Michele S. Morgan, M.H., Ph.D. 

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Michele started her training in holistic healing at 5 years of age, in the medicine garden tended by her Italian grandfather. When helping with the weeding and harvesting, Grandpa Nick taught her that "food was medicine" and that the fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs had an inner knowledge in the ways of healing our bodies. He knew when he placed a sprig of pepperment in her hand that she would feel and hear the plant whisper it's wisdom to her. 

Michele spent many happy childhood days with her toy doctor's kit dispensing "medicines" also known as current berries, spearmint leaves, red and green grapes and dandelion greens to her dolls, family cats and neighborhood kids for their "pretend" ailments. The first sign of a young healer's calling.

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In the young adult years of her life as a Cosmetologist & Make-Up Artist, her business "Michele's Coiffures" allowed her to share the importance of health and beauty. She offered advice to her clients about the herbs and foods that would feed and nourish their hair and skin. But it wasn't until the birth of her first child in 1973, a beautiful daughter born with digestive issues, that Michele seriously returned to her "herbal roots" in an effort to restore her little girl's health. 

By 1978, she began her quest for a formal education in natural healing. Over the course of the next ten years (and the births of her two sons), she studied herbal medicine and whole food nutrition. By 1985, Michele had obtained her Chartered Herbalist and Master Herbalist degrees from Dominion Herbal College, Burnaby, BC, as the pre-requisite for a doctoral program.

In 1988, Michele completed the course requirements to receive a Ph.D. in the Health Sciences of Botanical and Homeopathic Medicine from Union University in Los Angeles, CA. Since that time, she has shared her message of holistic wellness, in every state she has lived in, over the past 30 years.

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In California, "Michele's Herbs" was a company that formulated and distributed herbal combinations, offered credit and non-credit adult education, holistic nursing classes and post-graduate studies in herbal medicine and homeopathy at Mount San Jacinto College in Hemet. She was a featured speaker at local health food stores, wellness workshops and holistic health events in Orange, Riverside and North San Diego counties.

In Montana, while maintaining a private practice, Michele created and taught holistic, herbal and homeopathic classes for student and registered nurses at Western Montana College in Dillon. In Bozeman, she led empowerment workshops for the women's resource center and local churches, taught holistic infant wellness at day care centers, presented herb classes for local health food stores, and provided instruction on homeopathy for grief resolution to hospice administrators, counseling staff and volunteers.   

In Helena, Michele opened "New Dimensions Healing", a counseling service to facilitate the holistic programs she created for the Montana Courts and Judicial System of Lewis and Clark County. A first of its kind in the state, Michele's program addressed domestic violence rehabilation, sexual abuse support and drug/alcohol rehabilation for offenders and victims using holistic principals and homeopathic remedies. She was a respected leader, public speaker and advocate for holistic and homeopathic healing for the spiritual and emotional issues of interest to local churches, hospitals, hospice care, charitable and civic organizations.  

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In Vermont, she was the Executive Director of "The Natural Apothecary", a retail test market store, herbal dispensery, and facility for natural health and beauty products. This store was created by Paul Schulick, M.H, founder of the natural food supplement company now known as "New Chapter Vitamins". With two locations in Brattleboro and West Dover, Michele created a unique "health-full boutique" enviornment that enticed and encouraged community participation. These stores offered a daily schedule of hands-on natural health care therapies such as Rejuvenation Facials, Reflexology, and Chair Massage by local practitioners. Herb classes, workshops and natural health care resource materials were made available to both practitioners and public alike. 

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In Idaho, after the mandatory closing of her private practice of 15 years in Montana as a result of the Montana Naturopathic Licensing Law - legislation written to exclude practitioners like herself who practiced traditional naturopathy, homeopathy and herbal medicine - Michele was determined to continue her healing work and moved her practice to Boise in 2001. Here she enjoyed the protection of Idaho’s health freedom law, Title 54. 

While operating her healing practice in a local Chiropractic clinic, she joined the members of the Idaho Coalition for Natural Health (ICNH) to oppose the  Naturopathic Licensing legislation being introduced to amend Title 54. This bill served to threaten the non-licensed natural healthcare community of Idaho.

Michele served on the ICNH Board as Communications Chair in 2001/2002, Vice–President in 2002/2003 and President in 2004/2005, helping lead the statewide effort to successfully defeat the Naturopathic Licensure bill for over 3 years.  

As President of the ICNH, Michele worked relentlessly to pass SB 1158, the Naturopathic Licensure Act of 2005. This law guarantees the health freedom rights of non-licensed practitioners in Idaho and currently stands as landmark legislation for natural health care across the country. 

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To facilitate her lobbying and grassroots organizing across the state, she created "WING! ~ Wellness Information & Networking Group", a monthly luncheon meeting designed to build relationships, networking opportunities and education in health freedom for the natural health care community, legislators, media and citizens. 

In 2005, with the passage of the law, Michele took a position with the national office of the Coalition of Natural Health, in Washington, D.C., as their "Grassroots Organizer and WING! Coordinator". In this work, she traveled across the country teaching non-licensed practitioners about the necessity for political action to protect their rights to practice. As the public speaker and presenter for the CNH, she helped grow the grassroots and lobbying efforts for health freedom legislation in several states.

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Her choice to resign from this CNH position, to explore a real estate career, created the opportunity to do grassroots organizing part-time for the CNH and serve as the Vice- President and Legislative Chair for the ICNH today.

With the political experiences and accomplishments of the last few years paving the way, Michele's healing practice took on new meaning for her. "The Oyster & The Pearl" is the expression of that; the grain of sand that nudges the oyster to do its best work. It is the perfect metaphor to explain the journey of life's purpose for this well-trained, experienced and gifted healer.

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Michele is also an Inter-Faith Minister, Licensed Realtor in Idaho & Washington, Mother of three grown children & Grandmother of three delightful grandchildren.

Insights from Oyster & Pearl

I would be delighted to conduct training, coaching, classes, workshops or seminars in holistic health solutions for your club, group, retail outlet, school or civic organization.

  Contact me here to learn more.