Raquel Nelson, General Manager/Web Manager/Buyer

Raquel began her herbal journey relatively late in life. She has had a lifelong interest in the natural modalities of healing but it in 2008, she had the marvelous good fortune to attain the assistant bookkeeper position here at Moonrise Herbs and there began her herbal education in earnest.

Formally, she has taken Jane Bothwell’s Beginning with Herbs and graduated from Jane’s 10-Month Herbal Intensive in 2010 and was blessed to have been able to work with Jane at Dandelion Herbal Center for over a decade. Since her initial herbal courses, she has had the great fortune to take classes and workshops with a myriad of noted herbalists, including Rosemary Gladstar, Mindy Green, Pam Montgomery, Karen Uphoff and Kevin Spelman...and more!

Informally, she views every single day as an opportunity to learn more and more about herbs, formulations, nutrition and energetic healing…just to name a few. She is so thankful for every Moonrise customer for asking all those wonderful and challenging questions that continue to further this great journey of knowledge!

Raquel has lived in Humboldt County almost her whole life and couldn’t ask for a better place to call home! She spends her tiny slice of free time with her partner, Mike, playing with her cats, Mer & Dax, and reading as much as she can.  .

                                                                      Arika Schroeder, Herbalist/Customer Service Specialist

Arika began walking the path of plants around 2014 when she became aware of Jane Bothwell & Dandelion Herbal Center.  Since then, she has participated in the Beginning with Herbs program, the 10-Month Herbal Studies Program and the Herbal Clinic course, as well as the Shamanic Herbalism program.  From 2016 - present, she has assisted Jane in many of her herbal programs. 

When she is not studying, Arika enjoys spending her time with her magical wolf Tracker. Spending conscientious and intentional moments with friends and family, soaking up as much sun as possible, sharing space with the natural world, cooking delicious meals, and simply enjoying being alive. 

With a great deal of focus on the human being living an actualized and well life, she loves to serve her community, friends, and family and is honored to be part of the Moonrise team! 

Heather Jackson, Customer Service Specialist

After moving to the area to further her studies in Psychology & Botany at Humboldt State, Heather joined us here at Moonrise in the summer of 2021.  Her passion for healing was inspired by her grandparents who worked in midwifery, homeopathy and nursing and her own love of natural ways was reignited later on when she herself experienced seizures and other medical issues.  Heather brings a lot of knowledge and experience working with supplements and has previous study in Nutrition & Dietetics and Holistic Health from Ventura College.  She hopes to be able to help and inspire others in their own journeys of healing. 

Alex Ammon, Herbalist/Customer Service Specialist

Alex has been studying herbs since 2014 when she began attending Healing Hands School of Holistic Health. During her time there, she immersed herself into a plethora of massage modalities, energetic healing techniques, and the wonderful world of plants.  Through herb walks and online classes, Alex continues to learn from clients, friends, herbalists and everyone who comes into Moonrise!

In her free time, Alex is dancing, hiking in the redwoods, cooking for her friends & family, or traveling.  Her sweet pup accompanies her most places and she is so grateful for the experiences she has had to get her to this very present moment.

Danny Davis, Herbalist/Customer Service Specialist

Danny Davis grew up in Humboldt County which, over the years, instilled a great love for the outdoors, natural places, the environment, and the communities that center themselves around those things. After living in the beautiful Southwest, going to college, and working in outdoor adventure education for about 7 years, Danny moved back to Arcata.  They have been excited to focus on slowing down, studying herbalism, being outdoors, dancing, gardening, going on adventures, and spending time with loved ones. After taking a Beginning with Herbs class and the 10-Month Herbal Studies class with Dandelion Herbal Center, Danny is more inspired than ever to continue immersing in plant medicine and furthering their education in this field!  Danny is honored to work at Moonrise Herbs and has hopes of having a positive impact helping the community and promoting holistic self-care and personal healing.  Although relatively new to their herbal journey, Danny sincerely wants to continue learning from and growing with the plants. 

Susan Marie Hughes, Staff Herbalist/Customer Service Specialist

 Susan Marie began her herbal journey during a healing crisis in 2011. This led her to study herbalism at the California School of Herbal Studies in Sonoma County, her birthplace. In 2018 she started farming and did an apprenticeship with shamanic herbalist Susun Weed where she eventually was initiated as Green Witch. This propelled her to begin intensive self-study of herbalism and plant magick. In the Fall of 2021 she began serving the Humboldt community here at Moonrise Herbs.

After a brief sojourn up to Alaska, Susan Marie returned to Moonrise to teach classes and then as a staff herbalist.  She recently launches her business Susan Marie Herbal, and educational venture teaching embodied herbalism in a variety of formats and Wylde Rose Apothecary, her line of handcrafted folk remedies and teas.  She is currently studying at Dandelion Herbal Center in their 10 Month Herbal Apprenticeship program and is excited to see where her path through the wilds of herbalism will take her next.

Ava Guillen, Herbalist/Botanist/Graphic Design

Ava started walking the plant path when she made the commitment to Cal Poly Humboldt as a botany major back in 2019. In attempts to bridge two realms of plant knowledge together, she started studying herbalism in 2020 where her studies took her through a variety of courses such as Sajah Popham’s Alchemical Herbalism and Sarah Wu’s Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path. Born an earth sign, she feels it’s her life’s purpose to be a student of the earth and to continue exploring the deep wisdom this planet has to offer. 

 Today she is delighted to be part of the Moonrise Herbs family and to connect her community with the magical and fascinating world of herbal allies. Outside of Moonrise you may find her surfing, playing music, geeking out over all things nature (especially over small beings like lichens and mosses) or reading a book alongside her black cat, Isis. 

Ilea Woods, Bookkeeper

Ilea came to Moonrise Herbs not only with a B.S. in Business Accounting with an Art History minor, but also as a life-long student of the arts, and with a wealth of knowledge of alternative healing.  She loves stones and crystals, reiki, sound healing, and more!  An ardent photographer, Ilea is rarely seen without her camera. 

Though not seen often on the sales floor, she is a central figure to the Moonrise Herbs family, and has the uncanny ability to stay calm in almost any situation; considering the frustrations most people have balancing their checkbooks, we here at Moonrise admire her ability to wade through all that never-ending paperwork and still stay sane!  Truth be told, we're not sure she's not a patient deity sent down to teach us by example.  ;-)