Kimball Chatfield graduated from San diego State University with a degree in Natural Resource Management. He then attended Naturopathic Medical College and Acupuncture College receiving his doctorate by researching the treatment of pesticide poisoning with acupuncture. He has taught at three acupuncture colleges and most recently taught both Botanical Medicine and Medicinal Plants of the Sierra Nevada at Lake Tahoe Community College. He is the author of Medicine from the Mountains: Medicinal Plants of the Sierra Nevada.