photo by Heather McBride

About Kelly

Healing Philosophy

I am a community herbalist and educator with a clinical practice based in Philadelphia, PA. I practice herbal medicine on Lenni Lenape land, specifically Chingsessing, (now called Kingsessing), meaning "the place where there is a meadow.," and I am in deep gratitude to the people who's ancestral land I am on.

My role as an herbalist is to help people connect with themselves, have a positive embodied experience, and build a relationship with the natural world. I believe people are the experts of their bodies and should feel empowered to take care of themselves.  I will meet people where they are at, in order to educate and support them in creating daily practices that heal and sustain. I believe in the power of intention. The low cost DIY aspect of herbalism is what first appealed to me - I wanted to take care of myself and my friends by making medicine from plants growing where I lived.  I offer a sliding scale for all my services because I want to be a part of breaking barriers to accessing healing work.

I am a queer person and serving queer community is my joy.

I trace my lineage back to midwestern farmers, tavern keepers, and ultimately back to Ireland and Germany.  

Humans and plants evolved together and human bodies function best when they ingest plants on the daily (like eating vegetables!). Plants medicine affects all aspects of our being - physical, mental, spiritual. Healing can be a slow process, but I do believe bodies are incredibly smart and often just need some attention and TLC. Herbal medicine and connecting with nature can be  part of a healing process.

I see herbs working in many ways for folks and one of the most profound is the invitation to recalibrate your relationship to self. Herbs require simple, gentle self-care in the form of making tea, taking tincture, taking baths, etc. Because herbs tend to act subtly, the necessitate more paying attention to your body and all of its complexities. It's fun! 

Education

Herbal Community Work

I began seriously studying herbal medicine in 2009 in Minneapolis, MN. There, I studied with herbalists Lise Wolff, Cynthia Thomas, Julia Graves, and Matthew Wood. I learned cupping from Julia Graves and Sandra Lory. For 3 years, I studied at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism in Montpelier, VT. The school trains herbalists primarily in Western herbal medicine tradition, physiology and pathophysiology, phytochemistry, holistic energetic systems, and nutrition. I gained clinical skills working as an herbalist at the school's sliding scale clinic.

I am currently in a 3 year Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution training, 2019 - 2021.

I have done support work for Stone Cabin Collective, which is an all-volunteer group of herbalists, massage providers, energy workers and laypeople who offer free bi-annual health services in the Big Mountain/Black Mesa area of AZ. We do this in solidarity with the Dine (Navajo) people. I also volunteer with and donate herbal remedies to No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid organization working to end death and suffering in the Mexico/US borderlands by providing direct aid to migrants.

I have taught herbal medicine through EXCO (a free school in Minneapolis), at the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, Mariposa Co-op, The Philadelphia Free Library, and Bartram's Garden.