ASHH FACULTY
Joseph All
awos, Botany and Organic Gardening
Joe Allawos, MS has spent the better part of his adult life studying plants. He holds a Master of Science Degree in botany with a focus in Plant Systematics and is a full time Instructor of Biology at Asheville Buncombe College. In addition, he is owner and operator of Sugar Creek Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Big Sandy Mush, North Carolina. His pursuits in agriculture and botany have taken him from the high Andes of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Argentina, to the Amazon basin of Northern Brazil, to the deserts of Northern Africa.
Luke Cannon, Eth
nobotany and Primitive Skills
More than an ethnobotanist, Luke Cannon is a long-time pursuer of the magic and medicine of plants. Passionate about green beings and the beautiful intricacies of their ecology, Luke shares his knowledge of local flora and his enthusiasm for building closer relationships with the wild around us. His courses of study include the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, Plant Biology at Cornell University, and Karuna Falls School of Permaculture (NZ). While in New York, Luke instructed wilderness awareness/survival programs, led walks for the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society, and guest taught for the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine. He currently lives in WNC, homesteading and making his living as an organic gardener, natural builder and teacher.
Ceara Foley, Magical Herbalism, Beekeeping
Powerfully attuned to nature at an early age, Ceara Foley’s passion has always been connecting to the cycles of life. Her work with at-risk, inner-city children in PA, VA and CA sparked her love of healing through teaching. Ceara has led women’s spirituality circles since 1994, empowering women to reconnect with their inner and outer environments. In Oregon she worked with Medicine Flower creating aromatherapy products for mind, body, and spirit. Ceara serves as president of the NC Natural Products Association board, is a certified herbalist and beekeeper, steward of Soulflower Botanical Sanctuary, Co-founder of NC Plant Savers and NC American Herbalist’s Guild, and ASHH director and instructor.
Sandi Ford, Herbalism, Wild Foods
Sandi Ford has been working with plants for beauty, food, and medicine for over fourteen years. She has studied at The Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, The California School of Herbal Studies, and The Australasian College of Herbal Studies. President of the NC Chapter of the American Herbalist Guild, she maintains a clinical practice, teaches at various herb schools and is also a doula. An avid gardener, Sandi designs and promotes edible, medicinal, and native landscapes. She teaches that it is our daily relationship with the plants as food, medicine, and friends that is truly healing. She is currently pursuing a degree in nutrition.
Melissa Fryar, Traditional Herbalism
Melissa is an Appalachian born Community Herbalist and Educator. She has studied herbal medicine for over a decade with some of the most prominent names in herbal medicine, although she considers her greatest teachers to be the plants themselves. She currently works at the French Broad Food Co-op, where she has been serving the Asheville community since 1997. Deeply rooted in the mountain community, Melissa serves on the board of the NC Chapter of the American Herbalist Guild, the NC Plant Savers and the NC Herb Association. Her enthusiasm inspires people to get creative and have fun with herbs! This includes using herbs as both food and medicine, in our homes, and in ceremony.
Lisa Ganora, Phytochemistry
Lisa Ganora is a traditional herbalist of 20 years' experience and a specialist in the constituents of medicinal plants. She graduated Summa cum laude with Distinction as a University Scholar and with Distinction in Biology from the University of North Carolina and has won many awards in biology and organic chemistry. She has a website on phytochemistry; www.herbalconstituents.com, a new book called Herbal Constituents, and a lifelong love for the healing herbs. Lisa's classes and workshops integrate science, art, and spirit to help us understand the inner workings of medicinal plants. Lisa is currently also on the faculty at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.
Jessica Godino, Materia Medica, TCM
Jessica Godino has been connecting people with plants for over a decade. After training with wise woman herbalist Susun Weed she co-founded Red Moon Herbs. She believes that using medicines that come directly from the earth is the best way for us to remember our birthright as healers. Jessica is also a licensed acupuncturist and co-owns Clarity Acupuncture in Asheville, NC. She aspires to bridge two worlds, and bring the perspective and wisdom of eastern herbalism to deepen our understanding of western herbs.
John Joseph Immel, Ayurveda
Joseph is the founder of leading Ayurvedic diet website JoyfulBelly.com. He promotes practical Ayurveda as a folk medicine tradition at diverse locations nationally from local yoga studios to world renowned Yale University and writes for the Light on Ayurveda Journal. Joseph studied Ayurveda in India and under Dr. Vasant Lad. In Asheville, NC he runs a donation based clinic for Ayurvedic Care. Prior to Ayurveda, Joseph, a Harvard University graduate, where he also taught mathematics, business and software development, worked on public health projects with a particular focus on South Asia & the Middle East. He continues to manage a public health project using mobile communications for clean water in Bangladesh.
Alan Muskat, Mycology
Troubadour of the toadstool and epicure of the obscure, has persuaded thousands to sample rather than trample wild mushrooms. Author of Wild Mushrooms: A Taste of Enchantment, this stand-up mycomedian has popped up in Country Living magazine, on The Bizarre Food Show, and at The Biltmore Estate. Drawing from his training with the world's leading mycologists and a Princeton degree in Deep Ecology, Alan has enchanted audiences for over a decade. Ask anyone who knows the mushroom man: when it comes to bringing out the fun in fungi, he's the champignion.
Joie Power, PhD, Aromatherapy, Clinical Skills
Dr. Power is a retired, board certified neuropsychologist. She has nearly twenty years of clinical experience in both in- and out-patient settings and has undertaken extensive studies in aromatherapy and other alternative healing practices. She is well known as a speaker and teacher in the field of aromatherapy, essential oils, and alternative healing. Dr. Power has presented many scientific papers at national conferences and her articles on Aromatherapy have appeared in World Health News. She currently practices as a Wellness Consultant and Aromatherapy Educator and conducts group retreats and individual sessions in dreamwork, creative realization & earth-centered spiritual quests.
Camilo Sanchez, OMD, TCM, Qi-Gong
Camilo has been immersed in the healing arts for over twenty years. He began with yoga therapy and Ayurveda at Satyanada Ashram, India in ’82. In 1989 Camilo received his diploma in Oriental Medicine at the South East Institute of Oriental Medicine in Miami, Fla. where he also served as a faculty member for eight years. He has taught innovative courses in oriental & holistic medicine in Asia, Europe, North and South America. He now owns and operates the Yoga Training Institute in Charlotte, NC. There he offers individualized healing programs, yoga teachers training courses and classes in Universal Qi Gong and Chen style Tai Chi. His primary loves are nature and movement.
Corinna Wood, Wise Woman Herbalism
Corinna Wood is the director of Red Moon Herbs; making herbal medicines from fresh, local plants, with a focus on women's health, for over a dozen years as well as the founder of the Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference. A gifted teacher and powerful visionary, Corinna has opened the hearts of thousands to the wisdom of the plants and their own bodies. Corinna's background includes an extensive apprenticeship with Susun Weed in 1993 as well as a B.S. in Biology. Corinna is certified as an herbalist, a fertility awareness teacher, and in permaculture design. She lives at Earthaven Ecovillage, an intentional community in Black Mountain, NC.
Sarah Thomas, L.Ac.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Pennsylvania State University and a Masters degree in Acupuncture from Tai Sophia Institute. She co-owns Clarity Acupuncture in downtown Asheville with ASHH faculty, Jessica Godino, L.Ac., where their combined passions currently lie at the intersection of crystal and herbal medicine. Sarah’s continued studies in mineral medicine are with Jeffrey C. Yuen, 88th generation Taoist priest of the Jade Purity Lineage. She is currently developing GroundSpirit, a collection of mineral elixirs from hand-harvested Appalachian stones and beyond. Her vision is to tend the re-emergence of stone and crystal medicine as the foundation of herbal medicine; a potent ancient practice for healing disease, and ultimately, as a significant tool in making miracles possible at this amazing time in our earth’s history.
Megan Burns, RH (AHG)
Megan apprenticed under Althea Northage-Orr at the Chicago College of Healing Arts where she received her Herbal Certificate in 2002. She went on to teach medicine making at the college as well as harvest for the schools apothecary. Megan’s deep passion for plants is founded on her connection with the plant spirits as well as her respect for their healing capabilities. As an apprentice to Althea, Megan embarked on a journey, learning to grow plants from seed and create medicines from the plants based on the principles of plant alchemy. Before moving to Asheville she worked in the Apothecary of Whole Health Chicago creating custom Aromatherapy and Flower Essence blends for clients. Megan has dedicated herself to being a student of the plant world.
Hali Lynne Karla, BFA, MSN, RN
Having a lifelong infatuation with both the aesthetic and potential of connectivity between spirit and physical experience, and driven by the desire for a daily living balance of creative expression, the magic of our natural world and the desire to help others find their own belief in the healer within themselves, Hali has found herself on a unique path with many roles. A hospice nurse and owner of The Soleful Nurse (offering mobile foot care and wellness education), Hali works under a strong belief that we are our greatest medicine and that the seeds of healing, empowerment, and expansion often start with the simple offering of kind, authentic Presence from one energetic being to another.
Robin Allison, Field Botany, Materia Medica, Meadmaking
Encouraging easy, intimate relationships with the plant life around us while relentlessly affirming the importance of understanding proper botanical nomenclature, Robin Allison has a passion for teaching and learning about the wild plants around him. Mostly self-taught, he has studied herbalism at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine and at the One World Healing Arts Institute, where he also taught field botany. He also teaches about food and alcohol fermentation and is certified in Permaculture Design. He is grateful to have gained much of his knowledge and inspiration from time spent in the plant world with his friend and teacher Frank Cook.
