Debbie Biltonen
​For over 30 years, I have devoted my personal and professional life to community service through not-for-profit administration, advocacy, program & event coordination. I’ve spent most of my adult life sharing my knowledge of the natural world and it’s magical alchemy through teaching environmental education programs in New York, Maine and Georgia, classes, my blog “I Just Gotta Share,” and simply talking with anyone that has a question or will listen to me while I take them on a hike.
My passion and curiosity for the natural world started as a child wandering our land with my dog, foraging berries, and making tea from Black Birch stems. My unquenchable thirst for more knowledge started my journey to formalize my education through field biology courses, living with and learning the cultural ecology of the Arawak people in Guyana, an apprenticeship at Heartstone Herbal School, to Ecuador with Rocío Alarcón on her ancestral land, as well as attending numerous herbal conferences, workshops, and of course never-ending herbal studies. 
I co-own Know Your Roots, with my husband, Mike, providing classes and consultations along with a product line created from the herbs that grow on our land. I am a lifelong tree hugger and earth worshiper who believes sharing wisdom is paramount to a healthy and thriving community. I enjoyed co-coordinating the Herbal Hoedown​ for seven years and am thrilled to bring our community together at the Earth Medicine Gathering. 

Jaclyn Eisman
www.jaclyneisman.com
My practice is rooted in healing and community. I started discovering the wonders of Herbal Medicine in 2007 when I attended my first Women's Herbal Symposium on the West Coast.  Since then I have become a certified herbalist through 7song's Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, knowing that my learning journey continues as I meet new plants and people throughout my life. I have taught various courses on medicine making and use Herbal Medicine in conjunction with Energy Healing and Intuitive Readings in my private practice, Transformative Therapies. I was blessed and grateful to teach at, and learn from, the Herbal Hoedown in past years. We had the honor of being a part of that event for several years while hosting it at Six Circles Farm, our family's farm in Caywood, NY. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by a community of such experienced and knowledgeable teachers here in the Finger Lakes. I was thrilled when Debbie Biltonen invited me to be an organizer and host of the Earth Medicine Gathering. We share a passion for making health care accessible, using nature and plant medicine in an affordable way, and empowering people to tend to one's own and one another's health. Through all of the changes and disturbing realities of the last year, I have had to utilize more tools than ever to find balance and good health for my family and community. My hope is that this Gathering can be a space for us all to exchange more healing tools, and be a source of holistic high quality medicine and good vibes at a time when we all need healing.