Stella began publishing Under the Pine in August 2008, shortly after moving her private practice in energy medicine from Los Angeles to Santa Fe, NM. In California, she earned a masters degree in Oriental Medicine from Emperor’s College, from which she graduated summa cum laude. Prior to that, Stella worked in magazine publishing in New York City. She was an editor at both Bride’s and Condé Nast Traveler, where she met her husband, Aaron Sugarman. Of Colombian and Virginian heritage, Stella grew up in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and still knows the difference between a quahog and a littleneck.