Carolyn Smith is an herbalist based in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN. She began her career in herbal medicine in 2008 and has since established a personal practice while augmenting her knowledge through an apprenticeship with experienced herbalist Lise Wolff. In 2010, Carolyn participated in Lise’s Three Seasons Herbal Intensive course. In 2013, she completed a 10-week intensive internship at HerbPharm on their organic farm in Williams, Oregon, cultivating medicinal plants and studying with a variety of herbalists, naturopaths, and herb farmers. From 2012 to 2017 she worked in health foods retail (Mastel’s Health Foods, Whole Foods) specializing in herbal supplements. In 2017, Carolyn worked as the full time intern for 6 months at Red Clover Herbal Apothecary in Amery, Wisconsin, studying with and assisting herbalist Nancy Graden in organic cultivation of medicinal plants and crafting small batch medicinal herb products. In October 2019, 2020 and 2021 she attended the annual national symposia of the American Herbalists Guild, earning certificates in clinical assessment skills, narrative in practice, and trauma-informed herbalism. She served as Vice President for the local Twin Cities North Country Herbalists Guild from January 2020 to December 2021.
Carolyn also studied Flower Essences with Martin Bulgerin (of BioPsciences Institute), has taken intensive classes with Herbalist/Midwife Erin Piorier and renowned author and Herbalist Matthew Wood, and taken intensives in traditional medicine of Central America (Curanderismo) with Kimberly Hart, founder of Adagio Holistic Therapies. Additionally, Carolyn studied ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, and traditional plant usage in Hawaii with Kathleen Harrison, Dennis McKenna, and Momi Subiono. In the spring of 2013, Carolyn earned her Masters of Liberal Studies through the University of Minnesota by designing her own degree that incorporated classes from the Center for Spirituality and Healing. Her masters work culminated in a thesis that focused on changing paradigms of body and healing metaphors through the lens of alternative medicine.
Carolyn has long fostered an appreciation for the symbiotic relationship between plants and people. She bases her approach and use of plants on holistic forms of healthcare drawing from the cumulative knowledge of thousands of years of diverse cultural traditions. Carolyn’s practice consists of a combination of conversation and pulse techniques to determine remedies specific to an individual, using a variety of self crafted herbal remedies from local plant varieties.
You can reach Carolyn at [email protected].