Posted by Charles Van Norden
on May 19, 2026
We had the opportunity to converse with Kelly LeGendre, the new owner of Yong Sheng herbs in Tucson about her path to TCM, background, and philosophy. This interview has been edited for length and flow.
What is your background?
I’m from outside of Chicago, but moved to Arizona (Phoenix) in elementary school. I later moved to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona and will have been here for 25 years in August. I have a bachelor’s degree in Art History from the UA and a MAOM from the Arizona School of Acupuncture.
What was your path to Chinese Medicine? Did you grow up with it?
I grew up with alternative medicine, but not TCM. I had grandparents that were very interested in homeopathy and that was usually our go-to when anyone in the house got sick. I remember sitting with the stapled printout that came with the giant Dolisos homeopathy kit they had gifted us and pouring over symptoms trying to figure out how they were related.
When I fell into burnout as an undergrad I turned to acupuncture to address my symptoms. I was amazed at how well it worked for me and basically borrowed every book my acupuncturist owned before she encouraged me to attend an open house at the Arizona School of Acupuncture in 2003–I signed up for the program on the spot.
Were there any teachers that you felt were especially influential in your journey?
My acupuncturist, Debi Malone, was also an instructor at the school and was a big influence in the early days. I was also extremely fortunate to study herbs with Dr. Qing Liu who came from a long line of herbalists and had an amazing amount of knowledge to share with her students.
Did you have a particular focus in school and early practice?
My focus in school was fertility, and my practice was centered around hormonal health for a long time. I’ve also worked as a community acupuncturist treating pretty much everything you can think of, and my last job was at a large practice on a VA contract, primarily treating chronic pain issues.
How did you originally become involved with Yong Sheng herbs?
I’d been shopping with the Jiangs for over 20 years, since I was in acupuncture school. I walked into the pharmacy in February 2025 and they told me they were planning to close at the end of March! Yong Sheng is the only TCM pharmacy in Arizona and I immediately knew I had do anything I could to try to save the shop!
I was able to work out an arrangement with the Jiangs to make payments to them over time, so I quit my job and came to work with them for their final month in the store. I officially took over on April 1st, 2025.
The first year has definitely had its ups and downs… Tariffs on Chinese imports were announced the day after I took over. Then, in September I learned our location had been rented to another business and I was being forced out.
The plaza where (Yong Sheng) was originally located was renovated a couple years ago, so after a long search, I was able to secure a space just a few doors down from the original location. We reopened here a few weeks ago, on April 17th. Our 30th Anniversary was on April 28th, so I’m planning a big re-opening celebration and anniversary party on Saturday, May 23.
How would you describe Yong Sheng?
We are a general TCM pharmacy with a full granule dispensary featuring over 350 single herbs and formulas available by prescription, as well as teas, topicals, and many other over the counter offerings from a wide range of herbal brands brands and local practitioners. Since 2012, Don Lightner has been offering consultations one day a week, and I have an acupuncturist and massage therapist here with me full time.
What are the core values relating to your practice? Who are you hoping to reach?
I see my role at the pharmacy as a liaison between practitioners and the public. I’m always trying to steer people toward getting more personalized help and see my over the counter products as a gateway drug into the world of TCM. Once people see how effective herbs can be for acute conditions, they often become long term customers and often start seeing local practitioners for more specialized help.
The majority of my repeat retail customers are patients who have been sent in by their acupuncturists at one time or another. We fill granule prescriptions for local practitioners and over the past year I’ve been working on getting our pharmacy ready for nationwide ordering through Dispensary Tree. Now that we’ve moved, we’ve dramatically increased our prescription filling capacity and are currently offering same day prescription filling and shipping Tuesday through Saturday. Next I’ll be working on improving our website to expand online sales to retail customers.
Is there anything you’d want to tell yourself from 5 years ago?
Like many students, I was initially scared off by the complexity of TCM herb prescribing, but over the years have shifted to using more and more herbs, both personally and with patients. I’ll always love acupuncture, but getting a better handle on herbs has transformed my practice in ways I wasn’t expecting (like buying a pharmacy!). Our medicine is incredibly powerful and I truly believe that herbs are the most powerful way to practice TCM. I’m always amazed at how fast I can effect change with people when using the right herbal formula.
What hopes and dreams do you have for the profession broadly?
My #1 dream is for TCM to become the go-to for Americans looking for solutions to their health problems! With so many schools closing, I’d love to see TCM education be integrated into programs at traditional universities to make it more accessible (and affordable) for potential practitioners. And I’d love to see more practitioners turning to herbs as first line medicine, rather than immediately looking to functional medicine for internal support!
For the Jiangs, the original owners of Yong Sheng: What was it like to open an herb shop in Tucson in the 90s? Was there good community support or did you have to build it up from nothing? Why did you choose to open one?
Ling obtained a business degree in China before moving to the US, but she came from a family of medical practitioners. Her brother was a doctor who eventually became the head of the hospital in her home province, and her sister was an acupuncturist.
In spite of the large Asian community in Tucson, Ling was surprised there was no place in town to find TCM herbs or pharmacy items, so she opened a business to meet the need of the community. She and Guan rented a U-Haul and drove to LA to speak to other pharmacy owners about their businesses and collect names of herb distributors. One shop even helped her load up her truck for free, telling her she could send them a check when she was able to. After losing the address she had written down, she and Guan went back to California and drove up and down the streets in Chinatown until they found the store and repaid the owners! She told me that the kindness she was shown by those shop owners and all the help she had along the way made her want to help me when I approached them about buying the store.
Ling said the business really took off after the local newspaper wrote an article about the consultations Qing was offering in the store.
One of my favorite things about owning the pharmacy so far has been the connections I’ve been making with other acupuncturists. If anyone reading this is ever in Tucson, I love meeting practitioners in the shop and am also always happy to connect online through email or social media!
