Our Speakers

Brigitte Mars

Brigitte Mars is an herbalist and nutritional consultant of Natural Health with almost fifty years of experience. She teaches Herbal Medicine at Naropa University, and The School of Health Mastery in Iceland. She has taught at Omega Institute, Esalen, Kripalu, Sivananda Yoga Ashram, Arise, Envision and Unify Festivals, and The Mayo Clinic. She blogs for the Huffington Post and Care2. She is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild.  Brigitte is the author of many books and DVDs, including The Home Reference to Holistic Health and Healing, The Country Almanac of Home Remedies, The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, Beauty by Nature, Addiction Free Naturally, The Sexual Herbal, Healing Herbal Teas, Rawsome! and co-author of The HempNut Cookbook. DVDs include Sacred Psychoactive, Herbal Wizardry for Kids of all Ages, Natural Remedies for Childhood Ailments, Overcoming Addictions, and Natural Remedies for Emotional Health. Her latest project is a phone app called iPlant. Brigitte and her daughter, Sunflower Sparkle Mars run Herb Camp for Kids in Boulder, Colorado. Brigitte’s other daughter is world famous activist/yogini-actress/ international model, Rainbeau Mars. Please check out www.brigittemars.com.

Erin Smith

Erin Smith is a clinical herbalist and ethnobotanist with more than 30 years experience working with medicinal plants. As an ethnobotanist, she worked internationally supporting the work of indigenous communities to promote their traditional knowledge and community based conservation efforts. With 15 years of experience in the herbal product industry, she has specialized in sustainability and social impact, product development, and research.  She is on the Board of the American Herbal Product Association, the ERB Foundation, and Advisory Board for American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Passionate about sustainability within the herbal industry and broader herbal community, she is Chair of the Sustainability Committee of the American Herbal Products Association and a Stewardship Council member for the Sustainable Herbs Initiative. She teaches internationally on herbal medicine, ethnobotany, sustainability, and the human/nature relationship. 

Mindy Green

Mindy is an herbalist, esthetician, aromatherapist, and author, writing and teaching extensively on herbs, essential oils, nutrition, skin care and natural lifestyles in her 50-year career. A natural foods enthusiast, she owned a vegan restaurant, herb and health food store in the 1970’s. She was a co-owner and faculty member at the California School of Herbal Studies and moved to Boulder in 1995 to teach at the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies and work for the non-profit medical library – The Herb Research Foundation. She is an advisory board member for the American Botanical Council (HerbalGram magazine) and the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She teaches the therapeutic uses of plant therapies to medical professionals at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson and the Academy of Integrative Heath and Medicine in San Diego. Mindy is a founding and professional member of the American Herbalists Guild and a Registered Aromatherapist with advanced training in essential oils from Purdue University. Google her (Mindy Green, aromatherapy), where you can find lots of free interviews/articles.

Julia Lyons

Julia Lyons is an Earth-Based Shamanic Healing Practitioner, Folk Herbalist and Spiritual Guide. Her connection to the Earth and spirit realms inspire everything she facilitates and offers. Through earth-centered classes, healing work and mentorships, she supports people on their spiritual paths & healing journeys so they can feel empowered to live authentically and feel confident in moving through their own unique process of becoming their best versions of themselves. If you interested in learning more, please visit her website and reach out! julialyonshealingarts.com 

Laura Clemmons

Laura is a functional clinical herbalist who has been a long-time student of integrative therapies, herbal medicine, and earth centered shamanistic healing arts. For 23 years Laura has been practicing the art of earth centered herbalism. She comes from a strong lineage of Italian healers, known as the Strega. She has held a professional herbal practice since 2003. . Her work attends to physical, emotional, and spiritual issues, recognizing that these systems are intertwined and inseparable.Laura teaches herbal classes throughout the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, and is a presenter at the Spokane Herbal Guild.
Founder and owner of Tendril Herbal Apothecary and Healing Center in Sandpoint, ID, an integrative health care clinic, Laura is blending the best of ancient wisdom and modern technology along with creating a culture for practitioners of support and community. Laura is also active within her local and broader communities. She runs the Sandpoint Women’s Red Tent and acts as a mentor for both mothers and menarche girls in coming-of-age ceremony.

Melissa Beckwith

Melissa Beckwith is a graphic designer and artist based in Louisville, Colorado. She has over twenty years of experience working across many artistic mediums including graphic design, pottery, printmaking, watercolors and acrylics.
Her work is often inspired by nature and influenced in the way humans interact with the environments they inhabit. By combining principles of graphic design with fine art practices, Melissa creates work that bridges digital design to abstract with hands-on, tactile processes. Texture, color, and layering play a central role in her practice, resulting in thoughtful, balanced compositions.

Faith Rodgers

Faith is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and owner of the Little Herbal Apothecary in Lafayette, CO. Faith has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois. She received certifications in Herbalism and Nutrition at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism and completed a Botany certification through the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. Faith founded the Little Herbal Apothecary in 2015, a community herb shop offering a wide range of herbs, oils, teas and handcrafted skincare products.

As an herbalist, Faith’s biggest passion is botanical skincare. She has spent years formulating and developing her own techniques to create clean, botanically-infused skincare products. She works as a consultant helping companies with product development and formulation. Faith has been teaching medicine making workshops in the boulder area for the past 15 years and loves empowering people to create their own herbal products at home. You can browse the apothecary, find great recipes, or check out Faith’s upcoming workshop schedule at thelittleherbal.com.

Sara Stewart Martinelli

Sara Martinelli is an herbalist, ethnobotanist, green witch, and the CEO of The Boulder Tea Company, as well as the owner of Three Leaf Farm, a small urban organic farm, botanical sanctuary, and education center. She holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Colorado, with an emphasis on nutrition and culture, where she developed a deep interest in how food, herbs, and plants shape society, religion, and tradition. Her passion for ethnobotany led her to explore the historic and folkloric uses of herbs, eventually earning her certification from the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies in Boulder, Colorado.

Together with her husband, Sara owns several beloved Boulder-area restaurants, including the iconic Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant, The Chautauqua Dining Hall, The Huckleberry, and Zucca. She is also the creator of the Botanica Festival, a celebration of plants and herbal wisdom, and teaches numerous workshops throughout the year on the medicinal, spiritual, and folkloric uses of herbs. A prolific writer and educator, Sara has published extensively on herbal health, wellness, and plant magic, sharing her knowledge and passion with the community.

Liz Faermark

Liz Faermark is a Midwest born and Mountain West based certified clinical herbalist and herbal educator with over a decade of experience in the herb world. From farming and wildcrafting, to medicine-making and working at an apothecary, teaching, and running clinical practice. Liz is the owner and sole operator of Talk Wild Herbs, where she sees clients through her private practice, and serves as an herbal educator teaching community classes and running a six month long in-person mentorship program. Liz is also a faculty member at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, where she teaches beginner, advanced and clinical herbal studies. Teaching is Liz's favorite way to share herbalism. She's a part-time comedian who brings her signature warmth, wit and wildness to every class she teaches.

Lauren Nichols-Sheffler

Immersed in the verdant world of herbalism, Lauren Ann Nichols Sheffler blossomed at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, where she earned her certificate in medical herbalism. Rooted in deep reverence for crafting herbal remedies with land and place, she champions bio-regional herbalism and reciprocal bonds between plants, people, and place. For seven years, Lauren has specialized in herbal distillation - hand crafting hydrosols from fresh plants and tending this ancestral art with precision and heart.
Her dedication to education and sustainability shines through guest teaching in community herbalism courses, teaching at CSCH, supporting the Sustainable Herbs Initiative, stewarding wild lands, and hosting community classes at her United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary in Denver, CO.
As Senior Sourcing & Purchasing Manager at WishGarden Herbs, she weaves her passion for ethical sourcing and botanical stewardship into every aspect of the supply network, cultivating a future where plants and people thrive together.

Allie Olson

Fiber arts have been a constant presence for all of Allie’s life. Originally from Montana, she's the daughter of a prolific fiber and mixed media artist. As an adult, she has worked primarily as a clothing designer, creating sewing patterns for the home hobbyist. In the past several years, her interests have expanded into weaving, basketry, and natural dyes. She can often be found scanning the forest floor looking for fodder for her next crafting project.

Yoshua Greenfield

Yoshua began his journey in Brooklyn's bustling music and food scene but found his true calling in the quiet mountains of Colorado, where he embraced a simpler, more nature-aligned lifestyle. This transformation led him to explore the ancient art of fermentation, a passion that quickly turned into a cornerstone of his daily life and teachings.
Yoshua's approach to fermentation is rooted in a deep appreciation for the natural world and the desire to live a more connected and sustainable life. Through fermenting various foods, he discovered not only a way to enhance the nutritional value and flavor of everyday meals but also a profound form of meditation and mindfulness.
Yoshua's teachings are an invitation to anyone interested in delving into the world of fermentation, seeking a deeper connection with the food they consume, and embracing a lifestyle that celebrates the wonders of the natural world

Erik Montoya

Erik is a nurse, community herbalist, and death worker whose practice is rooted in education, reverence for nature, and compassionate presence at the end of life. He earned his first Bachelor of Science from Metropolitan State University of Denver in Integrative Therapies, completed his 500-hour herbal certification through the Herbal Academy of New England, and received his BSN in Nursing from Regis University.

Erik previously served as President of the Denver Medicinal Plant Society at the Denver Botanic Gardens, where he helped foster community education around medicinal plants and ethical herbal practice. He wildcrafts, teaches, and continually learns from the lessons offered by herbs, death, and the natural world.

As a hospice nurse, Erik has been honored to walk alongside more than 100 patients at the time of their death and has been present for several Medical Aid in Dying ingestions, experiences that deeply inform his work and worldview. He is a devoted follower of Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, often post-colonially translated as Santa Muerte, and approaches death as a sacred and instructive companion rather than an ending.

Summer Downs

Summer (they/she) is an ancestral ritualist, death doula, witch, writer, funeral director, and grief tender based on the lands of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and Ute peoples in Colorado. They spend their days crafting meaningful ceremonies, planting memorial trees, and walking alongside individuals and families through grief, dying, and remembrance. In her five years as a full-time deathworker, she has served hundreds of beloveds and their families. She is also a co-owner of the herbalist & artisan collective Chthonic Apothecary and a co-author (with Erik Montoya) of the Herbal Deathcare zine series. 

Summer’s work is rooted in reclaiming and reimagining ways of living that honor the land, our ancestors and Beloved Dead, and the kinship ecosystems that sustain community. A sibling loss survivor, Summer brings lived experience, deep listening, and creative devotion to all they do. Her lineage of teachers includes Francis Weller (Grief Rituals), Adrian Mintzmyer (Mountain Herbalism), Alua Arthur (Going with Grace), Sam Coffman (Herbal Medic), and Shauna Janz (Sacred Grief). She is a certified Life-Cycle Celebrant and has a MA in International Development.

They are also a performance artist, folk herbalist, and avid reader, with a lifelong love of thunderstorms and juniper trees.