Instructors

Maxine Barish-Wreden

M.D., AIHM

Dr. Maxine Barish-Wreden graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1985 and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at UC Davis Medical Center in 1988. She has been practicing medicine in Sacramento since then and has been with Sutter Medical Group since 1992. She has a long-term passionate interest in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, particularly Mind-Body-Spirit Medicine, and in the capacity of the human body, psyche, and spirit to heal, given the appropriate environment. She believes that illness and physical symptoms are often our body’s way of getting our attention and showing us where we may be out of balance, whether it be in the area of nutrition, stress, fitness, non-restorative sleep, unresolved trauma, career, environmental exposures, nature and laughter deficits, social deficits, or spiritual concerns. She strives to explore all of these issues with her patients so that together they can come up with a plan to help restore wholeness in body, mind and spirit. She feels honored to be able to do this work.

Dr. Max is the Medical Director of the Sutter Health Institute for Health & Healing (IHH) in Sacramento, a part of the Sutter Health system-wide IHH. The IHH offers multiple healing modalities, including functional and integrative medicine, group medical appointments, nutritional consultations, acupuncture, aromatherapy, mind-body therapies, and a chronic pain support group.

Dr. Max is a 2012 graduate of the University of Arizona Fellowship in Integrative Medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Weil, and she was honored to have been selected as her class speaker at graduation. She has also completed the functional medicine training program with the Institute for Functional Medicine. She became board-certified with the inaugural National Boards in Integrative Medicine in 2014. In 2012, she retired from her primary care practice so that she could focus full-time on doing Integrative Medicine consults.

Rev. Candis Cantin

Integrative Herbalist, Counselor and Teacher

Rev. Candis Cantin has over 30 years of practical experience as an herbalist, herbal and nutritional counselor and teacher of holistic lifestyle principles. Her background includes extensive Western herbal studies, as well as studies in Ayurvedic and Chinese healing systems. Two of Candis’ main teachers are Dr. Michael Tierra with the East West Herbal program and Dr. Vasant Lad of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque. She is also a founding member of the American Herbalist Guild. For over 30 years, Candis has owned and directed the EverGreen School of Integrative Herbology and Ministry located in the Sierra Foothills where there are extensive organic botanical gardens to view. View her gardens and class schedule at evergreenherbgarden.org. Candis is the artist of the Herbal Tarot Deck, co-author of the Spirit of Herbs with Michael Tierra and the author of Pocket Guide to Ayurvedic Healing.

Greg Howes & Brian Fikes

Owners, Two Flew the Coop

Greg and Brian have over 20 years of experience keeping chickens in urban environments. They have helped countless people with the ins and outs of proper chicken care. They look forward to sharing the many benefits and joys that come from welcoming backyard chickens into your world. Two Flew the Coop offers one-of-a-kind artisan-themed coops, consultations, classes, books and supplies.

Shannon Hardwicke

Youth Education Manager, Soil Born Farms

Shannon manages our Youth Education Program, facilitating teacher training, curriculum development for school gardens and staff development. She has worked on school gardens for 10 years now using her experience in community development with a passion to develop, equip and sustain successful school garden programs. In addition, Shannon provides oversight to the Youth education programs including 10 school gardens, daily farm field trips, summer camps, teen empowerment, internships, youth cooking experiences and regional school garden program development.

Shawn Harrison

Founder & Co-Director, Soil Born Farms

Shawn is the founder and co-director of Soil Born Farms, a non-profit urban farming and education center located in Sacramento, CA. Through its urban farm, programs and partnerships, Soil Born Farms works to create a more sustainable and equitable food system for the Sacramento region. Shawn’s work in organic agriculture and local food systems development began in 1993 as an organic farming apprentice. In 1997, he completed the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture and holds an M.S. degree in International Agriculture Development from U.C. Davis. Shawn founded Soil Born Farms in 2000 and has been recognized for his leadership in the local food system with several awards including the 2009 recipient of Valley Vision’s Regional Environmental Legacy Award and the UC Davis Alumni Award of Distinction in 2011.

Cliff Hawley

Bird Walk and Field Trip Leader

Cliff Hawley grew up on a small ranch in Lincoln, CA and discovered a love of birds at 14 when he found a male Vermilion Flycatcher in his yard. He has been birding for over 20 years. He’s a field trip leader for local Audubon groups and a board member with the Central Valley Bird Club. He lives and works in Sacramento with his wife and daughter.

Christina Lewis

Christina Lewis is a Board member of California Native Plant Society’s Sacramento Valley Chapter. In 2007, she along with other volunteers, started SacValley CNPS Nursery and Demo Gardens (formerly Elderberry Farms) and continues to be its director. She loves introducing the wonders of native plant habitat to people who are unfamiliar with the native flora that surrounds us. She has held several leadership positions in SVC CNPS and co-chairs Homegrown Habitat which is developing ways to expand native plant habitat through collaborations. Get inspired, be creative and feel connected to the native plants and nature in our Demonstration Gardens.

Serena Ling

Herbalist, Mindfulness Teacher

Serena Ling is an herbalist and mindfulness teacher who grows her own plants and mushrooms. She has developed potent extraction techniques for reishi and turkey tail mushrooms among others, and works in clinical research to establish safe and effective treatments. Her focus is on preventative medicine and increasing knowledge on clinical use of whole plant and mushroom supplements. Her passion for chemistry and fungi and human disease has led Serena to become a PA student going into clinical medicine. She has worked in cancer research with integrative oncologists. She consults patients on supplements and mindfulness techniques for holistic health. Her studies have included pharmacology, emergency medicine, homeopathy, Tibetan medicine, herbal medicine, permaculture, conservation, and hydrology. Find her rollerblading with her poodle when she’s not in clinic, or harvesting a pile of turkey tail from her backyard logs.

Kellan MacKay

Khela Herbs, Owner

Kellan came to California seeking a farm apprenticeship and apprenticed at Soil Born Farms in 2009. In her first season of full time farming, she learned to cook for a team and established a community committed to good food—both of which were equally instrumental in cementing her career path as farmer and Renaissance woman. She has studied herbalism for nine years under the tutelage of Candis Cantin, the California School of Herbal Studies, as well as at the Sonoma County Herb Exchange. Kellan managed a wholesale nursery in Sonoma, and then moved to a farm where she grew flowers and helped start the Sonoma Flower Mart. She is excited to be back at Soil Born Farms, sharing her love for connecting plants and people.

Jenn MacLeod

Sunflower and Sage Gardens, Owner

Jenn grew up in rural Arkansas where family gardens, hunting and preserving are common. However, it wasn’t until college that she realized the importance of those traditions and how we conduct them. While earning her B.S. in Sociology and Anthropology at Arkansas Tech University she gained an academic understanding of food culture and systems and their impact on the environment. She knew she wanted to be on the front lines of the modern conversation about our food so she moved to the California Central Valley in 2014. For 3 years she was involved in small-scale food businesses, farmers’ markets and production farms in a variety of occupations. Jenn then learned about Soil Born Farms, began volunteering in school gardens and joined the Youth Education team full-time in 2017-2020.

Rachel Morrison

Founder and Owner, The Beecharmers

Rachel is the founder and owner of The Beecharmers, an urban beekeeping company with a focus on community. Prior to her adventures in beekeeping, she was a science teacher in both Birmingham, Alabama and Sacramento, California as a Teach for America Corps Member. She is currently the Program Manager at Junior Achievement of Sacramento and the President of the Sacramento Area Beekeeper’s Association (SABA). She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her work experience includes community outreach, nonprofit management, teaching and program development. Rachel’s passions are beekeeping, education, economic empowerment, environment and community building. Visit Rachel’s website for more information about what she does in the community. http://www.hivetospoon.com/

Michelle Sikora

Cooking and Nutrition Coordinator, Soil Born Farms

Michelle Sikora was born and raised in Sacramento. She graduated from CSUS in 2012 with a degree in Food and Nutrition and a minor in Child Development. While attending college she also earned a certificate from CSUS in Family Life Education. Michelle was introduced to Soil Born Farms when selected for an internship related to her field of study and fell in love with the goals of improving healthy food access to all and making a difference within her community. Through a separate internship with the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, she has seen firsthand how important organizations like Soil Born Farms can be. Michelle has always had a passion for cooking and nutrition and has found a place where she can focus her education and interests simultaneously.

Tyler Stowers

Farm Consultant, Soil Born Farms

Tyler’s interest in agriculture started in the kitchens of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant where he worked while attending college. Awestruck and intrigued by the flavor and quality of the produce he was eating, he looked to the fields from whence they came to learn more. There he found eccentric plant whisperer Bob Cannard and his farmer training program, Green String Institute. In an attempt to learn how to grow incredible food like Bob’s, Tyler enrolled at Green String in the spring of 2011. There he had his ‘eureka’ moment discovering food’s connection to seemingly everything in the cosmos and his farm journey began. Since then, Tyler apprenticed and worked at farms in Northern California and Southern Oregon before returning home to the Sacramento area to pursue his own farm dreams. Tyler started working for Soil Born in the early spring of 2016.

Mark Van Horn

M.S. Degree in Plant Breeding and Pest Management

Mark recently retired from UC Davis. He was the director of the 20-acre Student Farm and taught courses in the Department of Plant Sciences. He guided the growth and development of the student farm program dedicated to experiential learning in agriculture, sustainability, the environment, food, nutrition, education and allied areas. His courses in the Department of Plant Sciences include sustainable agriculture, organic farming and food systems. He mentors dozens of students, including interns and graduate student researchers, each year. He has played key roles in the development of UC Davis’ major in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Van Horn has worked with numerous partners to help farmers increase the sustainability of their operations and to educate children and youth about agriculture, food, nutrition and sustainability. His publications focus on various aspects of sustainable and organic farming and sustainable agriculture education. In 2006, Van Horn and two colleagues hosted the first national conference on post-secondary sustainable agriculture education and he was a founding co-chair of the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association. Van Horn has several years of experience farming in California and the Midwest and MS degrees in plant breeding (University of Minnesota) and pest management (UC Davis).

Daylin Wade

Clinical Herbalist and Community Educator

Daylin Wade is a gardener and herbalist from Sacramento, now living and working on a farm in Nevada City. She is passionate about growing quality food, plant medicine, and maximizing self-reliance. She has grown food gardens on the California coast, in Sacramento, and on a remote ranch in Patagonia, and is currently completing a master’s degree in therapeutic herbalism. She has been teaching gardening and herbal classes at Soil Born Farms since 2014. (photo: Joan Cusick)

Summer Ward

Yoga Instructor

A Yoga Alliance registered teacher, I began practicing yoga in 2002, started teaching in 2006, began a vigorous advanced study of yoga in 2009 and made it my full time purpose in 2014. My style of teaching is grounded, intuitive and inward-focused. My biggest motivator in life is connection and my dharma (purpose) is service. I am certain that we experience our own inherent habits, patterns and cycles of change that, although extremely personal, mimic nature on this planet and our existence as a whole. I believe the answers are already within us and it’s my delight to uncover truth.

Janet Whalen Zeller

Founder & Co-Director, Soil Born Farms

Janet has been an activist and educator promoting local family farms, sustainable agriculture, organic food, healthy living and socially conscious business practices for over 30 years. Janet was the director of operations for the Good Earth, opening and managing restaurants in Northern California and Oregon. She was the marketing manager for the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op for 22 years. Janet earned a degree in Communications Studies at CSUS with a focus on interpersonal and intercultural communication. She is a trained mediator and facilitator. Janet is committed to connecting the people who grow food with the people who eat it and creating a local food system where everyone has access to fresh, healthy, organically grown food.

Karey Windbiel-Rojas

Associate Director for Urban and Community IPM and Area Urban IPM Advisor with the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM)

For the last 17 years, Karey has been involved in addressing pest issues around homes, structures, landscapes, gardens, schools, and public areas. She serves various residential audiences and pest management professionals who live in or serve these areas in developing educational materials, online content, and conducting research.