Our staff and holistic health practitioners believe in health equity. We support access to culturally relevant and holistic health practices that foster agency and healing. We are committed to trauma-informed care that empowers individuals and communities.
The nested circle images in our logo tells some of our story. The golden center represents principles of care, healing, justice, and sustainability. The concentric rose-colored rings surrounding that center represent our staff and core volunteers that put our vision into practice. We are nourished and inspired by our connection to the earth and the healing plants. From that place, we sow the seeds of community partnership, and health justice.
PMP Staff
Leslie Chaison, Director
Leslie (she/her) is a mother, gardener, land-tender, and connector of people, food, plants, and resources. Her white ancestors came from Western Europe, some through Acadian Canada. Leslie co-envisioned People’s Medicine Project with a group of herbalists in 2013 after many years of doing food justice work. Her initial passion to make herbal medicine more accessible to her local community has evolved into a deeper understanding of how traditional medicine is central to health sovereignty. She is committed to redistributing resources in ways that support communities to access traditional plants, gain a sense of health agency, and tend to the earth.
Leslie loves seeing her children grow into inspiring young people, swimming in clear lakes and rivers, cycling, pollinator plants and the bees they attract, and singing with friends. One of Leslie’s dearest plant companions is the Birch tree (Betula pendula).
Contact Leslie: Leslie@peoplesmedicineproject.org
Jesse Muzzy, Assistant Director
Jesse (she/her) is a Fertility & Birth Doula, and student of herbal medicine. She is a second generation Cuban immigrant and 15th generation Massachusetts occupier. Her work and healing journey is guided by her beliefs in bodily sovereignty, service, and living in harmonious relationship with Nature’s cycles. She is committed to co-creating communities and systems that are autonomous and regenerative for all living beings.
Jesse enjoys gardening, sharing meals, lounging in the sunshine, and dancing to live music. Some of her closest plant allies include Rue (Ruta graveolens), Nettle (Urtica dioica) and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris).
Contact Jesse: Jesse@peoplesmedicineproject.org
Lynn Golan, Apothecary Coordinator
Lynn (she/her) is a community herbalist, artist, gardener, and birth doula-in-training. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Lynn has been with People’s Medicine Project since 2019 and currently serves as the Apothecary Coordinator. Lynn practices herbalism through the lens of bioregionalism, mutual aid, body autonomy, & deep love of the Earth. Lynn believes in the regenerative and connective healing that comes from being with the land and communing with the plants – feet on the earth, sun on her skin, lungs full of air, hearing the birds and bees buzzing.
When not in the apothecary, you can find Lynn barefoot in the garden, hanging at the local swimming hole, making a salad, learning, dancing, and laughing with friends. Some of Lynn’s closest plant allies are Nettle (Urtica dioica), Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), and Rose (Rosa regosa).
Contact Lynn: apothecary@peoplesmedicineproject.org
Our History
PMP began its health justice work in the soil! In 2013, a group of herbalists started a medicinal plant garden at the Just Roots Community Farm. We shared the desire to address the disparity of access to healing services in Franklin County. We saw our role, and still do, as a bridge between health-promoting resources and the community members in need of those resources.
Today, we are a core staff, a team of skilled practitioners, an engaged group of volunteers, and an apothecary/homestead crew. We work together toward PMP’s vision of health justice and inclusive access to plant medicine, integrative healing services, and educational resources.
We remain rooted in and responsive to our community needs. Our work continues expanding as new needs arise across our communities. We continue to provide innovative responses to specific health crises, such as the opioid epidemic, COVID-19, and farm worker health access, across Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.