Crafting Your Herbal Practice
Introducing Our Teachers
Patricia Kyritsi Howell
Patricia Kyritsi Howell, RH (AHG), is an herbalist, teacher, author and mentor.
For thirty years, she was director of the BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies in the mountains of north Georgia.
The second edition of her book, Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians, was recently released, featuring 44 native plants, over 200 color photos, recipes and detailed recommendations for therapeutic protocols. It is considered an essential reference for the medicinal use of regional herbs.
Learn more here.
Kat Maier
Kat Maier, RH(AHG), is a clinical herbalist, author, and teacher. Her approach to herbalism combines her time studying traditional ways as a Peace Corps volunteer and training in biomedicine as a Physician’s Assistant.
Kat is the founder and director of Sacred Plant Traditions, a center for herbal studies in Charlottesville, Virginia. She inspired one of the first free herb clinics on the East Coast, which originated at Sacred Plant Traditions, and founded the Botanica Mobile Clinic. This nonprofit organization provides accessible herbal medicine to local communities.
Her books include Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions through Integration of Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine (2021) and co-author of Bush Medicine of San Salvador Island, Bahamas (2011). She has served as president of United Plant Savers and was the proud recipient of their first Medicinal Plant Conservation Award.
2026 Guest Teachers
Camille Freeman
Camille Freeman, RH(AHG), has practiced as a registered herbalist and licensed nutritionist since 2003, focusing on fertility and menstrual health. She runs Monday Mentoring, a community of practice for herbalists and nutritionists, and offers continuing education courses for highly trained practitioners. Camille also has a podcast: In the Clinic with Camille (intheclinic.com).
She's in the process of writing a book about how to use newsletters to build your 1:1 practice. You can find out about upcoming classes & sign up for her practitioner notes newsletter on her website: camillefreeman.com
Mimi Hernandez
Mimi Prunella Hernandez, M.S., R.H. (AHG), is a clinical herbalist with a master's degree in herbal medicine. As a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild, she has mentored students in clinical and community herbalism through various educational platforms. Mimi is known for her ability to explain complex information in a relatable way, which has gained her a dedicated following. For over a decade, Mimi served as the executive director of the American Herbalists Guild, where she worked tirelessly to ensure that herbalists have a solid professional community to support their work.
Her Colombian and Mexican Grandmothers inspire Mimi's herbal roots via a Latin American Folk Herbalism and Curanderismo lineage. While Mimi finds immense joy in practicing kitchen herbalism, she finds tremendous fulfillment in delivering herbal house calls. She loves providing baskets filled with homemade nourishing goodies, using the herbs she grows in her garden to provide natural remedies to those in need.
Emily Ruff
Emily Ruff is a community herbalist who has practiced the art and science of plant healing for over a decade and is a co-founder of the Crafting Your Herbal Practice course. Her journey into herbalism was inspired through apprenticeships in Guatemala under the tutelage of local healers on the southern coast of Lake Atitlan, in the mountains of Vermont at the feet of Rosemary Gladstar, and in the Central Florida apothecary Leaves & Roots with herbalists Carolyn Whitford and George D’Arcy.
Emily formed a nonprofit in 2018 to continue the legacy of Rosemary Gladstar, focusing on conservation, education, and healing through the stewardship of the Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary, where she currently serves as director. In 2005, she founded the Florida School of Holistic Living, a 501c3 nonprofit fostering a sustainable community through education and the Florida Herbal Conference in 2012. Emily received the American Botanical Council Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award in 2022.
