About Me

People sometimes ask what brought me to this work. The honest answer is that there wasn't a single turning point. It has grown from many threads woven throughout my life.

My life has taken me along various paths. I studied anthropology at UC Davis, spent years working as a photographer, and eventually found myself immersed in several long, unexpected years of caring for a chronically ill child.

Nature has always been a sanctuary for me, but during those years, the natural world became an anchor. I tapped into its pulse. The changing seasons, the birdsong, the shifting hues of sunlight, the plants growing outside my door, and the stars accompanying me during sleepless nights reminded me that I belonged to something larger than the challenges unfolding within our home. That deepening relationship changed me.

During this time, sound became part of my life as well. Crystal bowls created moments of calm and presence. Drumming reverberated in a part of me that felt ancient. I eventually went to herbal school, where I further explored the relationship between people, plants, the body, and traditional knowledge.

Today I grow many of the herbs I work with because I find the entire process to be both grounding and connecting. Knowing that plants have been utilized for their medicinal properties across generations, including in my own lineage, further deepens my relationship with them.

I've always been someone who pays attention and listens deeply. I've long been drawn to symbolism and the ways we attach meaning to objects, actions, places, and seasons. Some symbols are rooted in cultural traditions, while others become personal over time. For me, ritual has become a way of giving those meanings space, a container for attention and intention.

Looking back, I can see threads running through all of it: curiosity about people and the worlds we create, a willingness to look at things closely and from afar, and a growing relationship with the natural world.

Root & Ritual is simply an expression of that journey.