Meet your board - Becki Brouwer Interm Treasurer

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My love for nature has always been a part of me. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, it was easy to explore and cultivate my passion for plants and the wilderness. I was regularly creating tinctures, salves and other various concoctions; learning through trial and error as I went along. When I discovered the AHA, I immediately became a member and it wasn’t long after that I joined the Board, offering support to many different positions and committees. During this time, my husband and I founded an outdoor wilderness survival business and it became necessary to take a short hiatus from the Board, however, I am very happy to be back on the team, this time as interim Treasurer. My passion is in creating a better environment for those around me by incorporating the knowledge I have of plants and their various components into everyday life and being on this Board will allow me to expand, grow and share. I am in the process of obtaining my Practical Herbalist diploma through Wild Rose College and you’ll often find me taking classes from a myriad of other herbalists and knowledge keepers. When it comes to being an Herbalist, I fully expect to be a student for the rest of my life since there is just so much to learn!

Meet your board - Dagmar Holland, Member at Large

Dagmar Holland B.Sc. (Hons.) biology

Artist Herbalist

Thinking back to my childhood, remembering how often I spent time alone in the woods, I realize my affinity for nature is a deep and sacred part of who I am. I wanted to work with nature, taking care of animals or doing biological field work and this inspired me to study biological sciences at the University of Guelph.

After working in research at the U of Alberta in animal science for a few years, life took a different trajectory, I attended art college, went into partnership as an illustrator and enjoyed the pleasure of having children. After discovering tai chi and navigating a particularly confusing time in mid life, I became interested in a new way of seeing health and healing, coming back to the wholeness of nature.

Years later I began to work in health food stores and eventually was able to attend David Winston’s program at the Center for Herbal Studies. I currently work in retail, assisting people with herbal and nutritional recommendations. It is my pleasure to assist the board in efforts to keep the practice of herbalism vital and I feel my own values in harmony with this community. I am excited to keep exploring ways to engage with plants and plant medicine.

Meet your board - Tracy Sharuga, Member at Large

Tracy Marie Sharuga HHP, RH, DipofPhyto www.herbandpestlehealth.com

Medical Herbalist

Tracy is a Holistic Health Practitioner, and a Medical Herbalist devoted to helping people achieve wellness goals related to healing physically, mentally, and spiritually with the use of plant medicine.

Tracy is a graduate of Holistic Health at Grant McEwan University where she specialized in Herbology, Nutrition, and Acupressure. Tracy gained medical and clinical skills with the primary focus of treating people with plant medicine in Victoria, BC at Pacific Rim College graduating with a Diploma of Phytotherapy.

Tracy is the owner of Herb and Pestle Health where she consults one-on-one with clients formulating and providing individualized treatment plans and plant medicine formulas – as well as producing her own line of products to enhance the well being of a greater number of people in a holistic way. She also helps students studying plant medicine by providing clinical training.