Ali comes from a varied background ranging from farming, gardening, and herbalism, to yoga and martial arts, to social justice, community organizing and facilitation that spans over 25 years and several continents. She has a passion for the interconnection of people and plants and the wellbeing of both.

Ali grew up in Ohio and earned her Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Western College Program at Miami University, where she worked on her first organic farm. She went on to organize around social justice in Cincinnati while working with youth in urban gardens and helping to open a hip hop youth arts center. After suffering from activism burnout, Ali moved to California where she deepened her yoga, martial arts, and natural healing studies. Her herbalism background includes Ayurvedic as well as Traditional Chinese and Western herbalism, studying with the East West School of Planetary Herbology.

She is very grateful to now be at Banyan Farm which encompasses so many of her interests and passions. Ali is also grateful and excited to have the opportunity to witness to the inevitable growth of the LAI interns and BAI students alongside the continued growth of Banyan Farm.

Beverly is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, 500 hour Ayurvedic Yoga Instructor, Herbalist, and Educator. She graduated from The Ayurvedic Institute in 2016 and is a professional member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA).

Beverly offers Ayurvedic consultations and treatments through her personal practice, Shine Ayurveda, in the Ashland, Oregon area. She teaches courses for the LAI and BAI programs through the Banyan Farm as well as teaches classes in the local community.

Beverly has over 10 years of experience with herbal medicine, including compounding traditional Ayurvedic herbal medicine and jams, managing an Apothecary for a local Naturopathic Cancer Clinic, running an organic herb farm in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, and working in the Herb Department at The Ayurvedic Institute compounding Dr. Vasant Lad’s herbal formulas.

She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from the College of Charleston, SC with a focus on Eastern Sacred Texts, including those held in the lineage of Ayurveda. Inspired by her mother’s personal healing experience with Ayurveda, she was led to Albuquerque, NM to study with Dr. Lad.

With a passion for exploring the outdoors, Beverly is inspired by her surrounding environment and incorporates her observations of nature into her work and relationship with Ayurveda. She spends her time studying Ayurveda, hiking around Southern Oregon, and caring for her property. Her experience with organic farming complements her take on nutrition and diet and supports her in sharing that knowledge with others.

Brandon was born and raised on the east coast. He trained as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic in south Florida, where he gained 3 years of work experience in EMS, on top of volunteering for the local fire department.

In 2011, Brandon moved out west to start honing his agricultural skills and putting his early years of book studies into practice. Working on small diverse farms and pursuing sustainable agriculture became his focus in these years. In spring 2013, he attended Herb Pharm's Herbaculture Internship Program.

Brandon is a contracted wildcrafter to harvest both land and sea plants in the local bioregion. He has been a teacher for the Hawthorn Institute applying first aid in wild spaces and bridging his knowledge of herbal medicine and medical experience. Brandon is actively involved in Josephine Search and Rescue.

Cassidy Acacia is a yoga teacher, wilderness guide, herbalist and naturalist. She devotes her life to facilitating transformative experiences for her fellow humans via the somatic arts, nature connection, ancestral skills, and listening deeply to the wild and mysterious nature that resides within all beings.

For over two decades Cassidy has been immersed in leading groups, traversing wild landscapes and tending the land via homesteading, wildcrafting and farming. She brings a sense of humor, earthiness, and clarity to her teachings as well as deep reverence for the land, her teachers and all of the wisdom keepers who have come before her. She has served as core faculty for the Living Ayurveda Internship since its inception in 2020.

Keshari Das is a Brooklyn-based Ayurvedic Practitioner, offering traditional bodywork and educational workshops. She comes from a family of satyagrahis – nonviolent freedom fighters in India’s independence movement – and her early exposure to Gandhian principles inspired her exploration along paths of mindful practice. She has devoted herself to lifelong study of Ayurveda and is committed to sharing the teachings of this empowering wisdom tradition in an inclusive, antiracist, accessible, and sustainable manner.

Keshari has immersed in studies with Vasant Lad, MASc, and faculty, Dr. Claudia Welch, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Karen Rose, Tyler Wauters, and the inaugural cohort of the Living Ayurveda Internship, amongst many beloved others. Now she is grateful to serve with Ali Mramor as Education Coordinator for Banyan Farm.

Todd Anthony is an herbalist, cook, basket weaver, gardener and educator. He has an earth-based spirit, with a passion for plant-based medicine/food and using plants to affect and change the human body. His herbal education started at California School of Herbal Studies and he was a garden apprentice in 2011. In 2012, he attended Herb Pharm as an Intern with the Horticulture Program, then stayed on as an employee, growing, cultivating, and harvesting herbal medicine in 2013. With his love of the garden, whether it be cultivated or wild, and sharing the stories of plants, Todd joined the Hawthorn team from 2015-2020 as the Educational Garden Manager. He found that stewarding land in the vibration of community, allows the forest to enter as medicine and to unlock our inner truths and capacity for deepening connections.

Tyler is the Plant Education Director at Banyan Botanicals, a place-based herbalist, Ayurvedic practitioner, and founder of Hawthorn Institute.

Tyler has devoted his life to the practice of bioregional Ayurveda and community herbalism. He brings his passion and knowledge of nature into everything he shares. Tyler’s intention is to ignite deeper connections to place, people, and plants.

Tyler has studied with Vasant Lad, MASc, Dr. Claudia Welch, Sonia Masocco, Isla Burgess, 7song, and Frank Cook. He thanks all of his mentors for sharing life’s wisdom.

Valerie currently works as the administrator for Banyan Farm and before that spent two years in the field as a farm tender alongside the intern groups. She loves being able to help students and interns find what excites them about healing and the natural world. She is originally from Wisconsin and spent much of her life moving along the West Coast before settling down in Southern Oregon. She has now been in the Applegate Valley for 7 years.

Valerie has an Environmental Sciences B.S. degree from U.C. Santa Barbara. She continued on to study Western Herbalism at the California School of Herbal Studies and also received her certification for Clinical Herbalism from Hawthorn Institute. Valerie also spent several years co-operating Rogue Herbalism, a local non-profit pop-up herbal clinic. She has spent much of her adult life studying plant medicines and working on farms from California to Alaska.

Valerie is inspired to help make herbalism accessible to everyone and enjoys helping people find ways to bring more plant medicines into their kitchens and homes. She loves having a good laugh, sharing stories with friends, and learning from the world around her—including all of you lovely people who travel from far and wide to visit us at the farm! The intern program is very special and Valerie is honored to share in the journey with you.