Ricky Bratz is a plant nerd, queer dog mom, survivor, and earth person. She feels energized and resourced by her relationship with nature, especially plants and flowers. Ricky’s call to herbal medicine resulted in over a decade of experience working on small-scale organic farms throughout the East coast and cultivating her love of plants along the way. It wasn’t until engaging more deeply with her own healing that she realized the power and importance of personal development work, energy and intuition as part of healing and overall wellness. Ricky has personally and successfully benefitted from the wonderful allies she now offers to clients to manage her own depression and anxiety, and deepen her sense of connection to spirit and her ancestral lineage. 

Ricky’s approach to working with clients is a combination of intuition, folk traditions from her Sicilian/Arab/Mediterranean ancestral heritage as well as her training in Western Clinical Herbalism, Southern Appalachian folk medicine and Greco-Arabic Unani.

In addition to her healing work, Ricky has been a community organizer, farmer, and food & health justice educator in North Carolina since 2003. Throughout the Triad and the Triangle, she has initiated and been involved in projects such as: healing justice, community gardening, food access/justice, labor organizing, homelessness, community centers, collective living, racial equity, consensus decision-making, and queer liberation. Because of this work and her own personal intersectional identities and experiences, Ricky is aware of the detrimental impact of oppression on our spiritual, emotional and physical Selves. She believes that knowing, connecting to, and healing our inner Selves is vital for the health of our communities and our society as a whole.

When she’s not seeing clients, she spends her time in the garden, being overly excited about all the things she wants to learn and buying too many plants. She enjoys taking walks in the woods with her two dogs and partner, and works with the Southern Vision Alliance as the Queer Mobilization Fund Coordinator.

Ricky is committed to offering quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all, especially queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, Black, Indigenous, People of color and low income people.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Connect with Ricky at ricky(at)cazimihealing(dot)com

Education and Training

School of Applied Functional Medicine // Core 101 Program // ongoing

One Willow Apothecaries // Intuitive Plant Medicine // ongoing

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts // Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Program // 2018

Center for Transformational Presence // Transformational Presence Leadership and Coach Training // 2018

Transitioned Vital Bloom Botanicals into Cazimi Healing // 2017

BA Health Arts & Sciences // Thesis on Identity, Trauma, Race & Herbal Medicine // Goddard College // 2015

Racial Equity Training // Racial Equity Institute // 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Piedmont Medicinal Herb Production // Dr. Jeanine Davis // 2013

Assistant Instructor & Mentor // One World Healing Community (Online) // 2012-2013                          

The Nervous System // Weekend Intensive Training // 7Song // 2011

Began private Herbal Medicine Practice // Vital Bloom Botanicals // 2010

Clinical Herbalism // Weekend Intensive Training // 7Song // 2010

Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine & Clinical Assessment // Phyllis Light // 2010

One World Healing Arts Institute // Mimi Hernandez // 2010

Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference // 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017

Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine // Juliet Blankespoor // 2009

Apprenticeship at Mountain Gardens // Joe Hollis // 2009

Usui Tibetan Reiki Level 1 & 2 // Seed of Light Healing Center // 2009

Herb Classes with Suki Roth // 2008, 2010

Herbal Apprenticeship // Handance Farm // 2007

Racial Equity Training // People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond // 2004

Work on Small-scale organic farms // 2000-2014