Herbal Wisdom Institute

If you have been struggling with a health condition, or are watching a loved one struggle, and you are frustrated with your healthcare choices in a contemporary medical system then learning to care for your health with herbal medicine and alternative healing modalities may be your answer.

Is Herbalism Right For Me?
  • Do you have a chronic health condition?
  • Do you care for a loved one who has a chronic condition?
  • Are you frustrated with the contemporary medicine options provided to you?
  • Have you experienced negative side effects from pharmaceutical medications?
  • Are you concerned with the direction that the healthcare system is going?
  • Do you strive to live in a natural and sustainable way?
  • Are you concerned about the conservation and propagation of our plant species?
  • Do you have a desire to strengthen your connection to the earth?


If you answered yes to any of these questions then Herbal Wisdom Institute is where you need to be.

We are an approved vendor in the Arizona Department of Education ESA program.
“The Herbal Wisdom Institute is a natural setting for Kris Vaughan to share her superior herbal knowledge. Kris is a dynamic speaker who conveys the information with such enthusiasm and passion that her students are always left craving for more. Her formal herbal training, extensive clinical experience, and management level background in sales and marketing in herbal supplement manufacturing and distribution qualify her as an authority on botanical medicine. Plant-based medicine continues to be one of the most widely used therapies worldwide for promoting health, wellness, and longevity. It is essential for budding herbalists to receive formal instruction of traditional use accompanied by an understanding of current scientific mechanisms to assure this natural healing modality remains in the forefront of time-honored medicine. Every promising herbalist bar none will benefit from Kris’ instruction and from the opportunities this knowledge affords, whether seeking this information for self-treatment, caring for loved ones or going on to pursue professional practice.”

 — Ken Koenig, D.C. Former Dean of Education & Executive Director of the National Board of Homeopathic Examiners and Past President & Owner of Wise Woman Herbals

Do You Wish to Explore Herbalism as a Career?

Here are just a few things you can do with your herbalism education
  • Become a clinical herbalist
  • Become a medicinal herb grower or wildcrafter
  • Learn to manufacture herbal medicines
  • Become an herb retailer
  • Become an herbalism educator
  • Work for an herbal product manufacturer


The opportunities for a career in herbalism are as endless as your dreams. Herbal Wisdom Institute offers courses to meet all levels of interest. 

What we do

Herbal Wisdom Institute is an online herbal medicine educational facility providing beginning and advanced herbalism courses for all interest levels. Our courses are developed by herbal medicine educators who are experts in their field of study and are passionate about sharing knowledge with new generations of herbal practitioners.

Easily Accessible

All  education is provided online so you can follow it anywhere, anytime.  You can complete the courses at your own pace.

High Quality

All courses are developed and presented by expert herbalists with years of practical experience.

Practical

Courses designed to meet the needs of all learner types who wish to learn or improve their knowledge and skills in herbal medicine. 

Affordable

Affordable courses in on-line formats. Payment plans available to make it simple and accessible for everyone.

WORLD-CLASS TEAM

Meet Your Instructors

Candice Cook CH, WFA
Owner/Program Director

Candice has been traveling the plant path since 2004, beginning formal training in 2008 with founder Kris Vaughan, and stepping into roles as clinical herbalist and educator in 2009. With clients she works to support emotional, cognitive, and spiritual health through her practice Psyche and Soul, and offers botanical formulations based on her personal relationship with the natural world through her brand Rebel Herbal.

Throughout her time as a clinician, medicine maker, and educator, she has drawn people from all walks of life who are seeking transformation and renewal through a deeper connection to plants. Often, her clients and students find themselves in pursuit of knowledge through formal training so that they too can become herbalists, healers, and knowers of plant wisdom. She is thrilled to take these next steps on her own journey as the new program director and owner of Herbal Wisdom Institute, and can’t wait to be there as you begin or continue your own adventure with us.
Candice is the founder of the Arizona Herbalist's Coalition and is a member of United Plant Savers andThe American Herbalist's Guild.

Kris Vaughan CH, AADP
Founder of Herbal Wisdom Institute/Instructor

Kris is a certified clinical herbalist, herbal educator, herbal medicine maker, and founder of Herbal Wisdom Institute. Kris began her herbalism career in 2008 as a clinical herbalist in private practice and she has worked along side naturopathic and medical physicians. Kris began teaching herbal medicine at Yavapai College in 2015 and opened Herbal Wisdom Institute in 2016. Kris founded the podcast Herbal Wisdom and she also has been a guest speaker for Yavapai Regional Medical Center, The United States Forest Service, the MS Society, and other corporations and groups. Kris is also the founder and owner of VaYa Botanicals offering botanical solutions for healthcare practitioners. Kris is a member of The American Herbalists Guild, United Plant Savers, and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Follow her podcast: Herbal Wisdom.

Rachel Alm, M.Ed., MMH, FNTP
Lead Instructor

A dreamer and adventurer with an insatiable curiosity, Rachel Alm has dedicated much of her life to the study of botanical medicine. From peace and comfort to a rich array of food and medicine, not to mention the endless awe and wonder of it all, nature has been a constant provider in Rachel's life. With the wild and rugged Sacramento mountains as her backdrop, Rae is gathering, growing, making, and teaching all things herbalism.

As the Lead Instructor for the Herbal Wisdom Institute, Rae combines her Masters degrees in Medical Herbalism and Education to proudly offer herbal education for plant lovers of all kinds. Follow her @openroadbotanicals

Stephanie Nishek ND
Instructor

Dr. Nishek is a North Dakota native. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UND in 2006, a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in 2010 and her CLEC Certification from the University of San Diego Extension in 2015. Dr. Nishek offers naturopathic consultations to all ages and genders. Her passions are helping couples overcome infertility, managing PCOS and other hormonal/menstrual cycle irregularities, from puberty through menopause. She also provides acupuncture treatments and a number of functional laboratory testing options to help navigate hormone issues, digestive dysfunction, mood disorders, sleep disorders and more.

Dr. Nishek is the mother of two wild and free children. Follow her at holisticndlife.com

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