Founding Members

Alexis Durham is an herbalist, gardener, teacher, and avid lover of plants. She earned her B.Sc. in Herbal Sciences from Bastyr University in 2008 and began teaching about herbs while working for the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas. An opportunity to learn more from the plants themselves led her to Southern Oregon and Horizon Herbs (now Strictly Medicinal Seeds), where she cultivated medicinal and edible plants and developed a series of classes for Herb Pharm’s Herbaculture Program. She coordinated the 23rd Annual Symposium for the American Herbalists Guild and also worked with Rogue Valley Farm to School, a nonprofit organization that educates children about our food system using hands-on farm and garden programs. She returned to Seattle in 2012 as Bastyr University’s Garden Supervisor and was Program Director for the Certificate in Holistic Landscape Design, teaching students to create healing landscapes with medicinal and edible plants.

Currently based in Portland, Alexis teaches for the Hawthorn Institute, Herb Pharm, The School of Traditional Western Herbalism, and the Traditional Roots Institute at NCNM. She is committed to increasing the use of locally produced food and medicine, preserving biodiversity, and reconnecting people with nature, and is deeply honored to continue to nurture the land as a founding member of Soil and Sky. More information is available at www.ofpeopleandplants.com.

 

Heather Wamsley comes to Soil and Sky with a love and passion of the outdoors. While earning her degree in Human services, she began advocating for at risk youth and working within nonprofits. She brings with her four years of wilderness therapy and environmental education, working with children and adults across the continental US, USVI, British Columbia through the countryside of Kenya. Heather is an advocate of the relationships between humans and nature; believing that when we nurture the earth, the earth will continue to nurture us. Heather is a lover of herbal medicine and has dedicated the past four years growing and learning organic gardening practices and medicinal herbs, which led her to her home in southern Oregon in 2013. She completed the Herb Pharm internship program, was mentored in Ayurvedic Studies and completed the Hawthorn Institute Foundations in 2015. Currently an apprenticing midwife she believes that with quiet, patient observation, the plants are able to teach us.

 

Mark Disharoon has been studying edible and medicinal plants since his teenage years in the hardwood forests of his native Delaware. Since 1995, he has cultivated the medicinal fields of Herb Pharm‘s 85 acre farm. From dirt to dropper, Mark has experience in all aspects of liquid herbal extract production. Encouraged by Herb Pharm Herbaculture interns to teach classes, he gave his first plant walk in 2006. The following year, he became caretaker of a 6000 volume private herbal library and began an intensive four-year course of self-study. During that time his teaching grew to include Herbal First Aid, Plant Communication,and plant walks focusing on specific body systems such as the digestive and musculo-skeletal. Mark continues to let the Plants be his greatest teachers.

 

Maya Kelmelis wears many hats, all of which she mends and tends to with great care. Born and raised in California, she has spent many days exploring the diverse ecosystems of the west coast. Maya's dream is to live in a land based community and build a life that supports her to become the best version of herself. She is a co-founder of Hawthorn Institute and supports Hawthorn’s administrative needs. Maya is also the Herbaculture intern coordinator and a quality assurance technician at Herb Pharm. Maya is also a gardener, dabbler, traveler, and home maker. Maya received her BA from UC Berkeley in Conservation and Resource Studies with a focus on biodiversity, sustainability, urban gardening, and environmental ethics. Maya is currently pursuing her Masters at Green Mountain College in Environmental Science. In addition to UC Berkeley and Green Mountain College, she has studied ecological and social sustainability in Auroville, India and at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. Maya spent 5 years working for Yosemite National Park‘s wilderness restoration program.

 

Nels Wedin is a microbiologist with a passion for soil science. He was an intern at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, where he trained in practical skills for sustainable development and regenerative agro-ecology. Nels loves to work with soil, inspire people, sing Sanskrit devotional music, perform poetry and practice permaculture.  His mission is to serve the planet by utilizing microorganisms to transform polluting waste streams into ecologically healthy resources. Nels is owner/operator of Soil Life LLC, a compost and soil-building business in the Applegate Valley.​

 

 

Rachel Euell is a passionate supporter of Soil & Sky’s mission to find balance in the human-nature relationship.  Rachel brings 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector including serving as project coordinator for a successful water conservation program in Boulder, Colorado, tending permaculture gardens and livestock in Australia, and conducting back-country trail maintenance in B.C., Canada. Additionally, Rachel spent 2 years volunteering in Nepal and India where she focused on providing food security and education for vulnerable children and communities.

 

As an Ayurveda practitioner, Rachel has great respect for traditional healing arts. She is a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute where she studied under Dr. Vasant Lad and Dr. Claudia Welch. Currently, Rachel works for organic Ayurvedic herb pioneers, Banyan Botanicals, and lives with her partner Nels in a small cabin they built in the Applegate Valley.

 

Todd Anthony is an herbalist, gardener with an earth base spirit, who is the garden manager for the Hawthron Institute. He has a passion for growing, tending, learning and teaching herbal medicine and personal strength. He hopes to continue to share his love and connection to plant spirits with his current community and for the generations of communities to come.

 

 

 

Tyler Wauters is a passionate and humble medicine being who brings a wealth of wisdom to Soil & Sky. Growing up on a 40-acre nature preserve in Wisconsin, Tyler and his family owned and operated a small-scale fish farm and apple orchard. As a child he developed his love for nature and began building his skills around land stewardship and exploring plants as medicine. Tyler has since devoted his life to the study of Herbal Medicine and Ayurveda, and has been teaching workshops around the United States since 2007. Tyler’s formal education began with herbalist and naturalist Frank Cook. He continued his study with the Appalachia School of holistic Herbalism, a Clinical Apprenticeship at the International College of Herbal Medicine with Isla Burgess, The Northeast School of Botanical Medicine with 7song, The Ayurvedic Institute with Dr. Vasant Lad and Dr. Claudia Welch, and mentoring with Sonia Massocco. Currently Tyler is a Co-founder and core faculty member at Hawthorn Institute located in Southern Oregon, a 2 year 750HR program focusing on Clinical Herbalism and Ayurveda. He lives in a land based community with his beautiful partner Maya and is proud to be a founding member of Soil & Sky.