Meet the Team

Julie Williams of Leaf People

Julie Williams

Chief Leaf

Julie’s journey in herbal medicine began in her childhood in rural Alaska, where she was taught how to use plants for wilderness survival. This deep fascination continued through Julie’s adult life and extensive travels abroad, where she embarked on a three-year educational journey that spanned 17 countries on 5 continents. After returning to the US in 2001, Julie began her formal botanical studies, attending herbal medical school and practicing under Master Herbalists Lillian McCracken and Lynn Albers, as well as making annual trips to Bolivia to study with Indigenous Master Herbalists in the Amazon and Andes. During this same period, Julie met her Buddhist teacher, Lama Tsultrim Allione, and developed a dedicated Buddhist practice. She continues to integrate Buddhist medicine-making practices, as well as the cross-cultural herbal traditions she’s learned from, into the manufacturing of Leaf People Skin Care. She lives in Aspen, where she runs Leaf People.

Lindsey

Lab Leaf

Raised in northern Minnesota, Lindsey is an avid lover of lakes and blueberry picking. Having earned her degree in Geology, she appreciates our earth’s vast and the resiliency of its flora and fauna. She has spent many summers on wilderness canoe trips in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Wilderness (BWCAW) and feels confident she can survive any winter or mosquito swarm nature might throw at her. When she’s not bottling serum in the lab, Lindsey can likely be found on a trail with her best friends, Obie the red Labrador and Maple the border collie.

Tara, our Aloha Leaf

Tara

Aloha Leaf

Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawai’i surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty and immersed in a culturally diverse community, Tara was raised with an emphasis on treating others with kindness and Aloha, extending this same care to the natural environment. At Leaf People, working as lead photographer and videographer, Tara brings to life fun and creative video and photography content for social media , our YouTube channel and website. When not on the computer editing or behind the camera, you can find her on the beach, hiking and spending time outdoors.

Cleo, our wordy Leaf

Cleo

Wordy Leaf

A native of the Roaring Fork Valley, Cleo is a freelance writer and editor with an interest in social justice and old-world traditions. She studied Comparative Literature and Creative Writing at NYU, working on farms in and around the city as a way to maintain a connection to nature. Through her time spent farming and traveling, she learned the importance of what we put in and on our bodies, as well as the cultural traditions they stem from. Cleo works on Leaf People’s editorial content and blog and regularly eats Julie’s vegetarian leftovers.

Miko, our mascot and Leaf Lover

Miko

Leaf Lover

The official Leaf People mascot, Miko takes her jobs as chief box recycler and outdoor-break manager very seriously. A tummy-rub connoisseur and aspiring Instagram model, she manages the team’s morale and emotional well-being. She can be found scouting out arnica in the summer and snowbathing in winter. @missmikopomsky