Biography

After a ten year run of success as a small brand herbal product maker, Giving Tree Botanicals, as which she grew, gathered and processed hundreds of species of medicinal plants in the gardens, meadows, forests and farm houses of Vermont, for her tincture line, Heather took a leap of faith and moved to Boston Massachusetts. Here she sees herself delving more fully into leading herbal education services for herb students, consumers and health care practitioners, reaching more people and deepening her knowledge of the science of herbalism. Heather Irvine is a clinical herbalist, educator, and the chief herbalist spokesperson and organizer for the Herbal Academy’s educational outreach programs. Heather organizes educational partnerships through guest appearances at live events and online summits, by developing innovative online offerings with the Herbal Academy teachers, and by bringing the knowledge and personality of the Herbal Academy to partnering organizations through various event collaborations. Heather began her education through her studies at Cornell University, graduating with a degree in the sciences. She then continued building on her academic background with studies at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine with an emphasis on Western herbalism. She later pursued clinical herbalism through her education and certification with the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism (VCIH). After gaining additional herbalism experience and education through various schools and classes in the sciences, she accepted a position with VCIH as their Medicinal Actions & Chemistry instructor for three years until she relocated to Boston. Heather currently serves as an educator at the Herbal Academy and as well as an adjunct professor leading several herbalism courses and programs at a number of universities including Northern Vermont University, Wellesley College, and Harvard University. She works with Herbal Academy’s team of herbalists on course development, publications, and delivering thoughtful approaches to complex topics in herbalism. She enjoys teaching and bringing in important voices in herbalism, which she does whether she’s participating at an event or conference, in the Herbal Academy’s online community, or in a variety of multimedia resources. Heather enjoys connecting directly with Herbal Academy students, graduates, teachers, and affiliates in a variety of ways; through mentoring advanced course work, by interviewing herbalists for podcasts and video presentations, and in-person while attending a variety of herbalism events as a presenter or simply to represent our international school. Beyond her work in education, Heather also ran a profitable herbal product business for ten years informed by many years working in a busy Naturopathic practice in a small community which used herbs and nutrition for the range of health concerns. She now maintains her own clinical herbalist practice and brings her continued hands-on and practical experience to those learning with the Herbal Academy. Heather considers herbalists as well as other open-minded and curious innovators a vital part of any community. If you are interested in booking her for a guest appearance, please submit a request at theherbalacademy.com/contact-us/