REGISTRATION CLOSED

Donna Sullivan Smith
Medicinal Herbalist

Donna became intimately acquainted with her native landscape while growing up in a family of Southern gardeners.  These early years of work and wonder followed her throughout life: in the form of writing and photography of the natural world, in providing healthy alternatives for her family, in living a life dedicated to the cultivation of others.

She spent her initial career working in organizational psychology, executive coaching, team facilitation, and educational development for Fortune 100 companies. She has woven this skillset in social dynamics and business with her pursuit of integrated herbalism and educational pathways in the Southeast.

Donna first encountered herbalism through the lens of native plant propagation and preservation at her home in North Georgia—and, she realized that tending to the land enriched her life and the lives of others, helping them form an authentic relationship with the natural world.

Her paradigm always begins in the garden or forest—with the plants—understanding and nurturing our natural resources. Only then can we use them and share them appropriately or, in other words, “Plants. Process. People.”

As of late, she works alongside her husband in building a botanical medicine farm and ecological restoration site in NE Alabama.

Cyndie Rinek
Blooming Hill Lavender Farm
Purcellville, Virginia

Cyndie Rinek is the owner and operator of Blooming Hill Lavender Farm & Gift Shop. A member of the United States Lavender Growers Association since 2014, she is also a member of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America, a Master Gardener, a Certified Tea Specialist, and a local garden club member. In 1993, Cyndie, and her husband Peter, a Landscape Architect and Urban Planner, settled in Philomont Virginia, a rural hamlet located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in Western Loudoun County, about 50 miles west of Washington, DC. Cyndie left the corporate world and spent the last 25 plus years learning about, collecting, propagating, planting, growing, and selling many different varieties of lavenders at local fairs, garden shows and seminars while steadily building a clientele of loyal lavender enthusiasts who enjoy the over 90 varieties, they grow on their property. Peter, also a certified arborist, humorously refers to their collection as a “lavender arboretum.”

In 2010, Cyndie and Peter built a shop on their property and began welcoming visitors to tour their 4-acre garden spot filled with formal and informal gardens, along with ornamentals, herbs and trees. Since then, Cyndie has been able to grow her ever-evolving home-based business in unique ways with the help and guidance of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and the Loudoun County Health Department. Farmlet visitors not only can buy lavender plants, lavender products, and garden décor in the shop, she also offers six different flavors of lavender-infused ice cream along with hand-harvested artisan tea blends that she sells in the shop, thus expanding her business to be classified by VDACS as a limited ice cream/tea shop. Partnering with other niche food-base business entrepreneurs who supply scones, shortbread and other sweets, Cyndie also caters to groups for traditional Cream Teas and holds five different public Cream Teas out in the gardens from Mother’s Day Weekend through the middle of October at Blooming Hill. Farmlet visitors can also buy lavender-infused sweets and goodies, a la carte in their shop, throughout the season, then find a pleasant, shady spot in the gardens to relax and discover the flavor and versatility of lavender.

Sarah Richards
Lavender Wind, LLC
Coupeville, Washington

Sarah founded Lavender Wind Farm in 2000, starting the first season with 400 plants. Now, 22 years later, the farm has about 6 acres in cultivation, growing 17 different varieties of lavender. in the autumn of 2021 she sold the farm part of the operation to a couple who will continue growing lavender. She is a founding board member of the United States Lavender Growers Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer.

Sarah has taught Lavender 101 classes at the annual Whidbey Island Master Gardeners Workshop and given talks to many of Whidbey’s garden clubs. She created and manages the Lavender Wind website and social media pages. She has been distilling lavender for more than 20 years, and recently increased her collection of stills with a new 150-liter copper still and a small lab still.

In addition to starting and running the farm, Sarah created a manufacturing and retail facility in a charming 1916 bungalow located in the historic waterfront district of Coupeville in Central Whidbey Island. It has been remodeled to suit several purposes – manufacturing, retail & tea room sales, and nursery display. She has formulated her body, household, and food products which are now manufactured in this facility. After 22 years of growing lavender and welcoming customers to her farm, the retail portion of her business is now focused in this charming shop, which is a draw for locals and tourists alike.

Sarah’s background includes a career as a mental health counselor, a computer programmer, and one of the first female telephone installers in Denver. These days, when not working, she is reawakening her passion in photography and art.

Sean Westerveld
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Sean Westerveld has served as Ginseng and Herbs Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs since 2008. He received B.Sc. (Agr.), M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Horticulture from the University of Guelph. Prior to working with OMAFRA, Sean worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Muck Crops Research Station and as interim leader of the Vegetable and Non-traditional Crops Research Program at the Simcoe Research Station of the University of Guelph. His primary role in OMAFRA is to support the Ontario ginseng, lavender and herb industries through technology transfer and to provide input into provincial and federal policies that may affect the industry. He has assisted the Ontario lavender industry with research and technology transfer since before the inception of the Ontario Lavender Association in 2010. Sean is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph.