Staff
The Red Moon Herbs family has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Get to know our current staff members below.
Jeannie Dunn (Director)
Jeannie Dunn is the owner of Red Moon Herbs. Started in 1994 by Corinna Wood and Jessica Godino, Red Moon Herbs has seen many changes over the past 20 years, including a fourfold in growth, several locations, compliance with FDA regulation. Throughout these changes, the focus and mission of the business has remained strong and true: to create herbal products from local, abundant plants. As an herbalist and NC native, Jeannie has been wildcrafting and making herbal extracts, oils and salves for over 15 years. She studied at the NC School of Natural Healing and One World Healing Arts, but her herbal roots go much further back, to the back-to-basics lifestyle infused in her as a child. She picked strawberries, canned vegetables and pulled weeds from row crops with her parents and three siblings on their multi-generational family farm in Efland, NC. Today, knowing the powerful beneficial properties of those “weeds”, Jeannie happily uses them in her fermentations, herbal extracts and fun elixirs. Jeannie oversees both the art and the science of this earth-based, Wise Woman herbal business and herb hub. Jeannie's beloved herbs: milky oats extract, St. John's Wort oil, and nettles infusion. Jeannie is pictured here with her wise woman daughter Sofia Acevedo Dunn.Heather Wood Buzzard (Design/Research/Wildcrafting)
Heather Wood Buzzard, MA, works to craft the wild, with words and photographs, into a way of being wild in a world in need of exactly that. She apprenticed at Herb Pharm, the largest producer of botanical tinctures in the US, where she completed a season engaged in deeply learning and integrating a range of herbal knowledge from the production, processing and product making side to the areas of anatomy and physiology and botany. Heather completed her clinical herbalist training at the Appalachian Center of Natural Health with fourth generation herbalist Phyllis Light while also receiving her MA in writing with a Certificate in Narrative Medicine. Heather and her son (the junior wildcrafter below) dwells in the botanical abundance of Madison County.
Heather's everyday herbs: echinacea, Elderberry Elixir, and oatstraw nourishing herbal infusion.
Callie Wood (Production Team)
Callie is a WNC native and grew up in a household where herbs were the common method used for every health concern, large and small. Learning from her herbalist mother, she has fond memories of plantain for bites and stings, yarrow for bleeding cuts, poke berries for natural hair dye, and cracking black walnuts for faux tattoos. Starting as an intern and moving up to an employee, she has enjoyed the experience of being able to further her knowledge that Red Moon Herbs has offered her. Her favorite herbal preparations include: Green Wonder Salve, tulsi and oatstraw infusions, milky oats tincture, and blue vervain tincture.
Samantha Johnson (Production Team)
Raised to respect and admire nature, the plants have bewitched Samantha from an early age. 15 years of study and intimate relationship with our herbal allies has led her on the path to share the health-affirming gifts of the plants with her community. Samantha’s herbal training began at the Florida School of Holistic Living and has brought her to many different ecosystems across the US where she has been honored to study with a multitude of gifted teachers. Samantha’s academic studies include a BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Education and a minor in Biology from Warren Wilson College. She is a member of United Plant Savers and is currently working to reestablish endangered native beneficial plant species on family land in WNC. Samantha believes in accessible, affordable, and inclusive healthcare for all, and that the plants work for and with each and every one of us. Sam's everyday herbs include ashwagandha, tulsi, nettle, and garlic.
Melissa Kelmar (Customer Service & Order Fulfillment)
Just beginning her journey with herbalism, Melissa first developed a connection to the plant kingdom while studying Permaculture and Environmental Studies in South Florida. After moving to WNC to work in sustainable agriculture, she found herself drawn to the plethora of native herbs with rich histories. Melissa is currently a student at the Herbal Academy. She views herbalism as a means of connection to both nature and the body, as well as a liberating alternative to the western medical establishment. Three favorite herbal allies of Melissa's are calendula (tea), lemon balm, and milky oats.
