Core Faculty
Sean Croke is a wildcrafter, medicine maker, clinician, and gardener who has been working with the plants of the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade. He is the founder of the Hawthorn School, and the primary teacher for most classes. He is a co-founder of Understory Apothecary which produces small batch tinctures of local herbs, is the founder of the Hawthorn School of Plant Medicine, and is also involved in Cascadia Terroir, which produces small batches of essential oils from garden grown and sustainably harvestable native plants. Sean is a graduate of The Evergreen State College with a BA/BS where he focused on Ethnobotany and Organic Chemistry.
Sean has studied wildcrafting and plant spirit medicine primarily with the plants as his teachers, and has also studied with GaChing Kong and Scott Kloos. Through his botanical medicine business Understory Apothecary, he makes ethically harvested herbal products for the community. Sean was the main medicine maker as well as a clinician for the Olympia Free Herbal Clinic, and has been teaching about Pacific Northwest healing plants since 2012. He still sees clients on a sliding scale down to free in the continued spirit of the free clinic. Sean lives on Chehalis land in the prairies along the Black River just outside of Olympia with his partner, their kid, several dear friends, a sweet goofy dog, and too many houseplants.
Guest Teachers
Jean Madrone Jean is a clinical herbalist, witch, student of Somatic Experiencing therapy, and mama in Olympia, WA. They grew up deeply influenced by the woods, mountains, and plantain-filled parking lots of Tennessee and North Carolina. In 2006 they moved to the Northwest and subsequently fell in love with the magic of this place. Jean believes that every symptom is an invitation into our most whole and powerful selves, and works with plants as allies in supporting that unfolding. They love fostering connections between plants and people, and focuses on personal empowerment and individualized care. Harm reduction and accessibility are central to their practice. They are a founding member of the Olympia Community Herbal Clinic and have been in clinical practice since 2011.
Focuses of their practice and teaching include supporting recovery from stress and trauma, as well as supporting emotional and mental health. Jean integrates techniques from Somatic Experiencing therapy, and continually explores what it means to provide trauma-informed care. They love working with plants during pregnancy and birth, as well as working with plants to support those experiencing miscarriage and pregnancy loss.
Jean's herbal training has included apprenticeships and studies with Corrine Boyer here in the Northwest, clinical training at the Appalachian Center for Natural Health with Phyllis D. Light and clinical apprenticeship with Corey Pine Shane of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine , as well as a host of eclectic influences and teachers across the west coast and southern states. They are forever in gratitude to the plants, their first teachers, as well as the clients they have been honored to support. Jean's background is in southern folk medicine, plant magic, clinical western herbalism, nutrition, and energetic medicine.
You can find more about their work and offerings at www.jeanmadrone.com.
Focuses of their practice and teaching include supporting recovery from stress and trauma, as well as supporting emotional and mental health. Jean integrates techniques from Somatic Experiencing therapy, and continually explores what it means to provide trauma-informed care. They love working with plants during pregnancy and birth, as well as working with plants to support those experiencing miscarriage and pregnancy loss.
Jean's herbal training has included apprenticeships and studies with Corrine Boyer here in the Northwest, clinical training at the Appalachian Center for Natural Health with Phyllis D. Light and clinical apprenticeship with Corey Pine Shane of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine , as well as a host of eclectic influences and teachers across the west coast and southern states. They are forever in gratitude to the plants, their first teachers, as well as the clients they have been honored to support. Jean's background is in southern folk medicine, plant magic, clinical western herbalism, nutrition, and energetic medicine.
You can find more about their work and offerings at www.jeanmadrone.com.