Name: Sheila Manzagol

Position: Herbalist/Farmer/Owner

Favorite Botanical: As an herbalist, I feel very lucky to be growing the medicinal herbs that we use in our herbal products.I love all botanicals and enjoy growing them so that I can get a sense of the different personalities. For example, Comfrey (common name Knitbone) has a life force that is rare. You can grow a plant from a piece of root the size of a pin head. Another example is Motherwort. She is tall with a purple flower that looks very soft from afar. To touch her is something else. She is a bit prickly with an underestimated strength. That said, I would have to pick nettles as a favorite. It emerges early in the spring, is a great spring tonic, is wonderful for mitigating allergies, is full of assimilable iron and is fun to eat in soups or as a pesto. It is also used in Biodynamic preparations. The fiber has historically been used for making cordage by native people and is currently being used to make beautiful articles of clothing. All this with just one plant! Wow!

Music: I listen to all types of music, but I mostly listen to rock, classical, Native American, Hawaiian, flamenco, jazz and meditative music.

Books/Movies: I love to read and watch things that are uplifting. Time is limited and I have no interest in that which brings about negative emotion or conflict. My favorite all time movie is The Sounds of Music. I enjoy reading books by many folks, particularly David Hawkins and Bruce Lipton.

Hobbies/Interests: I live in an outdoor playground so just going outside makes me happy. I love to run, hike and mountain bike on the beautiful local trails and back country roads. I also enjoy cooking (especially with the fresh produce from the farm). Traveling fills my soul and keeps everything in perspective. I love life and am compelled to explore ways that can blend the bounty of the natural world with healing and optimal wellness for all.

Favorite Quote: "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi.

Experience: Graduated with a degree in biology and first worked in an immune biology lab researching AIDS at Stanford Medical School. I started studying herbology 18 years ago and am a certified clinical herbologist with the East West School of Herbology. I loved studying with the East West School of Herbology because of the incorporation of Western and Eastern herbal traditions. I have recently been studying Brain Gym and Touch for Health. Brain Gym and Touch for Health also incorporate ancient Western and Eastern wisdom along with more recent energetic knowledge. I like to think of myself and Shining Mountain Herbs as alchemists. Combining the best of ancient herbology with newer healing modalities like Brain Gym and Touch for Health to create herbal medicine that effects healing on all four levels of existence: Spirit, Mind, Emotion and Body.

Name: Tim J. Manzagol

Position: Owner - responsible for operations development and "all loose ends"

Favorite Botanicals: Rhodiola rosea, Osha, Elecampane, Although we have many great products, my favorite is the Rocky Mountain Herbal Bitters formulation. I have some digestive issues and it's probably saved my marriage :)

Music: I love almost all types of music. It's food for the soul and I rely on music abundantly for relaxation and general enjoyment. Such incredible diversity in musical lyrics and instrumental composition inspires me. Classical, jazz, blues, rock, native american, and bluegrass are probably my favorite types. I love too many artists to name them and would likely forget some great ones thus,regret not mentioning them. However...of the hundreds of albums and CDs that I do own, I suspect I have more of Neil Young's music than anybody else.

Interests: Many. I love the natural sciences and particularly geology. Also high on my list is the plant kingdom and the diverse habitats that it creates along with other side benefits such as our atmosphere. The kingdom is quite humbling. The interrelationship of all things on our planet amazes me and I find much joy being part of the web. Preservation of earth's natural resources is high on my list of interests.

Name: Serguei Bouzalo

Position: Field Maintenance and Construction

Favorite Botanicals: Calendula, because it has so many functions, is easy to grow, and is so beautiful.

Books/Movies: Extensive library on botany, medicinal herbs and farming.

Interests: Farming, medicinal herbs and mushroom hunting. Making/infusing medicinal wines.

Experience: Grew up in the Ukraine on a family farm where growing your food and harvesting herbs for medicine were the way of life. Spent many years in the woods learning the secrets of the local botanicals and wildlife. Has spent many years as a farmer and also, more recently as a carpenter.

Name: Malissa Susanne Carter Christeson

Favorite Botanical: Osha, brings back memories of wildcrafting in Arizona Cimi Boone.

Music: I love to sing reggae and folk music. Favorite songs to sing, "Closer to Find" by the Indigo Girls. Favorite musician, Bunny Wailer (I got to meet him at the 2000 Reggae on the river show).

Books/Movies: Illusions (Richard Bach), Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Movie), The Wiz (Movie), and Incredible Shrinking Woman (Movie).

Interests: Incorporating wholistic medicine into her RN practice, and becoming a Nurse Practitioner.

Experience: I have been a Registered Nurse for 7 years. I love being able to help people and to help them heal. My work in nursing requires quite a bit of detail work that is helpful for me with my work at Shining Mountain Herbs. On a personal note: I remember camping outside of Ruby's Gulch about 15 years ago and becoming sick. A brother turned me on to wild cherry bark and echinacea. I couldn't believe how these herbs helped heal me. That was my first experience with herbal medicine. About two years later I found myself wildcrafting traditional Navajo herbs in Arizona with a member of the Boone family learning about wholistic healing. Today I am a wife to a phenomenal musician and my backbone, David; a mother to four amazing children, Sierra, Brooke, Nathaniel and Isaiah; and a Registered Nurse. Working at Shining Mountain Herbs is truly a blessing. It has helped me regain my connection to the earth. Everyone here at the farm are truly beautiful beings.

Name: Koral Delatierra

Position: Field Coordinator

Favorite Botanicals: Acorus calamus, commonly known as Sweet Flag or Calamus has helped me tremendously with any digestive ailments I have suffered from. It is also said to have rejuvinating effects on the brain and nervous system.

Books/Movies: "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse, "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant, "The Man Who Planted Trees" by Jean Giono, "One-Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka.

Interests: Growing food and medicinals, sailing, singing, dancing, celebrating life.

Experience: I have undergone a series of trainnings in permaculture design, wholistic management, sustainable agriculture, soil biology, compost, natural building, water management, waste management and animal husbandry. I have been fortunate enough to study with some of the top teachers in their fields. It has been an honor to work with a such a diverse array of progressive organizations, businesses and non-profits practicing, teaching and promoting responsible land stewardship and sustainable/regenerative design. I am passionate about this work and feel nourished by my involvement in cultivating a sustainable future.

Favorite Quotes: "One must pass through the fire to come out as gold." -Rumi

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair." -Kahlil Gibran

"When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings." -Masanobu fukuok

Name: Mani Persephone Geter

Position: Herbal Preparation Assistant and Field Assistant.

Works: inside on drying, garbling processing

Favorite Botanicals: All Blue Gentians, all wild violets, osha, rattlesnake plantain, pasque flower.

Music: Bluegrass, Folk, Native American Flute, East Indian, Regaee, Country, Ma Muse.

Books/Movies: Britta (Paulo Cuelo), Medicinal Plants of the Mountains West (Michael Moore), Jitter Bug Perfume (Tom Robbins), Harold & Maude (Movie).

Interests: Hiking in the mountain high country of Colorado visiting all my plant and nature being friends. Growing plants, belly dancing, wildcrafting, Mind, Body, Sprit medicine/healing.

Favorite Quotation: As Above So Below.

Experience: Working with medicinal and culinary herb farms. Wildcrafting of medicinal herbs for teas. Bodyworker: CMT (Certified Massage Therapist), Chi Net Tsang (internal organ massage), Cranisacral Therapy.

Name: Jaime Gubelmann

Position: In the Fields and Office Manager

Favorite Botanical: Mullen, Nettles

Music: Gillian Welch, Be Good Tanyas, Bob Dylan, Neil Young

Books: The 5th Sacred Thing, Hands of Light, Herbal Healing for Women.

Interests: Growing and using herbs as medicine, growing toward simplicity, poetry, the pursuit of happiness, motherhood, wholeness

Quotes: "Let the beauty you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth." Rumi

Experience: My interest in medicinal plants started when I was in college. I was fascinated to learn that the plants I had known all my life growing up in rural Vermont had healing qualities and could be used as medicine. I began to use herbs as medicine then and continue to learn more and more daily from our plant teachers.

Before working here I was a massage therapist, and caterer in Telluride, CO. I love working with my hands and I enjoy growing and using herbs as medicine.

I am an energy medicine practiioner and practice External Chi Healing.

I planted my first garden when I was 5 years old. My uncle hired me to seed up his (very large) backyard garden for a dollar. It seemed like a great bargain for me at the time! As that summer went on, I saw the fruits (and vegetables) of my work and have been hooked on growing ever since.

Name: Wyeth Gubelmann

Position: Technical and Mechanical Support, Beekeeper, Office Staff

Favorite Botanical: Wild Rose

Music: Grateful Dead, Dave Rawlings Machine, Widespread Panic

Books: Aztec, Into Thin Air

Interests: Paragliding, Surfing, Snowboarding, Dirt Bike Riding, My Sweet Little Girl, Beekeeping

Experience: Former Rally Car Racer, Mechanic, and jack of all trades. I work mostly inside at the farm on research, production, mechanics and in the office.

Name: Joshua LaSala

Position: Graphic Arts Guru

Favorite Botanicals: Echinacea, Garlic

Music: The Avett Brothers, Explosions in the Sky, Pretty Lights, Mumford and Sons, The Glitch Mob, Cat Stevens, Paper Diamond, Etc...

Books/Movies: Shawshank Redemption (movie), ABLETON LIVE 8 POWER! The Comprehnsive Guide (Book), by Jon Margulies.

Interests/Hobbies: Mountain Biking, Music Production, Wake Boarding, Drawing, Skiing, Frisbee Tossing, Swimming, etc...

Favorite Quote: "A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." -William Shedd

Experience: I grew up with very broad interests; this is a quality I still embrace. However, art has always been one of my foremost interests. During high School I was able to explore this interest in various forms, one form being computer art. After taking a couple graphic design classes I was sold on the idea of becoming a graphic artist. This allowed for some great opportunities, including my position in Shining Mountain Herbs as a graphic designer, as well as further pursuit of this type of career as an Art major at Colorado State University. I am currently taking a semester hiatus from that path to study music.

Name: Brittney Manzagol

Position: Federal Excise Tax Liaison

Favorite Botanicals: Spilanthes, Astragalus, Echinacea, Osha, Ashwaganda

Music: Alternative, Indie

Books/Movies: For Books: Illusions by Richard Bach, My Antonia by Willa Cather, A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
For Movies: The Last Lions, Bag It, So Right So Smart, Pride and Prejudice

Interests: Environmentalism, Humanitarian Work, Education, Sustainable Farming.

Favorite Quote: "Until we leave behind these tall human husks of longing and memory, let our eyes and ears be ravenous, let our noses be apostles, and let our lips be insatiable and vigorous with praise." -Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Experience: I had the great fortune of growing up on the Shining Mountain Herb Farm. The summers in my youth were smattered with time planting vegetable gardens or picking calendula, and as I grew older I began taking on more tasks until I became a full time field hand. I am attending CU Boulder currently and living in Boulder prohibits me from being physically in the fields, but I am still actively working on the federal excise tax (not as much fun as the fields).