AHG Staff and Volunteers
Staff

Mimi Hernandez comes from a background as an herbalist and an ethnobotanist. She has a Master of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute and a Certificate in Non Profit Management from Duke University. Mimi believes strongly that keeping plant wisdom alive is essential and has dedicated her life's work to serving as an advocate for both traditional and professional herbal pathways while building cultural bridges of understanding.

Heather Lee Compton was born in Chicago, but has deep roots in Western North Carolina where she has resided most of her life. A love of plants and the natural world was instilled in her by her parents from an early age. She graduated from Brevard College in 2002 with a BA in Fine Art. She enrolled in 2008 at the Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism in Asheville, NC, finishing both the Fundamentals in Herbalism program and Traditional Herbalism certification program. Heather has published a book on Herbal Body Care with Sterling Press. She brings almost two decades of management experience in both the for profit and non-profit sectors to the American Herbalist Guild. In her free time Heather runs long distances competitively; makes art; gardens; dances; volunteers and does social justice work; and plays with her animals: pibble Lilith, cats Luna and Autumn, and snake Lazarus.

Rachel is a passionate lover of the natural world and reveres the deep healing power of plants. She has helped a variety of people through her work as a clinical herbalist, certified hypnotist, and Reiki practitioner, and believes in empowering people with knowledge to have agency over their health. In 2008, Rachel completed the Roots of Herbalism program at the California School of Herbal Studies, and continued her clinical training with Karta Purkh Khalsa. She has also completed her initial training as a death doula, and looks forward to developing that work. Additionally, Rachel has worked for the past 4 years as the office manager for a Feldenkrais practitioner. When not working, Rachel enjoys cooking (and eating!), traveling to places with beautiful landscapes, studying astrology and psychology, gardening, creating ritual, and doting on her cats. She is committed to social justice and dismantling internal and external systems of oppression.

Sarah has found joy and wonder in the natural world since childhood. She completed her BA in Philosophy from University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2006, writing her senior thesis on environmental care-based ethics and expanding moral communities to include non-human forms of life. She brings years of professional and non-profit experience. Some of her interests beyond herbalism are: social justice work, cooking plant-based foods, gardening, watching birds, studying astrology and world religions, writing, and reading novels. She enjoys living in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and masked tuxedo cat, Mogget.

Patricia Kyritsi Howell, a Registered Herbalist since 1997, is the AHG Admissions Coordinator. In this role, she acts as the liaison between Registered Herbalist applicants, the Admissions Review Advisory Committee members, and AHG staff to facilitate communication and provide support to members pursuing RH membership. As the AHG Academic Coordinator, she oversees academic programming and the selection of speakers for the annual AHG Symposium. Patricia is the author of Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians and the director of the BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies, located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of northeast Georgia.

Nicolina is a Panamanian-American herbalist, medicine maker, and healing arts practitioner and has been involved in the world of wellness for over 14 years. Nicolina is a graduate of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine in Asheville, NC. and owns and operates her own herbal medicine line. She is currently working on projects to make holistic wellness & herbal medicine accessible and culturally relevant to BIPOC folks in her community. She enjoys hiking, swimming in waterfalls, and creating herbal remedies at home in the Appalachian mountains.

Davie Roberts was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He realized at a young age that he had a connection with nature and the healing that is intrinsic to it. As a mixologist for most of his life he has learned many beneficial pairings of spirits and herbs that entice and awaken the body. Davie has been mixing drinks and serving vegan comfort food at Rosetta's Kitchen since 2010 and loves keeping the people in his community with full bellies and healthy minds. David lives in West Asheville with his husband Brandon, dogs Allister and Olive, and feline friend Herman.

Jay Bartel (they/them) is a white queer clinical herbalist and community health educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota (occupied Dakota and Anishinaabe land). Jay is a graduate of the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism (2019) and a contributor to the forthcoming Trans Herb Book. As a herbal practitioner, Jay strives to create a healing space that is welcoming, affirming, and grounded in principles of harm reduction and trauma awareness. Jay is inspired by autonomous community health projects that seek to build resilient communities in the face of societal repression, such as the community acupuncture programs initiated by the Black Panthers and Young Lords at Lincoln Detox Center; the Jane Collective, ACT UP, and much more.

Shabina is a mixed Indian, Persian and French herbalist who has been involved in healing justice work and movements for liberation for the last decade. She works to support people in reclaiming their traditional knowledge through their connection with ancestral plants and has used herbal medicine as a way to fundraise for BIPOC-led movements for freedom.
She is a graduate of the Living Earth School of Herbalism and the School of Ayurveda and Panchakarma in Kerala. She has studied alongside herbalists such as Dr. Nadine Ijaz, Janette Cormier and Scott Reid. She is currently in her final year at Humber College’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner Program. Shabina hopes to continue the important work of accurately applying energetic qualities to invasive herbs growing on Turtle Island, reclaiming traditional Ayurvedic acupuncture and, of course, fighting for total liberation.

Michele is a clinical herbalist based in Oklahoma and also has two bachelor’s degrees in public health, and in Complementary and Alternative Health. In addition to being the AHG’s webinar coordinator, Michele works for various other herbal schools, helping them with technical support, creating classroom content, and building/managing their online classrooms. Michele also teaches herbalism classes and volunteers for various special needs support groups and charities in her community. Her favorite hobbies include collecting herb books for her bookshelves, collecting bookshelves for her herb books, collecting mason jars for her herbs, and collecting plants for her garden. She can be reached at webinars@americanherbalistsguild.com.

Andrea Boucaud, known to many as "PEACHTREE," is an advocate for and supporter within the grassroots organizing and community development spaces. She is also a well-known cannabis advocate in Toronto. She is the creator of "Cloud and Roots with the Ganja Diplomats," a podcast created to inspire and share the stories of the Black communities' success and challenges within the legalization space in Canada and the diaspora. She has worked within the community development and arts spaces for over 15 years in many roles, including small business creation, advocacy, and social justice, all-while maintaining her passion for fashion. Peachtree advocates for all things "GREEN," focusing on urban agriculture, community gardens, farmers markets, and all ways food intersects with equity and representation.
She is a mother, daughter, social justice advocate, an ancient soul, and an African woman in the diaspora, re-learning how to grow good food every day.
Peachtree works to support many organizing spaces both locally and internationally. These include The Black Creek Food Justice Network, Black Creek Community Farm, Toronto Food Policy Council, Flemingdon Community Health Centre, and Frontline Books (Chicago, Trinidad). She is the current secretary and acting Omega stool of the Agriculture Committee for The Association of Rastafari Creatives.
Peachtree is a grower of all things with a seed and a creator of plant-based herbal wellness medicines.

Heather Wood Buzzard, MA, is a writer, wildcrafter, and herbalist. Heather completed her three-year clinical herbalist training at the Appalachian Center for Natural Health with renowned fifth-generation herbalist Phyllis Light while concurrently earning her MA in Writing and Narrative Medicine from Lenoir-Rhyne University. As a health writer and consultant, Heather produces content for herbal entities and has been a regular staff contributor to publications including Paleo Magazine, Aromaculture, HerbMentor, and Herbaria. She is currently at work on a book of vignettes about wildcrafting medicinal plants as well as a guidebook for natural health practitioners titled Narrative Herbal Medicine. Her focus within the rising fields of integrative medicine and creative writing spotlights the efficacy of narrative healthcare, traditional herbalism, and expressive therapy.