Susun interviews Marilyn Mercado after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Marilyn Mercado is a passionate teacher, coach, and guide whose life’s work bridges movement, mindfulness, and creative healing. A graduate of the University of Hawaii, Marilyn has spent over 15 years teaching Ballroom and Latin dancing, and enjoying Hula as a joyful expression of fitness and culture. Her wellness journey began in her 20s with a simple but powerful intention: to grow stronger and healthier with age. This led to a lifelong practice of yoga, which evolved into multiple certifications and a deep dedication to both teaching and learning. Marilyn has spent over two decades teaching dance, fitness, creative movement, and study skills to children and adults.

In recent years, Marilyn expanded her offerings to include Health and Life Coaching, earning certifications that allow her to guide people through challenges in health, career, relationships, and life purpose. She also received her Art Medicine Certification, which she beautifully weaves into her coaching to support emotional healing and self-expression through creativity. She is a Dreambuilder Coach, helping people through the process of building their dreams. A lifelong learner and creator, Marilyn is now a published author. Her teaching and coaching style is infused with playfulness, intuition, creativity, and compassion. Marilyn’s mission is to help others remember their wholeness and walk the path of self-discovery with grace, strength, and joy—through movement, mindfulness, and the power of sacred space.

Susun interviews Grace De La Rosa after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Grace De La Rosa is a Holistic Wellness Consultant and Spiritual Advisor with over 40 years of professional expertise in health and fitness and 19 years as a cancer thriver. As a creative visionary leader and founder of Living with Grace, LLC, she advocates for integrative healing, mental health support, and holistic well-being. Grace's leadership extends to community wellness initiatives and executive-level briefings, addressing issues like mental health, addiction recovery, and homelessness. Her commitment is further exemplified through her past work as the founding chairperson of First Coast Recovery Advocates, the first Recovery Community Organization (RCO) in Jacksonville, FL providing mental health, alcoholism and substance misuse resources across multiple counties. With an open-door policy and a focus on empowering others, Grace embodies compassionate and transformative leadership.

Susun interviews Nina Simons after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Nina Simons is Co-founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Bioneers, and leads its Everywoman's Leadership program. Throughout her career spanning the nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, corporate, and philanthropic sectors, Nina has worked with nearly a thousand diverse women leaders across disciplines, race, class, age and orientation to create conditions for mutual learning, trust and leadership development. She loves convening – for mutual mentorship and shedding conditioning, and to explore methods and practices for reinventing leadership, reclaiming our whole selves, connecting across differences and co-creating communities of belonging.

Nina co-edited (with Anneke Campbell) Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and authored Nature, Culture, and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership with an accompanying discussion guide and embodied practices, which won Nautilus awards in the categories of Women in the 21st Century and Social Change & Social Justice. She's also a contributor to the anthology Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women's Voices. All three are being used to ignite liberatory learning in individuals, circles and classrooms.

Susun interviews Dr. Shivani Gupta after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Dr. Shivani Gupta is a respected figure in the health and wellness industry, with a focus on the holistic treatment of chronic conditions. Her journey in this field began through personal experience, battling and overcoming chronic illness through Ayurveda. This led her to pursue advanced studies, earning a Master's in Ayurvedic Sciences and a Ph.D. in Turmeric, under the tutelage of esteemed Ayurvedic experts in India and in the US. The core of her work is the 'The Inflammation Solution Program, ' a practical integration of Ayurvedic principles and functional medicine. This program is designed to empower individuals, particularly women, to address chronic health issues like joint pain, weight gain, and autoimmune symptoms through a combination of traditional and contemporary medical approaches.

Susun interviews Caroline Ruderman after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Caroline Ruderman is a highly trained intuitive and master healer, specializing in Reiki and teaching intuitive gifts. Caroline began her intuitive studies as she sat in meditation and began to feel her light body at the age of 25. She was always fascinated by dead things and life beyond death at an early age. This natural curiosity paired with a non-judgmental attitude towards death (her mother worked in end-of-life care) has made Caroline the go-to healer for people who are ready to explore bigger spiritual themes in their life. Sometimes this work surrounds life after death, sometimes the work involves trusting your intuition to guide you through the tough times. Life is a beautiful gift and our psychic abilities are actually practical skills to guide us home!

Susun interviews Jennifer Wren Tolo, RN after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Jennifer Wren Tolo, RN, is not just a former critical care nurse but a transformative force in the realms of health, hope, and happiness. Having faced life-threatening health challenges with two of her four sons and enduring her own health decline, she emerged as a beacon of inspiration. Jennifer is now a sought-after, award-winning health and wellness educator, soul-connecting life coach, bestselling author, speaker, and podcaster, weaving her professional expertise with personal experiences to guide strong, independent, success-minded women toward reclaiming their time, energy, and power over their lives. For the past 18 years, Jennifer's mission has been to empower women and young adults to regain control over their lives by learning how to reconnect with their soul guidance. She guides people through the transformative process of her signature "ABCs of Stress Management.'

Susun interviews Antje Howard after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Antje Howard is an artist, creative guide, author, teacher, and mom to a beautiful little rainbow girl. Her work circles all around empowering people to reclaim their creativity and to listen to their inner wisdom. Antje's goal is to support self-discovery and healing in creative ways. In her work, she is using art as a tool that can reconnect people to their creative potential. She discovered the power of art on her own healing journey and found that there is incredible creative energy hidden even in the most difficult life situations. Antje holds space for inner transformation and guides people home to where they learn to embody their creative essence. She supports people in stepping into and dealing with big life changes in an empowered and creative way. Antje guides people to where they can see, accept, and fully embrace themselves and their life journey.

Susun interviews Sallie Tisdale after 90 minutes of herbal health questions.

Bio: Sallie Tisdale is a writer, Zen teacher, and palliative care nurse. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Tricycle, Conjunctions, and many other places. She teaches at Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, Oregon.