About Me

Thanks for your interest!

I am currently...

An herbalist, ethnobotanist, biologist, ecologist, teacher, wellness counselor, and more...

President, Herbalmagik LLC: Botanical Products, Education, Wellness Counseling, Wilderness Therapy, and Consulting.

The Clinical Herbalist and Wellness Counselor at White Owl Wellness Skin & Health Spa, located in Fort Collins.

Senior Vice President of Agriculture: Research, Education, & Community Programs at VidaLuz Development LLC.

Learning Facilitator, eCornell Medicinal Plants Certificate Program.

Instructor, Integrative Health Professions Program & Natural Sciences Department, Front Range Community College (Awarded Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year Award, 2021), where I teach classes such as Herbalism, Aromatherapy, Anatomy & Physiology, and Integrated Science.

Chair of the Wellness Committee, Front Range Community College.

Health Sciences & Wellness Career and Academic Community Navigator, Front Range Community College.

Secretary, Campus Instructor Committee, Front Range Community College.

Diversity Committee Member, Front Range Community College.

Laura's Teaching Philosophy

I strive to encourage sustainable action and health through education, personal empowerment, and deeper connection with nature. Through exploring and appreciating our connection with plants and the rest of the natural world, we better understand our responsibility to take care of and give back to our Mother Earth

and how to harness our own healing energy. Please take the time to be with nature, to incorporate it into your daily life, to give it appreciation and thanks. Please ask permission, vocally or internally, before harvesting plants and other natural substances and beings, before making them into useful products, and before consuming them.

Please reuse and recycle, remembering that decomposition and reintegration is the key to energy flow, immortality, the continuation of life and being. Avoid stagnation, seek continuous flow, rejuvenate, explore, create, be happy and healthy.

If you seek healing, first look inside yourself, then feel encouraged to contact me. I am happy to serve as a guide for you to find your own healing energy and to find assistance from various tools (such as herbal remedies, "horticultural/nature therapy", proper diet for you, and lifestyle choices). I have formal training in the biological sciences and botanical medicine and approach healing with an open mind and intuition but also guided by healthy skepticism and ongoing education about sound peer-reviewed studies on herbal remedies, healing therapies, and disease processes.

In addition to my research on Ethnobotanical, Ecological, and Disease Biology issues, I have 16 years experience teaching biological and wellness courses at the university level, including international field courses (e.g. Ethnobotany, Medical Ethnobotany, Botany, Microbiology, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Anatomy and Physiology, Biostatistics, Hawaiian Natural History and Conservation, Biology, Herbalism, Aromatherapy, Integrated Science). For two decades I have taught workshops on herbalism, organic gardening, sustainability, fermentation, and food and medicine independence and empowerment for the public and K-12 programs.

Education

Wellness Counseling Certificate, Cornell University 2021

Clinical Herbalist, Southwest School of Botanical Medicine 2003

M.S. Botany, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Advisor Tamara Ticktin 2008

M.S. Thesis Title: Ecological and Social Feasibility of Colophospermum mopane

(Fabaceae) Seed Commercialization from Namibia Professional Development training

Herbalism and Herbal Product Training, California School of Herbal Studies Various workshops

B.S. Environmental Studies, Minor Spanish, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1998

Senior Thesis: Developed University Recycling Protocol for 23 Special Wastes

Online Instructor Certification, Front Range Community College 2018 & 2020

Hybrid Instructor Certification, Front Range Community College 2018

Mental Health First Aid Certification, Fort Collins Health Department 2018

Aquaponics intensive training 2011

NIH Human Participant Protections Education for Research Teams Course 2011

Professional Development Training Through the present (always learning!)

Selected Publications

• Oh, K.P., Shiels, A.B., Shiels, L., Blondel, D.V., Campbell, K.J., Morris, K., Saah, J.R., Lloyd, A. L., Thomas, P., Gould, F., Abdo, Z., Godwin, J.R., Piaggio, A.J. 2021. Population genomics of invasive rodents on islands: genetic consequences of colonization and prospects for localized synthetic gene drive. Evolutionary Applications.

• Shiels, A.B., Lombard, C.D., Shiels, L., Hillis-Star, Z. 2020. Invasive rat establishment and changes in small mammal populations on Caribbean Islands following two hurricanes. Global Ecology and Conservation 22: e00986.

• Jarvi, S., Pitt^. W.C., Farias, M., Shiels, L., et. al. 2015. Detection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the blood and peripheral tissues of wild Hawaiian rats (Rattus rattus) by a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0123064. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0123064.

• Jarvi, S., Pitt^. W.C., Osuna, A., Farias, M., Shiels, L., et. al. 2014. Efficacy of a vaccine for Angiostrongylus costaricensis against rat lungworm disease caused by A. cantonensis in wild Hawaiian Rats (Rattus rattus). Journal of Immunology 192(1 Supplement): 141.23

• Vougioukalou, S., Huish, R., Barfield, K., Shiels, L., Brosi, S., Harrison, P. 2014. The contribution of ethnobiology to teaching plant sciences: Student and faculty perspectives. Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences. Edited: Cassandra Quave. New York: Springer. 312 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4939-042101.

• Shiels, A.B., M.K. Ennis, and L. Shiels. 2014. Trait-based plant mortality and preference for native vs. non-native seedlings by invasive snail and slug herbivores in Hawaii. Biological Invasions 16(9): 1929-1940.

• McClatchey, W.C., G. Mahady, B.C. Bennett, L. Shiels, and V. Savo. 2009. Ethnobotany as a pharmacological research tool and recent developments in CNS-active natural products from ethnobotanical sources. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 123(2): 239-254.

• Shiels, A.B., C.A. West, L. Weiss, P.D. Klawinski, and L.R. Walker. 2008. Soil factors and elevation predict initial plant colonization on Puerto Rican landslides. Plant Ecology 195:165-178.

• Weiss, L., A.B. Shiels, and L.R. Walker. 2005. Soil impacts of bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) tree islands on alpine tundra, Charleston Peak, Nevada. Western North American Naturalist 65(4):536-540.

• Bloch, C. P. and L. Weiss. 2002. Disturbance History and Habitat Association of the Tailless Whip Scorpion, Phrynus longipes, in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science 38: 260-262.

• Floyd, M. and L. Weiss. 2001. Sex and Aging: A Survey of Young Adults. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy 26(2):133-139.