OUR TEAM
Gergely Hollódi
Editor In Chief, Founder
Gergely holds a BA in English teaching and after a 12-year long period spent in the advertising-marketing world decided to change his life and started his journey in the field of healing. Gergely is a graduate of the Cortiva Institute: Seattle School of Massage and is a nationally certified (NCBTMB) and Washington state-licensed massage therapist. He completed the Master's Apprenticeship program with the School for Aromatic Studies in Seattle. He is a professional member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA).
He lives in Budapest, Hungary where he practises massage as a certified therapeutic massage therapist and offers aromatherapy courses to the public. He is the lead instructor in Hungary for the School for Aromatic Studies in his school Aroma Botanica. He always continues his study of alternative medicine/herbal medicine and is a certified phytotherapist.
Gergely is the co-creator of the 'Beyond the Essential Oil Recipe' Summit as well as the Tongue of the Trees Aromatherapy Oracle cards with Elizabeth Ashley aka The Secret Healer. Gergely is the Founder of Budapest Drops.
In 2023, after a friendly chat with Michael Scholes, Gergely started preparations for documenting pioneers of modern aromatherapy (now called 'vintage' aromatherapists) from around the globe. The project was named 'Aromatic Hologram' and it was aired in 2024 and included interviews with 50 pioneers. After the Hologram was completed, the legendary John Steele named Gergely as an 'aromatic historian'.
Gergely's webiste (Hungarian):
Ildikó Berecz
Editor
Ildiko Berecz is an alchemist, aromatherapist, artisan distiller, blending therapy, guidance and mentoring through the plant world. Born and raised in Hungary, she holds a BA in business economics and later trained and became certified in several branches of the art and science of healing therapies. She moved to Greece in 2013. For over a decade, she has been conducting field research on Crete, focusing on foraging, cultivating, and distilling aromatic and medicinal plants. She is passionate about the transformative power of plants and supporting life-changing processes for human fellows.
Ildiko brings 30 years of aromatherapy experience, gradually transitioning from personal daily wellness rituals to professionally administered holistic personalised treatments and education. Her mission is to raise awareness in the field of integrated, multidisciplinary, personalised practices for health and well-being, and to promote a deeper understanding of sustainable practices, transparency, and authenticity. She welcomes students in her family's aromatic gardens, where she is the caretaker of a thousand Damask Roses and about 100 aromatic and medicinal plant species. Ildiko's work embraces community support and education, consultations, workshops, field trips, and aromatic retreats as personal alchemy programs offered on Crete and partially online.
Ildiko started online teaching as an instructor at The School for Aromatic Studies in 2020, became an IPF Certified Natural Perfumer at the International Perfume Foundation, and lectured at several major international conferences. Ildiko is the author of the book AROMATIC JOURNEYS - Heal, Grow & Distill Yourself Exploring Plant Alchemy. Her book chapters, as captivating individual essays, were first published in our magazine, where she has been a contributing writer since 2015. She was Editor of Aromatika between 2021 and 2022, and returns to the editor's chair from 2025.
You can reach Ildikó at Essential Reflections
Michelle Ensley
Editorial Fellow
Michelle’s love for plants began when she was a young child; seeing a pansy and knowing it was so much more than a flower, always collecting rocks at the beach, and the woods have always been a magical place of refuge for her. She studied Horticulture in high school and college. Michelle attended the Brenneke School of Massage, became an energy worker, and studied aromatherapy, flower essences, gem essences, and herbal medicine. She opened her massage practice in 2002 and began her aromatherapy studies with Jade Shutes and the IDA (now Aromatic Studies). She has been teaching the Aromatic Studies curriculum since 2005 and became involved in Hospice work in 2003 with MultiCare Home Health and Hospice, working as a comfort therapist providing massage, reiki, and doing clinical aromatherapy consultations. She continued her studies in spiritual phytoessencing with Dr Berkowsky, natural perfumery with Ayala Moriel, became a reiki master and teacher and studied cranial sacral therapy and integrative energy therapy.
In 2006, Michelle studied flower and gem essences, and became an international instructor for Australian Bush Flower Essences. In 2014 she enrolled in the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine.
You can find Michelle’s work at lilygracebotanicals.com
Anita Kalnay
Contributing Writer
Anita grew up smelling roses in the backyard and attending flower shows with her family. Her favourite pastime has always been being outdoors and spending as much time in NATURE as possible. As a child, she saved up all her money to buy a sleeping bag, a tent and a canoe. Ultimately, she made that interest a career after completing a BA in Recreation Administration at the University of Alberta, specialising in Community Development and Planning. Always a curious and lifelong learner, Anita's education is a patchwork quilt of interests, including Celtic Shamanic Studies, Art and Design, Applied Behavioural Science, Natural Perfume Apprenticeship with Ayala Moriel and over 3200 hours of certification in Natural Health modalities. Working as often 'the only Natural Health Practitioner' in remote and rural Canada areas allowed her to focus on Aromatherapy and Healing Arts as a profession. Anita is a graduate and Assistant Teacher of Dr. Bruce Berkowsky's Spiritual PhytoEssence® program. She has been self-employed since 1992 and considers herself a 'Soul Proprietor'. She has also served on the CAOA Canadian Alliance of Aromatherapy board of Directors.
Anita lives on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. You can visit Anita's website at www.genieinabottle.ca
Doreen
DeSerres DuJardin
Contributing Writer
Doreen DeSerres DuJardin has always resonated with the "Spirit of Nature." This Divinity guides her on an authentic path, formulating aromatic synergies composed solely of pure botanicals. She began Nature's Spirit Distinctive Aromatherapy on Earth Day in 1988 to fulfil her life's purpose by sharing wholistic wellness through herbal and aromatic botanicals, offering Aromatherapy classes and creative workshops, and providing a complete product line that serves these purposes. She has tutored for the Atlantic Institute of Aromatherapy and taught at various massage schools and spiritual centres over the decades.
She received a Vintage Aromatherapist award at the International Aromatherapy Conference in 2013.
As a Science of Mind practitioner, Doreen focuses on creating inspired elemental synergies with pure, ethically sourced essential oils and carrier bases imported from trusted sources worldwide. She continues working as a wholistic wellness practitioner, focusing on the many benefits of pure botanicals by creating, blending, writing, teaching, researching, and living this Aromatic and Spiritual world, offering products, personal consultations, and various classes.
Currently, Doreen has returned to sunny Florida to share her light and wisdom as she continues this earthly journey. Now, as a "vintage" GrandmaMa to 4 children, she imparts this ancestral wisdom.
Doreen shares a world of pure olfactory magic and delight through her website, NatureSpirit.com, with the quintessential frequencies of the plants' purpose, scent, and message. Writing for Aromatika, she shares many of the "stories" that these years have been filled with by connecting with others, demonstrating through the various uses of pure Aromatherapy used with Intention, reverence, respect and, of course, awe!
You can learn more about Doreen at https://naturespirit.com/
Gabriella Schütz
Founder & Contributor
Gabriella, along with Gergely was the original founder of Aromatika back in 2013. She retired from actively working on the magazine in 2021 but she continues supporting the Editorial staff and enriching content with her creativity and original stories.
Gabriella is a mother of three girls. She makes scented jewellery and is a journalist. Originally, she graduated as a French teacher and now returned to teach language in public schools and privately.
She believes that her real venture is in the world of aromatics. She has studied holistic aromatherapy with Gergely Hollódi of the School for Aromatic Studies in Hungary.
Gabriella launched Pomanders in 2018 where she makes scented jewellery from minerals and silver, and which come with essential oil blends of her own creation. Essential oils are not only part of her work but are fully interweaving her life.
