About Vital Roots Natural Medicine

My philosophy of healing is based on uncovering that which is hidden within the patients before me. I listen deeply to their stories—their experiences, their patterns, their joys and struggles. And I turn my ear as well to the unspoken language of the body and spirit.  The result is a shared experience of how to best enhance the body’s natural drive toward health and wellbeing.

I began my training in New York City but eventually traveled to Wyoming to support an underserved rural population. It was here, on the Western frontier, that I developed a clearer vision of how I could best serve others. The simpler way living close to the land connected me to the lifestyle that brought me to my Medicine.

The seeds of my healing practice had been planted, but it was not until I sank my roots back into the rich soil of North Carolina’s mountains that they truly began to sprout. The medicine I practice is a unique blending of modern medical care, integrative medicine and old ways plant wisdom with simple, timeless methods of feeding the body, mind and soul.  A foundational focus on lifestyle and nutrition feeds my practice.

I started my pre-medical training at Albion College in Michigan and obtained my Bachelor of Science with honors from Long Island University in Brooklyn. I was certified as a Physician Assistant through Brooklyn Hospital Center and affiliate hospitals including Beth Israel Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center.  I was trained on the front lines in a big city but even there I found the most connection with the plants that made their way through the cracks in the concrete and renegade gardens.

Since 1996, I have practiced in a variety of medical settings including urgent care, standard family medicine, and rural medical clinics. I have also worked at several mental health and correctional facilities to deepen my understanding of the relationship between mental health and physical health.
When I first moved to Western North Carolina, I apprenticed at Asheville Integrative Medicine under Dr. James Biddle. Since then, I shared my blend of allopathic and alternative medicine at Mountain Medical Arts for 10 years.  After noting how many folks from Asheville travelled up to see me, I decided to launch my own practice there in 2018 and that’s how Vital Roots began.

In my free time, I enjoy gardening and cooking the foods that I have grown, growing and foraging my own apothecary by concocting herbal medicines, honoring ancestral primitive skills, immersing myself in nature and learning to live in a more sustainable and harmonious manner with the rhythms of the earth.