2023 Ojai Herbal Symposium

The 3rd Ojai Herbal Symposium is returning November 11-12, 2023, in-person at Krotona Hall in Ojai and live-streaming globally. Please subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated or email info@ojaiherbal.org with questions. This website is currently being updated with current topics, faculty, registration and ticket info, etc. Continuing Education Units for Licensed Acupuncturists are pending approval.

Chumash Elder

Patrick Tumamait is the son of Vincent Tumamait & Lucy Castro Tumamait. He grew up in the Ojai Valley and still lives in the Meiners Oaks neighborhood near the birthplace of his great, great grandmother, Maria Ricarda Alulalmeque, who was raised in the Chumash village of Matilija. Pat can trace his family lineage from his father to at least 11 known Chumash villages and as far back as the mid-18th century. “The culture and the people are still alive. Our life entails protecting the cultural history and ancestry of our people, having people recognize the past as a legacy to our future. Protection and awareness so that we can share it with others and preserve it for the future generations to come.”

Amanda McQuade Crawford

RH (AHG), MFT

Amanda McQuade Crawford practiced as a Consultant Medical Herbalist for decades before she became a licensed therapist (MFT). She graduated from Britain’s College of Phytotherapy, is a Member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild, and a consultant in the natural products industry. She continues to serve the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a Review Panelist and the American Botanical Council as an Advisory Board Member. She is the author of two books on women’s health: Herbal Remedies for Women and The Natural Menopause Handbook.

David Bearman, MD

VP, American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine

One of the most clinically knowledgeable physicians in the U.S. in the field of medical cannabis, Dr. David Bearman has spent 40 years working in substance and drug abuse treatment and prevention programs. Dr. Bearman was a pioneer in the free and community clinic movement. His career includes public health, administrative medicine, provision of primary care, pain management and cannabinology. He currently serves as the Vice President of Quality Assurance and Credentials for the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine.

John Hickey, LAc

Licensed Acupuncturist

John Hickey, LAc, was a co-founder of the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine. He currently has a private practice specializing in Shiatus treatments and Acupuncture.

Elena Esparza, DC

Chiropractor

Dr. Elena Esparza, D.C., was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She has studied physical medicine, manual medicine, herbal medicine, and energetic medicine throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America. She received her Doctorate of Chiropractic Medicine in 1999 from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, Los Angeles. She also received her Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology with a Spiritual Emphasis, at the University of Santa Monica in 1996. Dr. Elena has a family practice in the heart of East Los Angeles and specializes in detoxing the body on all levels: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Her emphasis is focused on wholeness and integration.

James Adams

Professor Emeritus, USC School of Pharmacy; Co-Author of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West, 4th Edition

Jim Adams is a Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the USC School of Pharmacy. He was trained by a Chumash Indian Healer for 14 years. Dr. Adams has been teaching pharmacy students, medical students, doctors and other healthcare professionals for over 25 years while researching the natural pharmaceutical compounds in native plants. He will discuss plant terpenes that are used or should be used for pain treatment as well as several other medical conditions.

Carol Wade

RH (AHG); Founder/Director, Ojai School of Herbal Studies; Founder, Earth Island Medicinal Herb Garden

Carol Wade has been a practicing professional herbalist and nutritional counselor for more than 30 years and is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild. She is the founder and Director of the Ojai School of Herbal Studies, a 22-month herbal studies program located in Ojai, California. Her garden, the Earth Island Medicinal Herb Garden in Ojai, California, serves as a hub for several medicinal herb-oriented ventures that bring the idea of using medicinal herbs in daily living as a viable and logical choice to the community at large.

Enrique Villaseñor

Plant Educator, Co-Author of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West, 4th Edition

Anjali Deva

Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner

Anjali Deva is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and Yoga teacher in Los Angeles. She was introduced to Ayurveda and Yoga at a young age by her father, Arun Deva. She went on to train with Kerala Ayurveda Academy, Loyola Marymount’s Yoga and the Healing Sciences Program, and many influential teachers both here in the United States and in India over the last decade. Her passion began in the kitchen with a desire to understand how the food we eat influences our bodies and minds.That passion has grown to include helping people find their inner wisdom, clarity, and health through the wisdom of Ayurveda in her clinical practice, Rooted Rasa. Anjali is the founder of Mādhya Way School for Ayurveda.

Michelle Wong, MSOM, LAc

Licensed Acupuncturist, Co-Author of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West, 4th Edition

Michelle Wong is a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as Functional Medicine. She graduated from UCLA with Bachelor of Science, and from Dongguk University, Los Angeles with her Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine, and has studied in both Beijing and Seoul. Michelle believes in giving her patients to help discover and treat the root of the problem, so that the various symptoms resolve naturally. This includes aspects of emotional and spiritual health, which Chinese medicine has a long recognized and treats in symphony with the physical.

Lanny Kaufer

Symposium Director

Herb Walks with Lanny Kaufer

Lanny Kaufer, Ojai herbalist and native plant educator, is enjoying his 47th year of leading “Herb Walks” and nature hikes in Ojai, Santa Barbara, and the surrounding area. A retired public high school teacher with a Biology degree from the University of California, Lanny specializes in making learning about edible and medicinal plants accessible and fun for people of all ages. Lanny acquired much of his plant knowledge in field study with well-known herbalists and ethnobotanists, including the late William LeSassier and the late Chumash teacher Juanita Centeno.

Elena Ríos

ANFT Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide / Inter-disciplinary Artist / Cultural Practitioner

Elena Ríos is an ever-evolving certified ANFT Nature & Forest Therapy Guide, Inter-disciplinary Artist, and Cultural Practitioner. She draws inspiration from the stories of her late grandmother, a “huesera” who also applied her plant medicine knowledge by offering holistic healing services. Elena took her first steps in Danza Azteca Mexica in 1984, thus beginning a journey toward deepening relationship with the healing power of herbs and flowers through ceremony, dance, and song. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. She continues to participate with traditional inter-tribal circles of learning – and ways of being – that are rooted in Indigenous Knowledge.

Full Weekend "Early Bird" price

Save $70 through September 12

325

Early-Bird price of $325 through September 12 includes all 10 classes over two days plus lunchtime activities. Does NOT include "The Forest Table: A Wild Dining Experience." Advance price from September 13 - November 10 will be $365. Full price at the door on November 11 will be $395.

Buy Now

Saturday only

200

Includes all 5 Saturday classes at Krotona Hall plus the lunchtime Qi Gong class. See Schedule tab for details. Does NOT include "The Forest Table: A Wild Dining Experience."

Buy Now

Sunday only

200

Includes all 5 Sunday classes at Krotona Hall plus lunchtime Nature Immersion Walk. See Schedule tab for details.

Buy Now

"The Forest Table: A Wild Dining Experience"

Free

In this unique educational dining experience, participants will enjoy a gourmet eight course meal featuring unusual wild plants and mushrooms foraged from the local environment which will be prepared and served in a fine dining style. Between courses, Jess Starwood, local herbalist, forager and chef will present the plants and mushrooms used in each dish to explain their important health benefits and how to incorporate them into meals for everyday use and special occasions. Each course will be crafted from seasonal wild foods and organic ingredients sourced from local farms. Locally brewed drinks including mead, elderberry wine and herbal beers will be served and discussed throughout the meal. The meal is plant-based and free of gluten, soy, refined sugars, egg and dairy.

Buy Now

Enter your Google Map API from the Theme Settings panel.

HERB WALKS WITH LANNY KAUFER

Offering herbal and native plant education since 1976.