Maggie is an herbalist and educator with over 20 years of experience. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Florida School of Holistic Living. She comes from a large family where chaos was the norm. She always found peace outside watching things grow or climbing magnolia trees. She learned in her mother’s kitchen that the things you put in your mouth impact your mind and your body. 

In 1989 she first found her own inspiration to view health from a holistic perspective in high school while working as a teacher assistant at a mental health hospital for children. From that experience, she decided that there had to be a better way to help kids succeed beyond medicating them to a zombie state with pharmaceuticals. At the time this wasn’t a direct course of study so she started college studying education and psychology and ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development.

Her interest in developing a deeper understanding of how body awareness could impact educational success moved her to Oakland, California in 1999. There she worked with elementary students and teachers, learning and teaching about violence prevention and anger management through physical education and body awareness. She explored working with food, exercise, breathing, and communication skills. She continued to be inspired by how plants impact the body.

After seven years of city life, she moved to Central Florida to find a slower pace. Though her love of teaching hadn’t waned, she chose to focus on deepening her plant knowledge in a more intentional way, completing the Community Herbalist program with Emily Ruff. She enjoys working with friends, family, and clients seeking a more holistic way.  These days she can be found hiking on trails, tending her garden, creating something good for you in her kitchen, teaching in her community about plant medicine, and learning from her ten-year-old herbalist and his friends.