About Rootwork Herbals
Rootwork Herbals is the love, work, and play of community herbalist, amanda david. Rootwork Herbals has evolved organically over the years to include various projects within herbalism that seek to build mutually beneficial relationships between people, plants, and planet.
Rootwork Herbals includes BIPOC community care clinic We Care for Us; educational offerings such as the People’s Medicine School and Woke Without the Work; a BIPOC community garden; and the facilitation of BIPOC sanctuaries at various herb/agriculture conferences.
Funds are also raised through the People’s Medicine Reclamation Fund to ensure that BIPOC folks have access to opportunities to reclaim healing through herbalism. Rootwork Herbals will continue to grow organically through the guidance of our ancestors, the plants, and our community.
amanda is a community herbalist, a gardener, the mother of three amazing children, and the creator of Rootwork Herbals and the many initiatives that are a part of that container. She tends plants and people; growing gardens, handcrafting remedies, offering consultations, educational programming and networks of mutual aid.
Her approach to herbalism is based in the ways of her ancestors, building intimate relationships with the plants that grow nearby in order to bring herbal medicine and home healthcare to the people. In doing this, she sees herbalism as a means to support life and thus resist against oppressive systems, which undermine health. Above all, amanda is a lover of plants and a lover of people and is passionate about bringing them together in a down to earth, joyful and accessible way that promotes personal and planetary healing.
Bezalem is passionate about cooking (especially with herbs!), herbal tea’s, music and wellbeing. He is also in love with all things nature and spends all his free time frolicking in the woods, usually with some homemade snacks and a guitar.
Bezalem has a BA in Mathematics from Drew University and has a diverse background of experience, from having worked as a cook, to working in fintech, to being a vocal coach.
He prioritizes health and finding peace in oneself, both physically and mentally, and always looks to do work that can help others feel good too.
Taylor Rae is a clinical and community herbalist, clay worker and archivist who grounds their work in Black land traditions. After studying plant science in university, Taylor craved a way of relating to nature that was more rooted in her ancestry. Now, Taylor works to create avenues for the collective remembering and return to the land traditions of her lineage for herself and her community, especially as a method of combating the systemic barriers that exist between Black folks and our relationships to nature.
In addition to her role at Rootwork Herbals, Taylor also operates RaeFlower Holistics where she facilitates relationship building between plants, people and the Earth thru her writing and teaching.
Christina Lynch leads Rootwork herbals' financial well-being. Christina has been part of the rootwork herbals' team since the beginning of 2021. She has over fourteen years of experience in management accounting, with the majority primarily focused on supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.
She prides herself on the flexibility and non-judgmental approach she has with her clients and business partners. She can bring calm to a chaotic situation and order when things are getting out of hand.
In addition to her role at Rootwork Herbals, Christina is also a community herbalist, founding consultant of Trydent Consulting and Founding Co-Coordinator of Herbalists Without Borders of the Big Bend.
