Hi, I’m Sam. I am a gay, white, non-binary (pronouns she or they) triple Virgo with a penchant for whimsy.   I’m an herbalist, educator, folk healer, plant tender, community organizer and witch.  I talk with plants, sing to mountains and listen to rocks.  And I encourage everyone to try this at least once or twice because you never know, it might change your life.  In my spare time I dream up weird art and search for the perfect swim spot with my scruff angel dog Cannoli.   

I began working with herbal medicine as a teenager, hungry to find accessible and effective ways to support the health and wellbeing of my family and community.  So much gratitude to Christa Sinadinos, Greta De La Montagne, Karyn Sanders and Sarah Holmes for shaping me into the herbalist I am proud to be today.  Alongside plant medicine, I have studied nutrition, body work, energy work, ritual and horticultural therapy.  I view healing as an art form and in that sense, I am very much a multimedia artist.  It’s hard to believe a decade has passed since I started working clinically as an herbalist and teaching community herb classes!        

In my healing practice I currently offer one on one holistic herbal consultations as well as community and private herb classes.   My work is dedicated to helping people come home to themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I support students and clients in reclaiming agency over their bodies, and remembering that they have the strength to heal.  My training and experience show me that there is no healing the body without also healing the heart and spirit, so get ready to go deep ok?  

I’m not sure that kid me could have conceived the adult I’ve become today, or perhaps she absolutely could have. While I loved talking to plants as a child, I wasn’t one of those people that dreamed of being an herbalist one day. Actually, I wanted to be a singer (despite having a pleasant yet unremarkable voice). Herbalism found me, really. Somehow all the branches of my life converged to a point where I couldn’t not become a clinical herbalist. In working with the plants I have been able to access a profound connection to my ancestry, my self-worth, and my community. Herbalism saved my life.

I grew up in San Francisco, the first born daughter of Nicaraguan immigrants. My ancestors are both European and Indigenous to so-called Central America. I live in a white-presenting body, something that has often confused people when they hear me speak fluent Spanish. I am aware of my light-skinned privilege and I am dedicated to anti-oppression work, decolonizing my lineage, and reconnecting to my Indigenous traditions. I am also Mami to Joaquín Marcelo and Soche Quetzal, my sons.

My formal education in herbalism started in 2012. What began as an interest in natural perfumery developed into a curiosity for aromatherapy, which ultimately lead me to whole plant medicine. The more I learned about folk medicine, the more aligned I felt to who I really am and what my work in the world is. After many shorter programs with the likes of Mandy Aftel, Elizabeth Jones, and Jeanne Rose, I discovered Karyn Sanders and Sarah Holmes of the Blue Otter School of Herbal Medicine. Under their support and guidance, I started my private clinical practice in 2016.

Since then I’ve also trained as a traditional birthworker and continue my studies in Curanderismo within my cultural lineage. I offer a small line of medicina under La Yerba Buena Herbs. I am also a host for The Herbal Highway podcast and a member of the Siskiyou Chapter of Seeds of Ancestral Renewal (SOAR).