bach Flower Essence Practitioner. She studied at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism with Mary Barnes and Sheila Luna. Meghan has a deep passion and excitement for formulation, flower essences, clinical skills, as well as the nervous system (both human and animal alike). Meghan runs a small clinical practice under the name red fawkes apothecary. Meghan has created a flower essence kit to support the process of grief named ophelia’s grief garden. She is also a certified death doula through Going with Grace.
She holds her MFA in writing and poetics from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Image, language, and sensation fuel the lens in which Meghan understands the world. She remains connected to language professionally as a proofreader for Sounds True Publishing.
Meghan has also studied the history and theory of yoga at Naropa University and Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health.
“Deep in their roots, all the flowers keep the light.” –Theodore Roethke
Anne Lelong
Anne is a Faculty member in our Nutrition Program. She attended U.C. Davis and Yale in pursuit of registration as a dietitian prior to coming to Colorado to augment her nutritional skills by studying Clinical Herbalism at The Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies. Upon graduation, she became a member of the faculty there. She continued her teaching of nutrition at The North American Institute of Medical Herbalism with Paul Bergner, where she was the Director of the Nutrition program. Anne also taught at Healing Spirits Massage School, Seven Bowls School of Nourishment and Healing, and Naropa University, while maintaining a private practice in Boulder for 17 years.
In 2006, she moved to Hawaii and worked as a Clinical Nutritionist and Herbalist in the rural clinics of the Waianae Coast, Oahu, with the local Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, for 10 years. She also pursued her MS in Functional Nutrition during this time. She is now back in Boulder and excited to be teaching in both the Fundamentals and Advanced Programs as well as directing the Nutrition Program. Anne enjoys hiking, backpacking, and riding tandem bikes with her husband.
Paul Bergner
Paul Bergner has studied and practiced natural medicine since 1973, with formal training in naturopathy, medical herbalism, clinical nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, flower essences, yoga therapy, and bodywork, including undergraduate studies in pre-medicine and psychology, and 50 semester hours of doctoral-level medical studies at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. He has published the Medical Herbalism journal since 1989 and has written seven books on medical herbalism, nutrition, Chinese medicine, ethnobotany, and naturopathic medicine. He has also edited periodicals on clinical nutrition and naturopathic medicine.
Paul has taught clinical herbalism and clinical nutrition since 1989. He mentored more than 230 students through clinical residencies at the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies and the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism (NAIMH) in Boulder between 1996 and 2012. He is currently on the clinical faculty of the School of Traditional Western Herbalism in Portland, Oregon, and the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in Boulder. He also has taught nutrition academically at both the undergraduate university and master’s level. He lectures on the topics of medical herbalism and clinical nutrition nationally and internationally.
Lisa Ganora
Lisa began studying herbs in the Wise Woman Tradition back in 1986 and fell profoundly in love with medicinal plants and natural healing. While studying wildcrafting and medicine-making with traditional herbalists from New England to the Appalachian Mountains for ten years, she began creating herbal products and traveled the festival circuit with an herb booth and as a workshop presenter.
In 1997 Lisa decided to study botany, chemistry, and health sciences at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and graduated with the highest honors and several awards. Lisa combines a deep understanding of traditional, Vitalist herbalism with a scientifically-integrated and holistic approach to natural health.
In addition to directing CSCH, Lisa was an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona, and has lectured and taught classes at numerous schools and conferences around the U.S. She is the author of Herbal Constituents, the standard textbook of phytochemistry for herbalists. For more information, see Lisa’s CV at HerbalConstituents.com.
Joshua Paquette
Joshua holds a certification in herbalism from the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism, as well as from the Columbines School of Botanical Studies. He began his study of the natural world in 2005 at the University of Maine, Orono where he was inspired to the craft of environmental education. Since then he has had the opportunity to work with some outstanding herbalists and botanists in the field. His time with Howie Brounstein and Steven Yeager at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies has enlivened his passion for plant identification, ecology, and wildcrafting ethics. Joshua finds that immersion into the wild places of the world coupled with an in-depth observation often brings magic, inspiration, and empowerment to people’s lives. Joshua aspires to share that magic with others.
Mary W. Barnes
When she is not working in Lafayette for CSCH, Mary is at home in the small mountain town of Leadville, Colorado where she has a private practice serving a culturally diverse population. Mary studied under Feather Jones and Paul Bergner, graduating from the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies in 2000, has completed two certificate programs in clinical nutrition, and continues the self-study of botanical medicine. She was a core faculty member at the North American Institute for Medical Herbalism as classroom and clinical faculty for eight years prior to transitioning to the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism.
Mary is a lifelong student of the human spirit and its relationship to the natural world. Her passion is plants, people, and creative endeavors. She is an accomplished botanical illustrator and gardener, and an aspiring violinist. She is the owner of Alfen Swan LLC, a business supporting vitality and creativity.
Samantha Grant
Samantha Grant is the Program Coordinator for the Fundamentals of Medical Herbalism and Advanced Herbalism programs at Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. Samantha is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Nutritionist, and Bach Flower Essence practitioner through CSCH. With her expertise in administration and student services, she offers support to students and those looking to further their education in herbalism, nutrition and flower essences. She’s grateful for the community CSCH provides, and the lineage of outstanding herbalists that practice the vitalist tradition.
Samantha has a BS in Exercise Science from Northern Arizona University where she developed a deep love for the desert and the unique ecotone that Flagstaff offers to the southwest region. As a Colorado native, she adores the Rocky Mountain landscape that sparked her passion for exploring the natural world and continues to inspire her as a forever student to the earth.
She supports clients in her private practice with holistic health and flower essence consultations, and creates lunar-infused artisan products through her business, Full Moon Medicinals. Outside of the school, Samantha enjoys spending her time gardening, reading all the books, camping, hiking, and medicine-making.
Dr. Cheri King
Dr. Cheri King ND a licensed naturopathic doctor in the State of Colorado. She attended the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, the oldest and one of the best known naturopathic colleges in the country. Dr. King graduated with a doctorate in naturopathic medicine and with honors in research for her work investigating detoxification diets. During her time at NCNM, she also co-founded the Naturopathic Medical Student Association and received multiple achievement awards for outstanding performance in the field of natural medicine and for applying holistic healing principles in her own life as well as the lives of others. Dr. King sees patients at Boulder Natural Health in Boulder, Colorado. She is also an adjunct professor at Community College of Denver. See Cheri’s website here.
Jessica Baker
Jessica Baker is an acupuncturist, herbalist, educator, and public speaker. Her passion for sharing the messages of the plants is reflected in her private practice and her classes on aromatherapy, herbalism, and Chinese medicine. As a continuing education provider to acupuncturists and nurses, she teaches the importance of traditional medicine to health care professionals as well as to laypeople. She teaches at several herbal symposia and acupuncture conferences throughout the U.S. You can see Jessica’s blog here.
