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.

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. She consults through her company www.greenscentsations.com where you can hear lots of free interviews.

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. 

Jessica Flowers

Jessica Flowers is a mother, an earth tender, a certified clinical herbalist, and a medicine maker with over 20 years of experience working with medicinal herbs. She has dedicated her practice to the health of women and new families through traditional postpartum care and womb wisdom. She is the Cosmic Creatress for the organic seed-to-sale CBD wellness brand Moon Mother Hemp Company. Her special interest in women’s wellness and years of hands-on experience inform her formulation process in creating some of the most effective CBD products on the market. As a mother of two young daughters, Jessica is motivated to ensure that Moon Mother Hemp Company provides not only the cleanest possible supplements but does so in a way that helps preserve the environment for generations to come. Jessica’s life and practice are rooted in the rhythms of nature, and she is committed to restoring the connection between women and the land and their innate wisdom. She has been bringing education and ceremony to festivals, women’s gatherings, and circles through the Womb Wisdom series and through the Yoni steam ceremony

Melissa Beckwith

Melissa Beckwith is a graphic designer and artist living in Louisville, Colorado. With over 20 years of experience working with clay, she combines an elegant blend of form, function and detail making both hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery. Her ceramic work is both artistic and functional with a focus on surface texture and unique glaze combinations. Her inspiration comes from shapes and textures found in nature with a deep appreciation for the history of pottery as one of the oldest mediums of self-expression.

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.

Malia Thompson

Malia’s interest in foods and herbs as medicinals developed during her college days in Durango, Colorado. Malia loves learning about the many healing uses for foods, herbs and spices commonly found in most kitchens. She received her training in the Vitalist tradition of western herbalism at the Colorado School for Clinical Herbalism in Boulder, Colorado and hold Certificates in Clinical Nutrition and Clinical Herbalism. Growing her own herbs to make formulations and products is a very important part of her herbalist process. Malia’s other creative outlets include making art, sneaky healthy cooking (“kick-a** drumsticks” to name one), plant identification and admiration, medicine making, hikes in the mountains, and taking photos of flowers, bugs and anything interesting. Learn more at www.latebloomerherbals.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.

Julia Lyons

Julia Lyons is a certified Reiki Master/Teacher, Earth-centered Shamanic Healer, Yoga Teacher, Spiritual Hygiene Mentor, and voice for Sacred Tobacco. Julia has spent the past 3 years studying Herbalism, Wild Foods, Shamanic Healing, Traditional Maya Healing and Womb Massage (from the lineage of Miss Beatrice Torres Waight) through her primary teacher, Ann Drucker.
Julia is co-owner of Kundali Kombucha, a company committed to creating the most crisp, nutritious, reliably delicious kombucha tea possible using high quality, all organic ingredients and an unwavering, intentional awareness

Rebecca Lefebvre

After two decades working as a social worker, registered nurse, and graphic designer, Rebecca founded Avec La Vie to create tools for conscious, purposeful living. Since then she has created a collection of nature-inspired oracle decks (Fauna Inspiration, Flora Healing, and Fantastic Being), adult and children's books (Journey of One, Baby Bean, and Morning, Noon, and Night), and a series of intuitive-wisdom journals. In 2020, she launched Collective Wisdom, a mini-magazine exploring wellness for the mind, body, and soul–which includes activities for crafting a more joy-filled, balanced life. Rebecca lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, one cat, and five chickens in Colorado. Learn more at aveclavie.com.

Liz Faermark

Liz Faermark is a certified clinical herbalist and clinical nutritionist. Liz's passion for herbalism is deeply rooted in art. Rarely one to take conventional routes, her path to this work was a bit winding. She found that the practice of herbalism was at the crossroads of her life's other callings: years of farming, cooking, making music, wildcrafting, making and sharing plant medicine, teaching classes, and taking care of her community. Liz currently works as an herbalist and educator at the Little Herbal Apothecary in Lafayette, CO. Accessibility is central to her personal herbal philosophy. She's a big fan of doing what you can and using what you have. She deeply values thrift, ingenuity, and creativity in the practice of herbalism (and in life). The world is rich with accessible medicine — we just need to seek the right knowledge and skills to benefit from that abundance in a sustainable way.

Lauren Nichols-Sheffler

Lauren Ann Nichols strives to educate on the importance of bioregional herbalism and plant sustainability. She attended The Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism and received her certificate in medical herbalism. She is the owner of Herbal Vice aka Blue Yarrow Herbs, a small-batch skincare company cultivating herbs for skincare remedies. She is currently the sourcing & purchasing manager for Wish Garden Herbs.

Kristina Ayars

Kristina Ayars holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies and is an Herbalist and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She is passionate about connecting people with plants and the Earth and believes that connection, in general, is one of the most powerful healing forces. Kristina offers herbal consultations and teaches plant medicine classes in and around her Mancos, Colorado home. She loves to ride her bicycle and recently had the opportunity to combine bicycling and herbalism, while participating in and teaching plant medicine on a month-long bicycle tour in New Mexico!