Our Board of Directors

David studied Behavioural Science at USQ, following up with Registered Nurse training and Graduated as a Naturopath in 1992.  Since graduating, he has worked in private practice as a Naturopath in various clinic types.  In 2002 David commenced teaching – mainly herbal medicine as well as supervising clinic subjects which led to a Masters Health Science (Herbal Medicine) at UNE and an upgrade to his original diploma qualification in Naturopathy to a degree.

David co-owns a Naturopathic clinic in Brisbane and is currently a PhD candidate at UTS investigating the naturalistic practice of herbal medicine in relation to anxiety and depression.  He is keenly interested in advancing the profession but equally determined that the traditions must be respected and form the basis of our practice.  David is joint secretary of the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF) and actively involved in the associations work towards statutory registration.

Hannah is a Naturopath and herbalist based in Sydney, New South Wales.  She was first elected to the NHAA Board of Directors in 2018 and has led the Marketing and media subcommittees during her tenure.

Hannah established her own Naturopathic clinic after graduating from her studies in 2012.  Her areas of interest include mental health, women’s health and fertility.

As well as practicing in her Marrickville clinic, Hannah has volunteered at the Leichhardt Women’s Community Health Centre as a research assistant.  She has presented at various events including The Real Food Project and the Marrickville Business Association.  In 2019 Hannah was asked to present at the Central & Eastern Sydney Primary Health network annual conference, Rethinking Mental Health as well as the 2021 National Symposium on Herbal and Naturopathic Medicine.

Rose draws on 3 decades of private practice, academia, education, advocacy and health industry experience. She has a strong commitment to the profession, the value of traditional and cultural knowledge, plus its intersection with evidence-based natural medicine for patient-centred care.

After switching part way through a veterinary science degree to pursue her passion for naturopathy and herbal medicine (SSNT), Rose went on to run a successful multi-disciplinary practice for a decade. At the same time, she maintained a ‘pay it forward approach’ through mentoring, growing and gathering of plants and stories, plus radio and community outreach programs. She then scaled back to part-time practice to work in related fields such as herbal medicine education, technical and industry advisory roles. Rose has also completed a Master of Health Science (Herbal Medicine) and was named a Vice Chancellor’s Scholar (UNE) in 2017.

Sonya originally trained as a cultural anthropologist and lived and worked in Australia, Thailand, India and the USA before returning to Australia to pursue her love of herbal medicine. She completed her BHSc(Naturopathy) in 2019, and established her Blue Mountains based practice on graduation. She has growing clinical interests in mental health, preventative health care/healthy ageing, and chronic pain/neurodegenerative disease management, and she loves combining the best of naturopathy’s traditional knowledge with the latest scientific research. She has also recently joined the international team at Pukka Herbs as their Australian/NZ herbalist.

Sonya joined the NHAA as a student, and in 2017, co-founded the organisation’s Sydney chapter, SydHerbs. She is now looking forward to continuing her contribution to the NHAA, its members and her profession as a board member. She has six years’ experience serving on the boards of various not-for-profit organisations.

Sarah is a Naturopath in clinical practice in Brisbane, having graduated with Distinction from Endeavour with a BHSc Naturopathy, she has transformed her lifelong passion for health and wellness into her working profession.

Sarah comes with an expansive career in communications and technology, and in more recent years online collaboration expertise including online events, support, and training. With a passion for our profession and its future, she brings enthusiasm to be involved with making positive change for better integration of Naturopaths and Herbalists into public healthcare.

In her personal time, you will find Sarah enjoying her passion for good food, creating new meal ideas, cooking for her family or in the garden with her herbs.

Carolyn Ledowsky is a naturopath, herbalist and nutritionist and is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research is focused on folate forms and infertility – specifically “The effectiveness of 5-methyltetrahyrofolate versus folic acid prenatal multivitamins in couples with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss: A feasibility randomised controlled trial”.

Carolyn is the founder of MTHFR Support Australia and is an educator of practitioners worldwide on how genetics has an influence on health and disease. She is a regular speaker worldwide on methylation and genetics and works tirelessly researching the nutrients and herbal medicines that epigenetically influence enzymes to make up for genetic susceptibility or environmental assaults that influence the way genes behave. She is a passionate advocate for the industry.

Carolyn started her career with a Bachelor of Economics and then spent the next 20 years in the advertising, marketing and event management positions with some of Australia’s leading advertising agencies and worked with Commonwealth Bank,Westpac and the NSW Government designing the strategy, marketing and execution of their major events. Her experience in the corporate sector means she has the ability to interact with fellow board members, management and stakeholders to further the objectives of the NHAA. She has strong skills in development of Educational programs, media, event management, with vast Government experience and is an early career researcher

Tracelee is a qualified naturopath and herbalist based in Sydney. She is a passionate naturopathic academic, working in Naturopathy and Western Herbal Medicine university programs for the past 12 years. Tracelee appreciates being able to support graduates entering the naturopathic profession with innovative skills to adapt to the current evolving health industry.

As a health practitioner in private practice, Tracelee combines her knowledge and discipline expertise as an educator in student-led clinics in Sydney. In 2021, Tracelee started her journey into a PhD at Torrens University and will explore herbal medicines prescribed by Naturopathic and Western Herbal Medicine student practitioners in patient anxiety.

Tracelee is a newly elected NHAA Board Director, and member of the NHAA Education committee. She is keen to promote education in our profession to reflect best practice and has a strong desire to keep supporting current and future association members.

Natalie is an experienced marketing professional, with close to two decades of expertise in the marketing, communications & events fields, working within the finance and health industries. Several years ago, she followed her personal interest and passion for health and wellness completing her Naturopathy studies at ACNT in Sydney.

She has a growing appreciation of the naturopathic & herbal medicine landscape having worked as the Communications Officer for the Naturopaths & Herbalists Association of Australia during her naturopathic studies, and then as the Marketing Manager at Practitioner Only nutraceutical brand for two years. Whilst she works on her own naturopathic practice, she is working part time at a youth charity focussing on drug & alcohol prevention, education and health promotion. Through fundraising, community relations and program delivery the Service is making a difference in the life of our young people.

She has a vested interest in the sustainable future of the naturopathic & herbal medicine profession and was inspired after attending her first NHAA Conference a few years ago to collaborate with a fellow herbies and reinvigorated the Sydney based NHAA chapter, SydHerbs. She believes collaboration, inspiration and support are key to keeping us connected and well.

Kathleen is a naturopath and acupuncturist. She has been an NHAA Board Director since 2017 and is Chair of the Events Subcommittee.

Kathleen has been in clinical practice since 2009. Over that time, she has worked in several large integrative clinics; first in Brisbane where she trained, then in Sydney where she worked for eight years, and is now based in beautiful Northern NSW. Kathleen has also been involved with a number of community and corporate healthcare programs over this time: she is passionate about sharing the value of preventative and holistic medicine. Kathleen also works as a lecturer and clinical tutor in naturopathic education. Prior to working in health, her background was in the arts, as a performer and researcher.

Outside of her work, Kathleen enjoys spending time with her family, reading, gardening, eating good food and practicing yoga.