About Me

Hi, I'm Colleen, founder here at Herb Nerd, and lifelong free spirited, nature loving geek. 

I believe in the importance of strong community. "It takes a village" is my anthem. That’s the spirit of herbalism that drew me in immediately: A bunch of tree hugging, handcrafting, outdoorsy folks that like to get together to share knowledge and take walks?? RAD! In 2010, in an introductory herbal class with Jane Bothwell, I looked around and thought....these are my people! 

I’ve been blessed to forge a path using traditional and scientific herbalism to make things! The alchemy of creating something out of nothing is my jam. I have a deep love for compounding herbs, extracting constituents, nerding-out on solubility, and cumulating these precious parts into topical and internal health & wellness products.

Herbalism directs almost everything I do. My niche is herbal product formulation, which emerged out of my obsession for natural beauty products. I have been formulating wellness products for as long as I’ve been studying Herbalism. I meet you where I am at on that journey, as there is a vast landscape of knowledge still left to discover. This platform will continually grow its faculty of experts in cosmetic chemistry, phytochemistry, aromatherapy, herb cultivation, and much more!

At present and I am humbled to say that I am a Certified Herbalist, instructor at The California School of Herbal Studies, contributing writer at Traditional Medicinals, founder of Poppy Botanicals, and Herb Nerd, and herbal product developer and consultant for wellness brands nationwide.

I think the reason I love teaching so much is not only because I'm so passionate about my craft, but also because I love an audience: I have a bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre. That, and my virgo moon keep my classes quirky and fun, but also digestible. I get a lot of feedback from students that I have a knack for making concepts clear to understand and accessible to all types of learners. If you don’t understand it the first time, I’ll probably explain it 3 different ways until your eyes show that spark of understanding. 

I am so grateful that you have decided to join our community of Herb Nerds! I’m excited to teach you how to do what I do, ‘cause its so fun! Stay awhile as we build a legion of Herb Nerds!! 

Hugs, Colleen