Wayne Lapinski, March 2022

My journey with plants began in grade school after learning about the importance of trees.  As a result I planted a tree annually on Arbor Day.  By the time I left home in my early 20’s, to move to Boston, we had a small orchard on our suburban plot in northern Ohio.  I started college…

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Tennyson Towl, January 2022

At 50, I’m at a time of reflection with our only son having headed off to college this Fall and my husband and I starting a new life in sunny St. Petersburg, FL. Growing up, I used to travel with my mom from Louisville, KY to Boston, MA so she could get acupuncture and herbs…

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Svetlana E., January 2023

I came from a big family of many siblings, and was born in Lithuania Klaipeda (former Prussia`s Memel, by the shore of the Baltic Sea) while it was part of the Soviet Union. When Soviet Union collapsed, every one in my family took advantage of traveling opportunities and as a result, was spread in the…

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Stacie Satery, July 2021

My herbal journey began after the birth of my fourth child and a long episode of overlooked and undiagnosed postpartum depression.  A homeschooling mama of four children, I desperately began seeking alternative health treatment so I could just make it through the day.  At the time, the essential oil business was booming.  I looked into…

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Sherri Hawn

Sheri Hawn, March 2018

My name is Sheri Hawn and I am currently an Advanced Student here at East West. What a journey of learning and self-discovery this has been. I grew up in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains and spent many hours, as a child, wandering the land, picking plants and flowers and “making medicine”, which I usually fed to the dog! I come from a line of healers and nature lovers; I am grateful to my elders for helping me to see beyond what eyes can see in both people and nature. …

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Shelby Heinzer, December 2018

This school has been such a transformative experience. My interest in alternative medicine started with my high school boyfriend’s mom of all places. With herbs, homeopathy, and so much love she helped me tackle health problems that Western medicine seemed to only make worse. That seemingly impossible success led me on an investigation in alternative…

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Herbal student Shannon Hobson

Shannon Hobson, April 2018

Where can I say my journey into East West began….  I wasn’t much into natural medicine growing up, but I have always loved nature. I didn’t become interested in natural medicine until I travelled to Vietnam many years later, where I, unfortunately, picked up something nasty.  Upon my return to Australia (where I was living…

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Sarah Ford, January 2020

I am Sarah Ford Thompson.  I began my love affair with plants and plant medicines as a young child.  I spent my first few years on a self-sustaining farm in Kentucky with my family.  We grew our own food and raised goats for milk.  We traded goat milk and homemade goat cheese with the nearest…

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Robert Woolf, September 2021

I was born and raised in Toronto Ontario, Canada. After completing a BSc and DDS at the University of Toronto, I moved west to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where I practised dentistry for several years. I then returned to school at the University of Saskatchewan and completed an MD and residency after which I became a full…

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Rebecca Wong, September 2019

Ironically, though I grew up on a dairy farm, surrounded by crops, animals, and nature, I was never exposed to natural health or healing during all that time. Farmers are not necessarily naturalists, and my parents showed little interest in herbal medicine. I never even tried whole wheat bread until I was a teenager and…

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Raven Ioneh, August 2018

I am a Northern Californian, born in Oakland, California where I currently reside. I grew up in Berkeley, California, but also in the woods of the Pacific Northwest and on the rocky beaches of California’s northern coast.   As a teenager, I developed a sense that people came to me with their injuries and ailments for…

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Raine Quinn, August 2021

I live in Perth, Western Australia with a loving husband, son and daughter-in-law, two labradors, two rabbits, two ducks and many visiting birds.  Our wonderful daughter also lives in Perth. Keisha and Noxy, our beautiful labradors, are mother and daughter. Noxy is due to give birth next month.  I am a registered home breeder and…

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Rachael Witt, May 2018

Rachael Witt, May 2018

Hello! My name is Rachael Witt. I am a land-steward, herbalist, and teacher of ancestral skills. I grew up amidst the Oak woodlands in the foothills of the Sierras. As I explored the world around me, studying plant ecology and ethnobotany, opportunities led me to the small town of Duvall, Washington, where I am currently…

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Pascale Richalet, June 2019

Born and raised in France, I came to Boston with my family about twenty years ago to pursue a scientific education in biochemistry and biophysics. An avid Aikido student for many years, I have always been attracted to Eastern philosophies. While working my first science job, I took evening classes and earned a Zen Shiatsu…

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Panda Hershey, May 2021

I came to appreciate the power of herbs fairly late in life. After working as a postdoctoral researcher in cell biology for several years and then an institutional investor in private equity, venture capital and agriculture for nearly 2 decades, I found my calling as a healer. Through my  Chinese medicine, acupressure and tui na…

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Nerija Hopkins, November 2022

I was born in Lithuania while it was part of the Soviet Union. We were a self sustaining family, living and surviving on the labor of our farm. My father’s work as a forester connected me with nature and I developed a great respect of earth’s bounties. Growing up, we used many of nature’s plants…

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Natalie Morrissey, November 2020

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California and majored in Business Administration at the University of Hawaii because I felt it was a good foundation.  I worked as an accountant in the construction industry for about 20 years and then in the airline industry for about 17.  Sometime in 2015, I…

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Meghane Hernandez, October 2022

I always loved plants, as a little girl I craved to taste the sweetness of honeysuckle and play along with the soft sleeping grass. I first began my pathway to herbalism by working at Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods, assisting customers in the supplements department. This was my first exposure to herbal medicine and I was…

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Mark Shanagher, January 2019

I was lucky, though having been born in London, to have spent much time in Nature as a young boy. My mum who’s Polish also brought us up on natural foods and medicines at home and by the time I was a young student I was talking peoples ears off about natural being the best!…

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Liz Collins, April 2020

My name is Liz Collins.  My first passion in the recognition of physical and spiritual health is the practice of yoga, with over 25 years of teaching and study. I was certified in the Iyengar tradition through the Center for Yoga of Seattle in 1997. In the past 14 years I have immersed myself in the Shadow…

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Linda Talbott, December 2021

I grew up in a small town in New England. My soul was at home in the hardwood forests and in the arts, singing, dancing, playing music, sewing, drawing and painting. I moved to Chicago and trained in the visual arts at an amazing museum/school and for years had a tandem career as an exhibiting…

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laurel paxton

Laurel Paxton, October 2019

My name is Laurel Paxton, I grew up in the beautiful oceanic community of Santa Cruz, CA. I currently live in South Lake Tahoe, where I spend my days homeschooling my children and studying the healing arts. I love studying herbology from around the world and everything around me as much as possible! I have…

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Lani Nelson, September 2020

I grew up in the small town of Yuba City, CA. I spent most of my childhood helping do the inventory of my local health food store’s vitamin department. It was one of my favorite things to do as I learned about herbal remedies and all the crazy big names. I used that knowledge as…

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Krista Edwards, June 2021

After graduating in 2002 with a degree in Physical Education and a certification through the American Council on Exercise, I set out with the ambition to try to make the world a healthier place as a personal trainer. It did not take me long to see that diet and exercise were not the silver bullet…

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Kim Goodwin, February 2023

  Well, I’m finally doing what I love; plants, nature, herbs, healing and learning. I’ve been involved in East West for a couple years. My original goal was to heal myself of a debilitating autoimmune disease that kept perplexing medical doctors. While they remained perplexed, I became more sick. My journey started with a wonderful…

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Kelvin Todosi, August 2022

Plants and nature bring me great joy. Sometimes along the way all this delightful stuff I’ve learned helps brighten others’ days too, and to me that is worth all the while.  Herbalism was not a word or concept to me until my 20’s. The conceptualization that the wilderness around me was intelligent, symbiotic, full of ever-giving…

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Karin Williams, February 2022

Growing up in England, I have always loved trees, plants and nature walks. I studied Optimum Nutrition in London and that gave me a good background in getting the most out your food. My first interest in Herbalism was when, I was given a Nicholas Culpeper – The Complete Herbal book, I fell in love…

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Karen Wentlandt

Karen Wentlandt, July 2019

I currently live in Colorado with my husband. Our three boys are grown and finding their way in this world, just as we continue to find ours. I always believed my calling was to be writer. I pursued that calling as an undergraduate and graduate student. I wrote short stories. I worked on several books,…

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Kareem Charlton, December 2022

My name is Kareem Charlton, and I am from the sunny shores of The Bahamas. I worked many years as a certified lifeguard instructor, helping hundreds of persons from all walks of life and various countries. I always had a love for helping people, plants and nature. As a young boy I witnessed my grandmother…

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Joshua Samuelsen, December 2020

I grew up in London and then moved to Chico, California in my late teens. I studied International Communications at Chico State. During my Chico time, I also began my yoga journey, did my massage certification and other explored other modalities such Shiatsu and Reiki. I also worked for the weekly college paper, writing and…

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Joshua Kuhn, March 2019

My name is Josh Kuhn. I am an Ohio native and have for as long as I can remember felt a deep kinship with the natural world. Over the years I have worn many hats (bicycle builder, found object sculptor, mime) but have always come back to the land. In 2011 my wife Bix and…

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Jodi Martin, February 2019

Hi, my name is Jodi Martin.  I have been a student with East West since 11/2013.   I am from upstate New York but have been living on the Island of Kauai in Hawaii since 2011. I am a mother of three amazing daughters and most recently find myself with an empty nest.  While living in…

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