Hao grew up in Vietnam until the age of 10, immersed in the dichotomy of the allopathic medicine model and the day-to-day, traditional practices of folk remedies such as fresh turmeric poultices for wounds and scarring and kumquat-licorice root syrup for coughs and sore throats as well as a culturally integrated concept of the yin and yang of foods. Upon moving to the U.S, she experienced an abrupt disconnection from traditional Vietnamese practices and assimilated into the new paradigm of Tylenol and antibiotics for coughs and colds.
Many years later, upon entering motherhood, she felt called to explore safe and holistic approaches in supporting her children through various, common ailments of childhood. Upon moving to Sonoma County, she completed a two-year clinical training intensive at the California School of Herbal Studies. Propelled by a sense of curiosity, of connection to the natural world and of self-empowerment in being able to support her own health challenges as well as those around her, Hao strives to provide inclusive and accessible health care with an emphasis on health education, evidence-based practices and financially appropriate, personalized protocols. She currently volunteers as a practitioner at the Botanical Bus Bilingual Free Mobile Clinic in Santa Rosa in her spare time.
When she’s not making medicine or working with clients, Hao is hiking, gardening, dancing at Zumba, and whipping up yummy concoctions with various plants, herbs and spices! She’s also a perpetually curious student of plant constituents, nutrition, physiology, and functional phytotherapy.
Before becoming a clinical herbalist, Hao was a globetrotter and a volunteer for a local non-profit organization in the field of mental health in Chennai, India. From 2011-2016, she also worked with marginalized folks in poor, under-resourced communities in France and in the U.S. as a member of ATD Fourth World, an anti-poverty non-profit organization who advocates for people’s dignity and right to cultural and political participation. In addition, she has more than three years of experience as the chief product-maker for a local, organic and natural skincare/bodycare company in Sebastopol. Hao holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego.
