For my first nine years, I lived just outside Xenia, a small town in southwestern Ohio where my brother and I roamed freely through yards, pastures and weed fields with only our imaginations to entertain us. My mother baked bread and made us eat lots of vegetables. Our doctor made house calls with his “little black bag” – and always looked at our tongues. Family vacations were always camping back when bath houses were a novelty in the national parks.

In the early ‘˜60s we moved to the Florida ‘Space Coast’ where the beaches were still pristine and the only recreation! It was an exciting place and time, being part of the community on the frontier of space exploration. My high school had an outstanding science program which exposed me to some of the cutting edge research in molecular biology of the day. That exposure showed me how little was truly understood about how the body functions, and together with the ‘˜60s philosophy of questioning the status quo, formed my distrust of western medicine.

I moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University, ended up with a degree in Finance, and settled into life here. I developed a passion for Dressage, that most elegant of horse sports, requiring thousands of hours of dedicated, hard sweaty work to master. Today, my horses are in my pasture out my back door for the comfort being close to them brings and for the day I will take up riding again. In addition to the horses, I live with my partner Earl, daughter Jennifer, three dogs and two cats.

My herbal journey began when I became really sick in Jan 2007. It was some viral thing but I did not fully recover and fell ill again (a new experience for me).  Listening to my intuition, I called a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner recommended by a friend. She recommended herbs to me, first to support my recovery and then tonics to treat deficiencies, but tea pills had little effect so I moved to decoctions. I was fascinated. My TCM practitioner remarked one day that I had an intuitive feel for the herbs. I began to look into ways to learn more and found the East West School. It was the program which spoke most strongly to my heart.

Previously, I had set the intent to find something to supplement my income which could generate positive energy when I become eligible to retire from my present job in a few years. I believe that intention has been given direction. My aspiration is to complete the Professional Herbalist Course, open a practice and see what comes next. I am humbled, excited and grateful for all the love, guidance, support and direction I have received here at East West from all the instructors and my fellow classmates; and for the vistas this course has opened in my life.