CSHS Staff members Gail Julian, David Hoffmann, Leslie Gardner, Jason Miller,
Terri Jensen, Karen Aguiar, Autumn Summers and Rebecca Maxfield

7Song, Clinical Herbalist

7Song is director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, and Director of Holistic Medicine at the Ithaca Free Clinic in Ithaca, NY. 7Song teaches at a number of herbal schools. More than any of this, he is infatuated and devoted to the study and practice of herbal medicine. Guest teacher in Roots and Advanced Class.

Karen Aguiar, Herbal Medicine-Maker

Karen has been making botanical medicines full-time for 9 years. She is co-owner of The Herbal Apothecary and co-organizer of the Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium.

Trinity Ava, Herbalist- Aromatic Medicine Educator

The language of plants has been guiding Trinity since childhood.   With over 10 years experience teaching about essential oils as “Aromatic Medicine,” AKA Aromatherapy, she uses a synergy of Western herbalism, Ayurvedic principles and clinical experience.  She works internationally to support organic agriculture & fair trade practices and is the Director of Education for Organix South® an organic & Ayurvedic herbal product company. 

Sarah Bearden, Nutritionist

Sarah has been a practicing Nutrition Consultant in the U.S. and the U.K. since 1996. She has a Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition and is currently working on her Doctorate. She is the author of Nutrition in Essence. She is also a Natural Foods Chef and focuses on cooking with whole foods. Sarah passionately believes that combining herbology with nutrition creates a powerful synergistic healing modality.

Jen Bredesen, Herbalist, CMT

Jen has been learning from the plants for over a decade. Brewing herbal beer for the past 4 years has given her another angle on creative ways to incorporate herbs into a sustainable lifestyle. Jen has been organizing and running an Herbal First Aid Station in the Wellness Tent for the Women’s Herbal Symposium for the past 6 years. She has a clinical practice in Sebastopol.

Kaytee Casey

Kaytee has been a part of the CSHS community for several years as a student and staff member. She is our staff cook on camping trips and also caretakes the school buildings to keep them looking beautiful.

Candis Cantin - Herbalist

Candis has over 25 years practical experience as a counselor and teacher of wholistic lifestyle principles. Her background includes extensive Western herbal studies, Ayurvedic & Chinese healing systems, psycho/spiritual counseling, and communications skills. Candis is the artist of the Herbal Tarot Deck and author of the Pocket Guide to Ayurvedic Healing.

Diana DeLuca, Herbalist

Diana draws upon her rich Sicilian heritage and love of all things edible and aromatic to share her passion for the green world. She is the author of Botanica Erotica and teaches delicious herbal workshops throughout the country.

 

Leslie Gardner, Herbalist, BS, MH, RH(AHG),

Leslie is the garden manager of CSHS and coordinates the Garden Apprentice program. She serves on the Board of the Sonoma Co. Herb Association and is the Director of the Sonoma Co. Herb Exchange. Leslie has worked as an herbal practitioner and is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.  

Jim Hall, Herbalist

Jim Hall MA CMT comes from a family of spiritual healers and has been intensively involved in various holistic healing modalities since 1979. He holds a master's degree in Holistic Health Education from John. F. Kennedy University and has studied with healers from a variety of traditions, including Michael Moore, Kashaya Pomo elder Lorin Smith, Karyn Sanders, Chanchal Cabrera, and medical intuitive Laurie Schyriver. Jim currently teaches at the California School of Herbal Studies in Forestville CA and at the Ohlone Center for Herbal Studies in Berkeley CA. He also has a private herbal and energy healing practice, specializing in alternative treatments for cancer and soul retrieval. He lives in Santa Rosa and can be reached at <ecomedicine@yahoo.com>.

Kathleen Harrison, Ethnobotanist, Artist, Photographer

Kathleen researches the relationship between plants and people, with a particular focus on art, myth, ritual, and spirituality.  She teaches at the California School of Herbal Studies, Sonoma State University, New College of California, and across the country.  She has done fieldwork in Latin America for over 25 years, and is the director of Botanical Dimensions, a non-profit project dedicated to exploring the human relationship to medicinal and shamanic plants.

David Hoffmann, B.Sc., F.N.I.M.H.

David has been a phytotherapist for 31 years. He is the author of 17 books, including the Holistic Herbal and Medical Herbalism. He is on the advisory board of the American Botanical Council, a founding member and past president of the American Herbalist Guild and is active in the environmental & peace movements.

 

Terri Jensen, Herbal Medicine Maker  

Terri has been working with botanical medicines in a variety of capacities for over 20 years. She is an owner and medicine maker for The Herbal Apothecary. She is also a current and founding organizer of the Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium.

 

Gail Julian, Herbalist

Gail is as a clinical herbalist, medicine maker and teacher with 17 years experience in the clinic and classroom. Her training includes Western Herbalism and physiology, native plant use, Chinese and plant energetic systems. Her business, Commonknowledge Herbs provides pharmacy services for practitioners and produces therapeutic herbal products.

 

Rebecca Maxfield, Herbalist, BA, Co-Director of CSHS

Rebecca has lived and worked at CSHS for 14 years. As a former student herself, she feels that CSHS is a wonderful place to learn and enjoys meeting and working with new students every year. Rebecca is committed to bringing herbs into daily life as a means to connect herself and her children to the natural world.

Lily Mazzarella, MS - Herbalist

Lily is a practicing clinical herbalist. She studied at 7Song’s Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, and with Matthew Wood prior to completing the MSc program in Herbal Medicine at Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, MD. Lily brings her love of plants, physiology, complexity, and clinical work to her teaching.

Amanda McQuade-Crawford - F.N.I.M.H.

Amanda McQuade Crawford, earned her degree in herbal medicine from Britain’s College of Phytotherapy and is a member of the National Institue of Medical Herbalists. She was a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild, and she has taught at hospitals and medical schools across the United States. She is currently a consultant medical herbalist in Los Angeles, California.

Jason Miller, Environmental Educator, Co-Director

With over ten years experience in Environmental Education and Project Management, Jason’s focus is on nurturing healthy and sustainable communities. His areas of work include native plants, organic gardening, natural building and alternative energy.

Pam Montgomery, Herbalist

Pam received training from Empire State College in Alternative Health Education. She is the originator of Green Terrestrial Herbal Products of Vermont and was one of the founding members of the Northeast Herbal Association where she served as their president for four years. For a decade, Pam was on the Executive Council of the Board of Directors of United Plant Savers, an organization dedicated to preservation of our native medicinal plants. Pam is the originator and producer of the Green Nations Gathering for the past 21 years and has presented the Spirit Healing Conference and the Healing With Flowers Conference. She teaches workshops internationally on plant communication, Plant Spirit Healing, and Gaiacology. Pam is the author of Plant Spirit Healing; A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness  and Partner Earth; A Spiritual Ecology both published by Inner Traditions and is a contributing author in Planting the Future. Pam is an herbal and plant spirit healing practitioner, as well as shamanic counselor, who offers consultations and treatments long distance and from her home at Sweetwater Sanctuary in Danby, Vermont. Visit her websites at: www.partnereartheducationcenter.com or www.plantspirithealing.com.

Malgorzata Polak

Malgorzata is the school representative from the California School of Herbal Studies in Forestville, California. She is a graduate of the Roots of Herbalism Program and currently works in the garden assisting with the garden apprentice program. She has a background in production farming and environmental restoration. She is currently working towards becoming a nurse and being able to fuse conventional and alternative medicines.

Charmoon Richardson, Mushroom Educator

Charmoon has been collecting and studying wild mushrooms for over 30 years. He is a past president of Sonoma County Mycological Association, a nationally known mushroom authority and is the owner of Wild About Mushrooms, which offers a variety of mushroom forays, events and classes.

 

Autumn Summers, Herbalist, BA ethnobotany, Program Director of CSHS

From her first herb class 20 years ago, Autumn has been exploring the many facets of herbalism grounded in her love of being out with the plants on their own turf. Her experience includes teaching, organizing herbal events, managing a retail herb store, gardening, medicine making and currently being part of a low-fee herbal clinic.

Tamara Wilder, Traditional Skills Educator

Tamara has taught and demonstrated traditional skills in California including the California Academy of Science in San Francisco, Oregon, Arizona and Idaho. The work of Tamara Wilder and Steven Edholm has been published in the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, in Woodsmoke: Collected Writings on Ancient Living Skills, and in their book Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning.

Guest teachers in recent years have included:

Guest teachers in recent years have included:
Rosemary Gladstar, Sid Kurn - Neurologist, Matthew Wood, Tim Blakley, Merrilee Wisewoman and others.

Mailing address: PO Box 39, Forestville, CA 95436
Physical address: 9309 Highway 116, Forestville
Phone: (707) 887-7457
Email: cshs@cshs.com