Jocelyn Elder is a Registered Nurse, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, and Alcohol and Drug Counselor. A native of Washington, DC, and northern Virginia, in 1982 she graduated from the University of New Mexico, where she was extensively trained in holistic theory and received her baccalaureate degree in the Science of Nursing. Jocelyn became a registered nurse specializing in holism and healthy immunity. She then spent eight years working for the Indian Health Service at Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico and farther east, in Santa Fe. Watching shamans arrive at the hospital and perform healing ceremonies for patients further shaped her understanding of holistic healing.

In 1993, she graduated with a Master of Arts in Counseling from Southwestern College, in Santa Fe, NM, and was educated in personal transformation, experiential therapy and holism. Jocelyn was the Patient Care Services Manager of a psychiatric and chemical dependency hospital for four years and has maintained a private practice for 15 years.. Jocelyn is also a cancer survivor and has written the book: The Cancer Wheel: Creating Balance and Wellness from Catastrophe. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.