Bio — Grassroots Apothecary

Deia Pauline, RH-AHG Clinical Herbalist | Health Educator | Herbal Clinic Coordinator Atlanta, GA | she/her

Deia Pauline is a clinical herbalist and educator based in Atlanta, GA, practicing since 2008 and registered with the American Herbalist Guild since 2014. A longtime Wilderness First Responder and former EMT, she brings field medical grounding to her herbal practice. She teaches in Berkeley Herbal Center's Village Herbalist 2 program and runs Grassroots Apothecary, a community herbal practice rooted in mutual aid and collective care.

Her field clinical work spans nearly two decades -- from MASHH Clinic Collective to her own herbal wellness clinics at Sunset Campout, Oregon Eclipse and Envision Music Festivals, multiple Women's Herbal Symposiums, Buckeye Earth Skills Gatherings, and disaster relief deployments. Locally, she supports Fleur + Forage's free herbal clinics serving marginalized communities across Atlanta.

This practice exists to keep care alive inside a system that actively devalues it.

My own healing journey, teachers, professional experience, and the plants themselves all deeply inform my practice. Growing up in a chaotic household eating the Standard American Diet resulted in migraines starting at age five, a depleted immune system, chronic fatigue, depression, and anxiety.

Discovering herbal medicines helped me understand my body, strengthen my mind, and find inner peace. Flora and fungi regulated my immune and nervous systems. Nutrient-dense foods, probiotics, breathwork, and herbal medicine allowed me to experience ease and grace, reconnect with my true nature, and restore a sense of wonder. I feel more resilient now in my late 40s than I did in my 20s.

I offer deep listening and client-led, non-judgmental care. My work is practical, trauma-aware, and rooted in lived experience.

I'm a bookworm and obsessive learner who spends time reading, writing, home cooking, and spending as much time in nature as possible. You may catch me dancing to house music beneath the stars.

Services: Consultations | Classes | Clinics | Contact

Publications

Best Practices Guide for Herbal First Aid and Wellness at Events and On the Front Lines (author, 2012-2024) A 144-page field operations manual covering risk assessment, scope of practice, team structure, legal frameworks, sanitation, trauma-informed care, anti-oppression protocols, and 50+ clinical protocols. Adopted by multiple instructor teams and event producers as a foundational training resource.

Ask First! Better Practices with Local Indigenous Peoples When Producing Events on Their Lands (co-author) Protocol guide for event producers on Indigenous consultation, territorial acknowledgment, and cultural appropriation policies. Adopted by festival producers and hosted by White Noise Collective.

Herbal First Aid Aftercare for People Harmed by Police Violence (co-author) A practical harm reduction guide covering decontamination, wound care, trauma response, and herbal support protocols for individuals and communities in the aftermath of police violence. Developed for street medics, mutual aid networks, and community care teams.

Training and Experience

Clinical Energetic Herbalist, 2008 to present -- San Francisco Bay Area, Arizona, and Atlanta. RH(AHG).

Registered Herbalist, American Herbalist Guild, 2014 to present

Guest Instructor, Berkeley Herbal Center Therapeutics and Village Herbalist 2 Programs, 2024 to present

Guest Instructor, Scarlet Sage School of Traditional Healing Arts

Guest Instructor, Gathering Thyme Herbal School

Member, Harborside Wellness Center integrative care team, 2008 to 2018 -- aligned with American Herbalists Guild standards

Wilderness First Responder, 2004 to present -- trained to assess and treat people with injuries and illnesses in remote settings

Emergency Medical Technician, Chabot College, 2005 -- Hayward, CA

Community Organizing, Street Medic, and Mutual Aid, 1997 to present

Medicine for All Seeking Health and Healing (MASHH), 2011 to 2019 -- herbal first aid clinics and education at large outdoor gatherings throughout the Pacific Northwest

SoundMind Institute, 2021 and 2022 -- two six-month masterclasses in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for clinicians

Addiction Recovery and Integration Coach, Being True To You, 2021 to 2022

Polaris Insight, 2021 -- principles and procedures of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in a clinical setting

The Dhyana Center, 2014 to 2015 and 2018 to 2019 -- two 10-month 200-hour programs in Ayurvedic foundations, diagnostics, aromatherapy, herbs, and whole food nutrition; teacher's aide and internship, Sebastopol, CA

Clinical and Energetic Herbalist Programs, Blue Otter School of Herbal Medicine, 2009 to 2011 -- Fort Jones, CA, 400 hours

Herbal Foundations and Therapeutics, Berkeley Herbal Center, 2005 to 2008 -- 30-month program, 400 hours

Anne Braden Anti-Racist Organizer Training Program, Catalyst Project, 2008 and 2012 -- San Francisco, CA

Managerial Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Business and Public Speaking, Drug and Alcohol Counseling, Santa Rosa Junior College, 2019

Nonprofit Governance

Vice President, Board of Directors Whisker Lounge Cat Research and Therapy Center (501c3) | Atlanta, GA | 2026 to present

About Grassroots Apothecary