I am a board-certified acupuncturist, herbalist and Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM). I received dual Doctorate and Master’s degrees in acupuncture and herbal medicine from Five Branches University in 2023, with acupuncture licensing through the California Acupuncture Board, and national certification (Dipl. O.M.) through NCCAOM. I opened the practice Burlwood Acupuncture in the Spring of 2024 at Healthy Dragon Healing Arts in downtown Santa Cruz. Additionally, I practice at the Five Branches University Clinic.

Burlwood Acupuncture is built on patient-centered and trauma informed care where each patient’s own goals, sense of identity, and consent are held in the utmost regard. Aiming to treat every patient as the whole person they are, I listen deeply with an open heart. My background includes providing healthcare for trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming patients, unhoused community members, as well as participants in harm-reduction and MAT programs in Santa Cruz and Oakland, CA. I’m honored to have served as a wilderness first responder and street medic on 300 mile Indigenous-led Run4Salmon for four years.

Along with graduate level education, my training includes acupuncture certification from the National Hospital of Traditional Medicine in Hanoi, Vietnam, and internships with the Homeless Persons’ Health Project (a Santa Cruz County initiative), and Dr. Sally Sherriff, acupuncturist and holistic pediatrician. Before practicing as an acupuncturist, I studied in Forestville, CA, at the California School of Herbal Studies and Bay Herbalism Clinical Studies to become a community clinical herbalist. I also apprenticed at the Philo School of Herbal Energetics and the Motherland Botanical Sanctuary in Mendocino County to learn plant cultivation, land tending, herbal medicine making, and herb crafting. Before that, I received a B.A. in Community Studies with emphasis on agriculture, food, and social justice from UC Santa Cruz in 2012.