Maria Lavandier Bouffard

Co-Founder, Clinical Herbalist

Maria is a Clinical Herbalist, herbal medicine farmer, medicine maker, and flower essence formulator. Her education includes advanced programs in Clinical Herbalism and herbal formulation, supplemented by over 700 hours of training. She graduated from Twin Star Herbal Education clinical program where she studies under the expert teaching and guidance of Lupo Pasero. She has also trained at the Wintergreen Botanical Herbal Training Program with Maria Noel Groves. Her studies have covered various areas of herbalism including Traditional Herbalism, Advanced Herbal Science, Clinical Western Herbalism, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Flower Essence Therapy and more. Through the journey of formal training she discovered that her greatest and most beloved teacher has been and will always be the plants. 

Maria's passion for herbal medicine began when she and her husband, Luc, along with their dogs Lily (RIP), Honey B and Cha Cha, moved to a small farm in Chester, CT. She purchased Maria Noel Grove's book "Grow Your Own Medicine," and her journey in herbalism took flight. This field is deeply rooted in Maria's lineage. Originally from the Dominican Republic, her first ancestor who arrived from France in the late 1700s was an apothecarian. Her grandmother, Belisa Ortega, was a midwife and herbalist, while her grandfather, Federico Lavandier, served as the town physician. Her parents also pursued careers in the medical field—her father, Federico, was an anesthesiologist, and her mother, Martha, is a nurse. For Maria, the exploration of herbalism feels like an ancient calling.

Maria dedicated 25 years to humanitarian work and disaster response with the American Red Cross and served as the Emergency Manager at Yale. She is currently working at Benjamin Franklin College at Yale. She is very close to her beloved family and is blessed with a beautiful tribe of loving and supportive friends.