:Meet Our Board of Directors
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Herbalists Without Borders is an international network of:
herbalists, traditional healers, complementary alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, botanical medicine product makers, botanical trades people, herb farmers, gardeners, ecologists, students & others who are interested in the vital roles of plants in primary health and wellness, sustainable agriculture, trade, botanical traditions, and ecological preservation. The HWB Board of Directors is comprised of HWB Members and Coordinators. Board members must be HWB members in order to serve. BOD Members serve 2 year terms, and meet bi-monthly for Board meetings, with bi-monthly Board hangouts and monthly committee meetings. Are you an HWB Member interested in serving on the HWB Board of Directors? Please email the office for more information. |
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Meet Our Board of Directors
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Denise Cusack, MIFPA - Interim Chair
Deerfield, Wisconsin, USA Denise first joined HWB in 2015 and volunteered as website coordinator before moving into the full time volunteer Executive Director role in fall of 2017. Denise served as ED for HWB from 2017-2022, growing HWB membership by over 600%, fundraising by 1000%, and expanded HWB social media reach from 0-53,900 Instagram followers, 7,000-27,000 Facebook followers, and more! Denise started the Herbal Action Podcast and Webinar series. Denise also developed the US Seed Grant program and the US Donation Distribution Network, and continues to work as HWB Coordinator for both programs from her farm. Denise is a clinical herbalist, certified aromatherapist, medicinal herb grower & plant conservationist, writer, artist, designer and brand manager, and Permaculture and Advanced Social Systems Designer (PDC). Denise lives at Lunar Hollow Farm, a botanical sanctuary in the United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary Network, where she grows and donates medicinal plants for the HWB seed grants, free clinics, and community outreach. Find her at Lunar Hollow Farm website, facebook, instagram. |
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Becky Starling - Co-Chair
North Okanagan/Shuswap, BC, Canada Becky Starling is a Community Herbalist and Education Manager with Wild Rose College of Herbal Medicine. She is passionate about organic gardening, creating herbal remedies, and inspiring and educating folks about plants and their many uses. She is the founder of Cedar Hill Herbs where she creates herbal tea blends and remedies from homegrown and ethically wildcrafted plants. She has studied with both the Chestnut School and Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine and is a co-founder and writer for the One World Herbal Community, a blog dedicated to the world of plants and herbalism. Becky has written several courses for Wild Rose College including Herbal Pregnancy & Childbirth and Advanced Formulation. She is a mother of two and lives in the interior of British Columbia and spends as much time as she can with her daughters in the beautiful forests and mountains where they hike, bike and forage for wild edibles. Becky is the Coordinator of the North Okanagan/Shuswap Chapter of HWB. Find Becky at cedarhillherbs.com, @cedarhillherbs, and Wild Rose College. |
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Carolyn Jones - Secretary
Brooklyn, New York, USA Carolyn Jones is a Holistic Health Educator and Chaplain who teaches the art of self-care and practices a ministry of presence. She is licensed by the New York State Chaplain Task Force and serves the community as an herbalist, a certified aromatherapist and reflexologist. Carolyn holds membership and affiliations with several prestigious organizations: The American Herbalists Guild, Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism, DOPO Doulas, and Herbalists Without Borders. She teaches community self-care topics and she is also a contributing writer with Mother Earth Living magazine. Respected by her peers, she embraces and is supported by a strong community of traditional and non-traditional healers who follow uniquely different paths that merge at the crossroads of community health. Carolyn is the Coordinator of The Healing Project, a Project under HWB: The Healing Project. |
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Arati Ursus -Treasurer
Portland, OR, USA Arati joined HWB to get involved with the Healing Project under HWB. Her healing focus is on trauma from sexual abuse and domestic violence, as well as addiction recovery support. Emotions, I want you to feel heard and heal. Find her at brownbearherbs.com. |
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Lucretia Jones, Wise Woman Herbalist, 200HR YTT
Virginia, USA Lucretia has been working and learning with plants for over twenty years and was first introduced to the wise woman tradition while living an artist’s life in New York City. Her father had passed away three days prior to the World Trade Center collapse in 2001, and that uncertainty sent her on a quest to find more autonomy and connection with the natural world. It was at this time that she found a love for connecting people with plants. As a wise woman herbalist, her favorite times are spent meeting new and old plant friends wherever she happens to be. Sharing those relationships with other humans led her to create House of Lukaya in 2003. House of Lukaya, is a mobile and online source for plant medicine workshops, incense twists and other handicrafts, and a pocket Guide to Nourishing Herbal Infusions. In 2019, Lucretia and her partner purchased land in Virginia where they are building a homestead from scratch and creating space to share herbs and arts with others. She welcomes your communication at her website houseoflukaya.com, and Instagram @houseoflukaya. |
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Petra Sovcov, CHT, DNM
Vancouver, BC, Canada Petra is a Clinical Herbal Therapist (CHT) and holds a Doctorate in Natural Medicine (DNM) awarded by the Examining Board of Natural Medicine Practitioners of Canada, and a Certified DNA/SNP Analysis Consultant. Petra teaches at colleges in her area and owns her own natural health/wellness practice in beautiful BC Canada. She is an active volunteer with Herbalists Without Borders International (HWB) and serves as Chair on their board of directors. She also runs the HWB Chapter for Vancouver BC and the local free people’s clinic. Petra is passionate about facilitating an individual’s healing path and enjoys enriching a person’s core health with the use of herbs, supplements, dietary, and lifestyle modifications. Her special herbal focus is on chronic inflammatory conditions/diseases. Apart from clinic and teaching, Petra is an avid gardener and sustainable small-scale food producer. She enjoys teaching out of her gardens and finds great meaning in sharing the message of sustainability with others. She is passionate about heirloom/native plant varieties, and domestic history, which she believes hold the solutions for the modern food crisis. Find Petra at: https://www.healinghouseherbal.com/ |
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Rebecca Trinidad
Tallahassee, Florida, USA Rebecca comes from a line of women that work to heal people and communities. After taking her health into her own hands using herbs, she sought out herbal training from Herbal Academy to obtain a foundation of knowledge to educate others. Rebecca started a chapter (HWB of the Big Bend) in her region in 2020 with another coordinator and has been building community ever since. She hopes to continue to support HWB's work in her role as Treasurer on the board as well as a chapter co-coordinator. Find her at: https://www.greenfolkherbs.com/ |