Herbal Cocktail & Mocktail Class

Gayle Engels is the Special Projects Director for the American Botanical Council (ABC) where she has worked since 1995. She oversees and guides the development of ABC’s website and content management system (CMS). Gayle directs ABC’s HerbMedPro database, coordinates HerbDay nationally, and writes content for ABC’s website, including its free ecards, Healthy Ingredients profiles, and Adopt-an-Herb pages. Gayle wrote more than 50 Herb Profiles for HerbalGram over 13 years and currently edits and formats Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program articles for publication on ABC’s website. Gayle has a degree in secondary education and manages the Education Department and the 25 themed gardens on ABC’s 2.5 acre Case Mill homestead. Gayle gives presentations for educational groups and plant-oriented organizations, including demonstrations, study groups, lectures, and tours of ABC’s gardens. She is a lifetime member of the Austin Herb Society, recently finished her term as the Botany and Horticulture chair for the Herb Society of America, and is thrilled to have received HSA’s inaugural Madalene Hill Award for Excellence in Herbal Education.

Lauren Peterson began her studies with Sacred Journey School of Herbalism in 2014 and fell so deeply in love with the plants that she never left! She now assists Ginger in all intro level classes, teaches Kitchen Witchery classes, and is the Admin for the school. She founded her own herbal business, White Deer Apothecary, in 2015 and makes small batch herbal medicines, private label herbal products, and sees clients for herbal consultations. Lauren's passion for plants grew from her desire to deepen her connection with the natural world and nurture relationships that allow healing to take place. Her favorite places to be are outdoors, in the kitchen, and on the dance floor.