Meet The Board Members
Jennephyr Reiche-Sterling- President
Jennephyr is the founder of Earth Heart Spirit- Herbal Educational Resources (EHSHER). She is a Community Herbalist and Herbal Educator in the Sun River Valley/Great Falls MT area. She has been officially involved with MHG since 2008 and on the board of directors since MHG was formed as a non-profit organization in 2010.
Being a self motivated learner, and somewhat of a hermit, Jennephyr has gained most of her knowledge by voracious reading, hours and hours in the field observing and playing with the plants, hands on experience creating and ingesting herbal remedies and using herself and her family, 3 children and a husband, as guinea pigs, learning through teaching and by helping others. She did travel to Vermont in 2006 to study with Rosemary Gladstar at Sage Mountain where she successfully completed the apprenticeship program and has done correspondance courses with the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing in Calgary, Canada.
Jennephyr gives gratitude daily that her path has lead her on this road of connection to the natural world that we are all a part of and always looks forward to joining up with others on this green, healing, way.
Jodie Vasichek- Vice President
Jodie Vasichek is an Herbalist, business owner, home school mom and life-long learner. She has been working with herbs and food as medicine for almost 15 years.
In 2010, she completed the Practical Herbalism course with Earth Heart Spirit. That same summer she attended her first Montana Herb Gathering, and fell in love with the event and all of the wonderful people involved. The classes offered by teachers around the globe inspired her and her family to become more involved. She volunteered as a board member right after the event, and took part in planning for the next gathering.
2011 proved to be just as diverse and fulfilling as the year before. Her husband and two daughters enjoy volunteering at the Montana Herb Gatherings, and currently they are all organizing and planning for 2012!
Toyia Hatten - Secretary
Toyia Hatten, Holistic Herbalist and Herbal Educator, focuses her practice on incorporating healing herbs into everyday life while improving vitality through the reduction of stress. With eight years of involvement with herbal communities in North Carolina and Montana, Toyia brings a diversified and ever expanding knowledge of regional herbal medicine to the table.
Toyia served as a faculty memeber at the Appalachia School of Holisitc Herbalism in Asheville, NC for three years, teaching certification level classes for the school, offering additional workshops to the public and providing mentoring for students. During her final year at ASHH she was the highest rated teacher in the student evaluations (the first year evaluations were numerically tracked.) Since relocating to Montana in 2009 Toyia has continued offering workshops to the public from her home and in the outdoor classroom as well as providing community outreach through classes in the Bozeman and Livingston Adult Education programs.
With experience in herb school administration and spa management, Toyia is as comfortable in the office as she is inthe classroom. From marketing a new business to restructuring a neglected one, her strong organizational skills shine through.
Beatrix Jenness- Treasurer
Beatrix Jenness is an herbalist and massage therapist who lives in Great Falls, MT with her husband Mark Frisbie and son, Finnegan. Beatrix grew up in West Virginia with her botanist dad and nurse practitioner mom. She likes to say that she just put the two together with her interest in medicinal plants and alternative health care. In 1995 Beatrix apprenticed with herbalist Laura Batcha in Brattleboro, VT, and studied massage at the School of Harmonic Massage in Montpelier VT (1995) and at the Central Ohio School of Massage in Columbus OH (1997-99). In 1999 Beatrix moved to Great Falls and opened The Root and The Leaf, an herb store and massage business, with her long-time friend and fellow herbalist Jennephyr Reiche-Sterling. Beatrix took over the business in 2005 and runs it by appointment and mail order. You can find it online at www.rootandleaf.com.
Branko Reiche- Volunteer Coordinator/Mediator
I am the Mediator/Volunteer coordinator on the board. My job is to make sure that the voting process on the board works out and I am in charge of the highly appreciated volunteer team that makes every Gathering such a great experience.
Unlike the other board members I know absolutely nothing about herbs but I fully support the herbal movement in the world. In 2007 Jennephyr and I started Earth Heart Spirit LLC, an educational company that focuses on putting knowledge out in the open to enable people to live a healthy sustainable life.
When Jennephyr got involved with the Montana Herb Gathering in 2008 I attended the gathering in the Hylite Youth Camp in Bozeman and naturally my brain started wondering how I could organize this whole event even better (Kris & Katrina were doing an awesome job but were working themselves to death, more help was needed) In 2009 I was in the middle of it and with circumstances forcing the gathering to be at my home how could I not help as much as I can... After being voted in as board member that year I organized the volunteers for the 2010 Butte and the 2011 Sugarloaf gathering and fully enjoyed doing so. I am looking forward to the 2012 Diamond Bar X event and think it is going to be the best gathering ever.
I hope to see you all there !
Georgina Sterling- Fun Zone Coordinator
My love for nature and my desire to gain knowledge of the plants that we are blessed with leads me back to the Montana Herb Gathering every year. I am the mother of a wonderful 12 year old son, D’Angelo and a beautiful 3 year old daughter, Jaiden. This will be my second year as the Fun Zone Coordinator; last year’s Fun Zone was A BLAST! I loved working with the children and was amazed every day by their wisdom and creativeness. This year will also be my first year on the Montana Herb Gathering’s Board of Directors. It is awesome to see the hard work that goes into creating this wonderful event. I am very excited for this year’s event and hope that you are too. Love and Light to all.