Our Faculty
ArborVitae’s faculty is composed of a strong team of teachers with noted expertise and experience. We continue to build our instructor base, with the goal to assemble a faculty that reflects the diversity of approaches to herbal medicine and backgrounds present in the greater herbal community. We are dedicated to honoring the vibrant herbal community of New York and our region by bringing local teachers and experienced practitioners into the classroom as regular weekly teachers. In addition, some instructors will visit the school periodically to teach in an intensive manner.

A clinical herbalist and flower essence therapist with an additional specialty in food and nutrition therapy. She has a private practice in Germantown NY (Columbia county) and in Manhattan, NY since 1999. Claudia also teaches regularly about herbs, flower essences and traditional foods in practitioner study groups, workshops and conferences and offers private mentoring for clinical practice.

RH is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Brooklyn and in Sullivan County, NY. Richard has been practicing as an herbalist since 1997, with a background in both Chinese and Western herbal traditions. In addition to seeing clients he teaches classes in herbal medicine, medicine making, and botany. He is currently on the faculty at David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies in Washington, NJ. Until 2009 Richard was the Director of the Clinical Herbalist Diploma Program.

Sam Perry runs a clinical herbalism practice from his office Albany, NY. In addition to clinical work, Sam leads herb apprenticeships, classes and plant and mushroom walk in Prospect Park in collaboration with Sacred Warrior. He also represents the medicinal herb farm RavenCrest Botanicals every Saturday at a farmer’s market in the Lower East Side’s Seward Park. He is a proud alumni of Arbor Vitae’s 3 year professional program and is thrilled to join the team.

An Erie-based herbal practitioner, teaching locally and online. Her herbal interests include clinical work, herbs for the mouth (she’s author of Dental Herbalism: Natural Therapies for the Mouth) and age-old maritime herbal medicine.

Ann is the Director of the American Botanical Council's Sustainable Herbs Program, & a writer and anthropologist (PhD, Harvard 1995) whose work explores the relationships between humans and the earth, most recently through her work with plants and plant medicine. She is the author of The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicine in a Global Industry, & is the co-producer of the documentary Numen: the Nature of Plants.

Founder of Wisewoman Healing Ways – Herbal Medicine and EarthSpirit Teachings, is a gifted herbalist, writer, and spiritual teacher. Since 1986 she has taught at schools, clinics, progressive and holistic organizations, herbal conferences, and most joyously, outside with the plants. Robin has a private consultation practice in New Jersey and is in the 9th year of offering a monthly sliding scale clinical teaching practice for herbalists at a medical center in Bronx, NY.

Dr. Yuria Celidwen (Nahua/Maya) is of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. As a scholar, she works on the intersection of Indigenous studies, cultural psychology, and contemplative science. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary approaches across Indigenous contemplative traditions to how the experience of self-transcendence is embodied and enhances prosocial behavior (ethics, compassion, kindness, reverence, and a sense of awe, sacredness, and love).

Is a clinical herbalist and nutritionist with a deep love of plants. She is the Interim Program Director of the Masters of Science in Herbal Medicine Program at Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, MD. Bevin has studied herbal medicine around the world and blends her knowledge of traditional uses of plants with modern science and contemporary healthcare strategies. Her clinical practice focuses on wellness, nutrition, infection, and women’s health.

The founder of Red Moon Wellness in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Lena is a clinical herbalist, licensed massage therapist, certified birth doula, certified lactation counselor and certified childbirth educator. Her wellness practice focuses on women’s health and the childbearing cycle through therapeutic massage, herbal and nutritional consultation, and birth and breastfeeding support. She also integrates fire cupping, hydrotherapy, and aromatherapy into her clinical work.

Is a clinical herbalist with a strong focus on food activism and nutritional healing. She has been teaching classes about the use of herbs for food, medicine, and pleasure, including wild food foraging and cooking, for more than twenty years. Early on in her herbal studies, she had a three year, private one-on-one tutorial /apprenticeship with William LeSassier. Dina produces Falcon Formulations natural body care products and Earthly Extracts medicinal tinctures.

Vilde came to herbal medicine with the desire to bring effective tools for self-care to her life and her community. She has been practicing herbalism and teaching workshops since 2007, with the intention of making herbal medicine accessible, to connect people to the plant world, and help empower people to be in charge of their own healing process. She helped found and run a free LGBTQ herbal clinic in Cleveland, OH, and specializes in herbal support for trans clients.

is the Executive Medical Director of Fratellone Medical Associates and has the distinction of being one of the few integrative cardiologists in the U.S. and the only integrative physician in NYC with active admitting privileges at three city hospitals. Dr. Fratellone is a Fellow of Integrative Medicine with a degree from the University of Arizona, where he studied under the directorship of Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. Dr Fratellone has completed herbal studies at the Northeast School of Botanicals.

Amy Galper has been passionately engaged as an advocate, educator, entrepreneur, formulator and consultant within the natural and organic beauty and wellness space for over 13 years. She is the owner of Buddha Nose an award winning yoga-inspired brand of mind-body-beauty products and was one of the first organic body care brands to have a national and global presence messaging the critical need for safe, toxic-free beauty and body care products world-wide.

Specializing in integrative approaches to ENT illness in adults and children, Dr. Haddon perceives herself as a partner to patients with acute and chronic ailments of the head and neck. Many such disorders are amenable to treatment and cure without reverting to conventional western medical treatment or surgery. Dr. Gereau Haddon is committed to helping her patients understand their illnesses, get to the root of the problem, and find a treatment plan that fits their lifestyle and needs.

has been practicing herbalism in the East Village of Manhattan for over two decades. In 1993, she established Flower Power Herbs and Roots, an herbal apothecary, an herbal hub for NYC. Lata works with various schools and community groups, and is also very active in supporting herbal relief work, from street medics at Occupy to partnering with larger efforts wherever needed. Lata has appeared in publications including the New York Times, NY magazine, and on TV shows including the New York Times.

Is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Herbalist, Bodyworker and Labor Doula. She founded Earth & Sky Healing Arts ten years ago with a vision to help people live to their fullest potential while staying rooted in the wisdom of the body. Inspired by her background in science, she has pursued numerous trainings in the healing arts. Her practice focuses on women’s health, pregnancy, and fertility, as well as integrative structural bodywork.

Kat Maier RH, (AHG) is the founder and director of Sacred Plant Traditions, a center for herbal studies in Charlottesville, Virginia. In clinical practice for over 30 years, Kat teaches internationally at universities, conferences, & herbal schools. She is a founding member of Botanica Mobile Clinic, a nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible herbal medicine to local communities.

Is a Fellow of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and a Member of the Ayurvedic Practitioners’Association. She has been in clinical practice working as a medical herbalist for nearly 35 years and for the last 25 years has incorporated Ayurvedic philosophy and mediine into her practice, producing an integrated approach to the care of patients and prescription of herbs.

Dr. Jody E. Noé, a graduate of Old Dominion University (BS, MS) and Bastyr University (ND), is the author of the Textbook of Integrative Naturopathic Oncology. Dr. Noe is also an adjunct professor at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine (UBCNM), Bridgeport CT. She is the founder of the Integrative Oncology Clinic at UBCNM. She has served as senior staff physician and integrative researcher in oncology at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Owner of Well of Indigenous Wisdom’s Kuti Wellness, formerly Ola’s Herb Shop, Ola Obasi has been working in the wellness field for over 15 years. She is a yoga and dance instructor, medical herbalist, nutritionist and birth doula. She is the founder of Three Rivers Free Clinic for the People, a free community service and partnership to Herbalists without Borders in PA. She also founded Well of Indigenous Wisdom School, a 3 year program immersed in herbal medicine and the healing arts.

Seán Pádraig O’Donoghue is an herbalist, writer, and teacher, and an initiated Priest in two traditions. He lives in the mountains of western Maine. Seán’s approach to healing weaves together the insights of traditional western herbalism and contemporary science. He regards physical, spiritual, and emotional healing as deeply intertwined. He is a columnist for Plant Healer Magazine and the author of two books: The Forest Reminds Us Who We Are and Courting the Wild Queen.

Susanna Raeven is an herbalist and owner of Raven Crest Botanicals, a small-scale organic herb farm nestled into the hills in upstate NY. Her farm has grown with her plant knowledge and she continuously expands her green horizon together with the size of her growing space and number of herbs cultivated. In addition to Western herbalism she is studying the concepts of TCM and is diving deeper into the world of healing master plants from the Amazon.

Avi-Rose (they/them), MS Therapeutic Herbalism, is a jewish and queer community-based clinician, educator, medicine maker & Third Root Herbal Department leader. Their roots & realities include a tangle of working-class lessons, artistic lineage, disability, inter-generational trauma, white-skin privilege, and immeasurable resilience and laughter. Rising from and growing within these contexts, Avi-Rose dedicates their movements in the world to cultivating practices of justice, awareness, and joy!

Karen Rose is trained in Eastern and Western Herbal Medicine and is personally dedicated to empowering individuals to make informed decisions with regards to their health and lives. This dedication led to the creation of Sacred Vibes Healing in 2002. As owner of Sacred Vibes Healing and the Sacred Vibes Apothecary, a Brooklyn-based, community herbal apothecary, Karen is connected to both the earth and the community in which she practices, consults and teaches herbal medicine.

Oscar has a bachelor's degree in Nutrition Science & minor in Anthropology with a focus on Traditional Medicine at the University of Georgia. After 3000+hrs of hands-on apprenticeship training and national board exams, Oscar earned national Board Certification in both Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture in 2009.


7Song is a western clinical herbalist, botanist, and nature devotee and has been practicing his craft for over 25 years. He is the director and main teacher at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine in Ithaca, NY. He also practices at the Ithaca Free Clinic, a mixed modality free clinic offering holistic and conventional medicine. One of his particular specialties is wilderness first aid, honed by running first aid booths at Rainbow gatherings and other events for decades.

Tammi Sweet has earned a Master’s Degree in Neurobiology and Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Connecticut. She is a licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Yoga Instructor and a member of the American Herbalist Guild. She co-founded and co-directs Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials including Heartstone Herbal School. She has been teaching Anatomy & Physiology for 24 years. Her students have included

A clinical herbalist for 25 years, working with both eastern and western herbs. She received a MS in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College, a four year Master’s degree certified by the States of New York and California. She has been on the faculty of the David Winston Center for Herbal Education, the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences, and currently is on the faculties of New York College of Health Professions and the ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism.

Owne the White Pine Healing Center in Glen Spey, NY and is developing a domestically-sourced Chinese herbal pharmacy at Worker Bee Community Acupuncture in Milford, PA where he practices herbal medicine and shiatsu. He is available at Integral Yoga in Manhattan and Antidote Apothecary and Tea Bar in Brooklyn, and teaches at various locations. He is regarded as an expert on wild edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms and offers wildcrafted herbs through an herbal “CSA” and various herb shops

An active practitioner of traditional Western herbalism since 1982. Matthew has lectured extensively in all parts of the United States, as well as in Canada, Scotland, England, France, and Australia. He is also the author of six acclaimed books on herbal medicine, including:The Book of Herbal Wisdom, The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism and The Earthwise Herbal(s).