She grew up working in the cotton fields and running through the woods of North Alabama, fishing on creek banks, eating squirrel dumplings and hunting ginseng. Phyllis began learning about the plants in the woods when she was around 10. Both her grandmother and father taught her to identify and use local plants. Her extended paternal family were wildcrafters and depended upon the wild harvesting of plants such as ginseng and pink root for cash money. Her initial training was in the traditional Southern and Appalachian Folk Medicine of the region and Native American medicine.

It’s been a long journey from those early days. In addition to her studies in folk medicine, Phyllis earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a master’s degree in health studies from the University of Alabama. She is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, a member of the International Herb Association and the Herb Society of America. Phyllis is also a licensed massage therapist, Reiki master and a Therapeutic Touch practitioner. She has almost 25 years of experience in private practice and was the director of herbal studies at Clayton College for 12 years while serving as its primary course writer.

Phyllis’ well-established reputation and knowledgeable expertise has allowed her to travel far afield of her Southern Appalachian home, lecturing and teaching about herbs, integrative and complementary medicine, and traditional folk healing techniques. Consequently, she has taught and lectured at herb schools, universities, hospitals and natural health conferences. She has continued her studies and practice and has acquired a wide range of experience with herbs, clinical herbalism and other healing modalities.

Central to Phyllis' philosophy of health is a strong belief in caring for the environment and maintaining a deep-rooted respect for the Earth’s ecological systems. She understands that this type of respect for the natural world is a crucial tenet of folk medicine and is required for the health of the mind, body and spirit. And ultimately, it all boils down to a commonsense approach to human and environmental care.

Also central to Phyllis' philosophy is the importance of family. Good health should be a family affair and she believes that we must teach our children and grandchildren about the benefits of natural health, good nutrition, quality sleep, exercise, fresh air, sunshine, clean water and the role that herbs can play in building and maintaining good health. "We must do this in order to help develop healthy, smart citizens for this country and this world."

In addition, Phyllis believes in the mind/body connection and the influence of psychological wellness and stress in chronic diseases and disorders as well as on immune functioning. Stress, anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders have become major factors in the health of society.

Above all, Phyllis devotes herself to building a bridge between traditional knowledge and modern-day science; to hold sacred the traditional herbal and healing knowledge that has been handed down from generation to generation while embracing the scientific knowledge of today.