More importantly, we wanted to share with you what makes Megan so fierce, not so much as a buyer, but as a woman who can work full time while also being a caring single mother, committed daughter and a true advocate for natural living.
Megan lives a fierce life full of integrity for Body, Earth and Health matters. This is evident in her first job as a field worker on a 1500 acre certified organic medicinal herb farm to her current and constant role as an educator in teaching community classes on the uses of nutritional supplements, natural cosmetics and herbal medicine making. During her time at Whole Foods, Megan spent a lot of time investigating the claims of products and companies looking to get on shelves to make sure she was only offering the best of the best. Eventually, she chose to leave Whole Foods to spend more time with her family and work the other side of the buying table by working more closely with growing natural products and companies like Maxim Hygiene Products that are just as committed as she is to offering Soft, Safe and Natural alternatives.
Check out our interview with Megan below to learn more about our Fierce Woman of the Month!
Maxim Hygiene defines a Fierce Woman as “a glorious female creature whose idea of beauty is hinged upon the idea that she can change the world with each choice, each moment and each breath of her life.” Who in your life would you describe as a fierce woman and why?
I would have to say Rosemary Gladstar had an amazing impact on my life, she is a herbalist and healer and I was fortunate enough to have her as a teacher! Rosemary is one of those women who is soft spoken and humble but just her presence shifts energy.
Why do you choose to change the world through your values for natural living?
I have had the wonderful experience to live off the grid, life was very simple. You woke with the sun and slept with the moon, we grew all our own food, kept goats for milk and cheese. We spent our days farming medicinal herbs and selling them to manufacturer s in the Natural Products Industry. I appreciated the simple life. When I returned to the hustle and bustle of city life, I realized that living a sustainable life would be more challenging. I realized that as a consumer my money had a lot of power, so I chose to be a conscious consumer and only purchase from companies that were committed to my same values. This has of course, become more challenging since big business has realized the money to be made in the Natural Products industry.
You also chose to leave a well respected position at a significant retail outlet so that you can better attend to the needs of your family. Was this a difficult choice for you and do you find that your female peers and colleagues struggle with making the same sort of choices more so than their male counterparts?
This was a very difficult choice for me, but it was very clear that my family needed me. I felt sorry for many of my female peers, you could see it in there eyes. I think regardless of the industry women have to choose between family and work definitely more than men. Finding the balance is a challenge.
How do you juggle being a single mom, committed daughter and working full time, all while maintaining your values for natural living?
My life is very scheduled and if I stray from my schedule it throws the whole system off. I normally spend my Sundays cooking and freezing meals for the week. I also choose things to make my life easier, we joined CSA (community supported agriculture) so we get a weekly delivery of fresh organic produce, eggs and cheeses. I grocery shop once a week and keep an extra freezer fully stocked so I don’t have to shop often. I also I treat myself and have my house cleaned monthly so that all I do is maintain it. These simple things make things smoother and easier and I can focus on family instead of other things during the week.
What is your advice to other single moms who work hard to stay fierce in all aspects of their lives?
It’s important to be successful but not at the sacrifice of our families, unfortunately, some women don’t have a choice.
Tell us about your days on the farm.
The Farm was amazing, at the time it was the second largest certified organic herb farm in the USA with 3000 acres. This was a totally sustainable farm and they grew all their own plants from seed, harvested, dried and powdered those that needed it. It was by far one of the hardest physical jobs I ever had. One of our benefits was that every morning started with a yoga class before we hit the fields.
What is the number one lesson you want your students at your local community class to take home with them after one of your seminars?
It’s an old but very practical lesson…..Keep it simple. Everything we take from the earth we have managed to refine, reformulate, mutilate or alter. So keep things in their simple form in life and things will be much more harmonious and synchronized.
During your time at Whole Foods, how many requests a week would you receive to review new products? How would you evaluate which products were true to their organic and natural standards?
I would say on average I would receive 50 + requests per week. I used a category review schedule to help me stay organized. Each month I would focus on a different category, look at existing products and movement, new products, discontinuing slow sellers etc. To evaluate a product, I would do research, look for third party studies and look up ingredients. Thankfully we also had a great Quality Control team at National and they would do a lot of the research for us.
(Excluding Maxim) What is your favorite natural product and why?
Oh! There are so many amazing products to choose from! During the colder months, I love a combo of Shea butter and mango butter, they keep my skin so moist!!