Join Twin Star in Connecticut this summer for several herbal education opportunities!
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Susan Leopold is an ethnobotanist and conservation biologist known for her work in the fields of plant conservation, sustainable agriculture, and ethnobotany. She is the Executive Director of the United Plant Savers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their habitat. Leopold is an advocate for ethical wildcrafting practices, community-based conservation initiatives, and the preservation of traditional plant knowledge.
Founding President
Rosemary Gladstar is, literally, a star figure in the field of modern herbalism, internationally renowned for her technical knowledge and stewardship in the global herbalist community. She has been learning, teaching and writing about herbs for over 40 years and is the author of eleven books.
Her work includes Medicinal Herbs: a Beginners Guide, Herbal Healing for Women, Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, and The Science and Art of Herbalism, an extensive in depth home study course. She is the Founding President of United Plant Savers and founder and past director of the International Herb Symposium.
With a 20-year career in the organic herbal industry, specializing in the procurement of medicinal and aromatic plants on a global scale, I take a special interest in understanding the complexities of the supply chain required to bring high-quality herbs, spices and oils to market in a sustainable way. Through domestic farm visits and international travel, I have grown to understand the barriers in collection and farming practices and have committed myself to development and outreach.
Previous efforts have led me to work on a UpS Forest Grown verified ginseng project with intention to stimulate domestic interest in American Ginseng with a vision to protect it. Currently, I am working with a UpS Forest Grown verified Goldenseal project in Appalachia as well as partnering with FairWild foundation for Eastern European botanicals. Transparency and ethical sourcing have been the root of my procurement practices while forging a future for the communities responsible for the botanicals the industry relies heavily on.
From an early age, I’ve gained knowledge and appreciation of plants and their origins. Farming, botany and plant conservation through cultivation have become lifelong pursuits. After earning a bachelors in Plant Science from Rutgers University, I specialized in propagation and agribusiness management, tropical agriculture, bioremediation and tissue culture, then continued doing research for the university and the EPA.
I have studied under various herbalists over the last two decades and am currently Alumni at the School of Spagyric and Alchemical Arts, practicing in the tradition of Paracelsus, Jean Dubois and the Philosophers of Nature.
Residing in rural Oregon I am employed by Herb Pharm LLC where I have the honor to source for a truly sustainable business model with showcase regenerative organic farmland dedicated to the cultivation of medicinal plants.
Edward J. Fletcher is the Owner and COO of Native Botanicals, Inc., a botanical raw ingredient supplier. He was born into the botanical business of his Family’s nursery Gardens of the Blue Ridge where he learned to propagate and grow a wide variety of botanical ornamental species. Continuing his journey into the medicinal botanical realm, he has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on the strategic and sustainable sourcing issues surrounding the ingredients that go into our dietary supplements.
He is an active member of the American Herbal Products Associations (AHPA) and serves on the Board of Trustees as well as the current Chair of the Botanical Raw Materials Committee. He also sits on the Board of United Plant Savers, member of the Sustainable Herbs Program Advisory Group and served on the Dietary Supplement General Chapters Expert Committee of the United States Pharmacopeia and currently on other USP advisory panels. He enjoys speaking and presenting at industry events and is happy to discuss any and all botanical questions you may have.
My introduction to herbs began with making sassafras tea during my youth in pre-paved Maryland suburbs. I later relocated to California, and my interests in health, herbs, and good food led me to be a co-founder of Venice Fruit Tramps in 1974, a retail store and accidental collective that sold fresh fruits and vegetables and bulk dried herbs in a diverse urban community. A few years later, a friend and I scraped together $2,200 and founded an herbal tincture manufacturer and marketer that turned into a successful national brand over the next 20 years. Our company joined the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) in 1985, and I became actively involved as a volunteer for many years and was hired as AHPA’s president in 1999.
I have served on the United Plant Savers Board of Directors since 1998. I was invited to join as someone who could bring an industry perspective as a company that was buying thousands of pounds of herbal ingredients every year – including wild-harvested and organically grown North American herbs – and which had invested resources in learning to move some of these herbs into cultivation. My role at UpS continues to involve attention to the pragmatic side of things, in service to the plants.
Growing up spending most of her time outdoors in the beautiful foothills of southeast Ohio, Lonnie developed a deep love and respect for nature. With herbalist and woodsman Paul Strauss as her stepfather, she learned about many of the At-Risk medicinal herbs of the forest and fields at a young age. Her first memories of the UpS Botanical Sanctuary begin with frolicking in the woods and connecting to plants and animals as Paul and Dr. Jan Salick conducted the inaugural Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) research on the property in the 90s. Today, Lonnie is the co-owner and manager of Equinox Botanicals, an ecologically conscious herbal products company, and stewards the Equinox Botanical Sanctuary and Farm where she does everything from gardening, forest farming, and making medicine. Through her experience, she has learned what it takes to run a sustainable and ethical herbal products business and wants to be an example for others who are interested in pursuing careers in the herbal products industry in an earth honoring way. She also teaches yoga, hosts retreats, and is the owner and manager of Sassafras Camp, an outdoor nature and arts experience for children. Her greatest passion is teaching about plants and nature, and guiding experiences that deepen a connection to the surrounding environment and local ecology. In a world with so much environmental destruction and lack of respect for the plants and natural world, Lonnie is passionate about her work with United Plant Savers and sees it as one way of helping create change in the herbal products industry and world.
Ruby D. comes from a creative and inventive family who were enslaved in Virginia and moved to the Southern coalfields of West Virginia to build a new life after emancipation. Ruby Daniels (“Ruby D”) refers to her heritage as “Afro-lachian.” She spent many childhood summers in Beckley with her great aunts and grandmother, learning about African American traditions, spirituality, native plants, agriculture, and herbal remedies. This motivated her to start experimenting with plants on her own and later form her business, Creasy Jane’s, named after her great-grandmother, Creasy Jane Pack. After earning her Master’s in Therapeutic Herbalism she returned to Beckley, where she works for NRCS and West Virginia Forest Farming Initiative. Her business, Creasy Jane’s, offers custom-made herbal teas and tinctures, herbal soaps, and other topical herbal remedies. Ruby’s mission is to change the narrative of African American relationships to woodland botanicals and educate others of the herbal traditions and practices African Americans have had with plants and the forest.
Wolf Clan of the Kanienkehaka Nation, Mohawk
LPN, Master of Traditional medicine, has recently taken a new position with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Kononhkwaseri:io (to make good medicine) Health Facility under the Traditional Medicines Program as a Traditional Medicine Specialist and continues to maintain her own small apothecary called Canoe Woman Herbs. “Our cultural perspectives of reciprocity are the key to maintaining balance while we walk on Mother Earth. If we need something, we are to harvest only what we need and never pick the first plant. We offer tobacco and give words of gratitude for the plants.” Raised off the lands, I have always held respect for traditional plants. When I first learned about United Plant Savers about 10 years ago I found most of our traditional medicines are on the critical or endangered list with United Plant Savers and this has been a game changer for me.
I now have integrated this knowledge within community and instill the education of preservation – focusing on transference of this knowledge to the younger generation. We now encourage them to not only offer tobacco when harvesting plants but to somehow give back, by spreading seeds or propagating and reentering those medicines back into the forests.
I give my thanks and greetings to all who mind the medicines.
Thirty-one years ago I took a job as an Herb Buyer for Bread and Circus in Brighton, MA. One of my first tasks was to set up the bulk herb section for the store. Through that process, I engaged with Frontier Co-Operative and learned about the various pricing and supply of the culinary and medicinal herbs and was introduced to United Plant Savers and have been a member ever since. My career has taken me across the globe in search of sustainable supplies of medicinal plants and their products. It is imperative that if we want any supply of medicinal plants at all for the foreseeable future, cultivation, conservation and education about those plants are absolutely necessary. I consider the work that I do to support the Mission of UpS “to protect native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their native habitat while ensuring an abundant renewable supply of medicinal plants for generations to come” of primary importance in giving back to the community of plants that has provided so selflessly for all of us in more ways than can be counted.
Nathan Wright is a Citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the owner of Herbal Lodge. Herbal Lodge creates salves, teas and herbal remedies using locally sustainably wild foraged ingredients. Wright combines both indigenous and conventional herbal knowledge into his products. Wright has diverse experiences not only as an Indigenous Herbalist, but also in business, serving in the military and as an Indigenous and Environmental activist. Wright is also a certified mycologist. He shares his knowledge as an educator focusing on plants used in Anishinabek healing, and emphasizing the traditional sustainable practices. He makes himself available for herbal and Indigenous presentations, both online and in person. In accordance with his beliefs to honor the plants and trees, Wright is also a Water Protector. In 2019, Wright founded MackinawOde, a collective group that addresses Indigenous and Environmental concerns and has garnered national attention. He has been featured in various media outlets, Water Protector music videos and a documentary. Wright likes to say, “I used to be a Marine who fought for a country, now I am a Water Protector fighting for Mother Earth.” For more info: @Spiritman | https://linktr.ee/spiritman
Steven Yeager has been studying Oregon’s flora and ecology since 1995. He enjoys botanizing, wildcrafting, and exploring the Pacific Northwest. Steven is the former co-owner of the Columbines School of Botanical Studies. He believes cultivating a relationship with plants and the natural world is vital for a healthy existence on this planet. Steven also works at Mountain Rose Herbs as the Director of Quality. He serves on the board of directors for the American Herbal Products Association, AHPA’s Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals, United Plant Savers, and the Native Plant Society of Oregon. When not at work or volunteering with various non-profits, Steven enjoys spending time with his family, pretending to be a chef, hiking, camping, wildcrafting, and botanizing in the Cascade Mountains.
Geneticist, Environmentalist, Entrepreneur, Cannabis Advocate
Eleanor Kuntz, PhD, is a trained herbalist and entrepreneur who is bridging the gap between traditional herbalism and modern science. Eleanor works with plant genetics to design and implement Best Agricultural Practices for improving medicinal qualities and implementing responsible raw ingredient choices to mitigate supply chain risk for natural product companies. As a U.S. Forest Service volunteer, Kuntz researches plant population demographics and dispersal dynamics to develop guidelines for sustainable wild collection and permitting regulations in southeastern native plant populations.
Devoted to honoring the benefits of plant-based medicine, enhancing our connection to the wild world around us, and deepening our understanding of the relationship between plant, ecosystem and planet, Eleanor recently merged her two plant passions by cofounding LeafWorks Inc., a botanical verification company using genetics to improve medicinal quality, sustainability and transparency in the supply chain for the best possible plant experience. She is also co-founder of Canndor, the People’s Herbarium, the first herbarium committed to documenting and preserving cannabis cultivars and varietals along with the collective knowledge gained through community engagement.
Eleanor has a B.A. degree in Biology with a focus in Botany from Smith College and a PhD in Genetics from the University of Georgia. Her academic work focused on population diversity and gene flow, along with the evolutionary history and current genetic exchange between wild and cultivated plants. She graduated from the Sage Mountain School of Herbal Studies, where she studied under the mentorship of Rosemary Gladstar.
The nexus of natural history, ethnobotany, and environmental conservation has been a passion of mine since young adulthood. I worked as a naturalist and artist and became aware of the important outreach of United Plant Savers and the Goldenseal Sanctuary while studying and creating plant medicines. Perhaps it was the jars and jars of Black Cohosh in big box stores and grocery chains that further stoked my concerns and advocacy of the quickly growing herbal industry. I often wondered, “Where is all the plant material coming from and how is it managed?” As an educator and a prior Director of Jim Duke’s Green Farmacy Garden, I have shared and taught humans’ long and evolving history with plant medicine ~ the traditional uses, current scientific research, gardening with the plants, the commoditization of natural products, and the urgency of plant conservation. While growing up, I was not exposed to the wisdom of herbal medicine, but studied and deeply honored the indigenous uses of native plants. As an elder now, I am committed to seeing that current and future generations learn to respect and use native and all plant medicine with reverence ~ not only for themselves but also for the survival of the species and the biodiversity of ecosystems.
For more than 15 years, Tanner has been working to promote Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP’s) as a sustainable and ecologically-based forest management strategy for woodland owners in southeast Ohio and the central Appalachian region. Tanner graduated from Ohio University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Geography, and a minor specializing in Environmental and Plant Biology. From 2005 to 2008, he served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Rural Action’s Sustainable Forestry Program before accepting a staff position as the organizations Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Specialist. In this role he regularly conducted workshops, presentations, and provided on-the-ground technical assistance for woodland owners interested in developing sustainable NTFP enterprises, and restoring at-risk forest herb communities. In 2015, after gaining 10 years of experience in the field, Tanner returned to Ohio University and earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies for his research examining mycorrhizal symbiosis in wild-simulated ginseng roots, and the effect of mycorrhizal colonization on root ginsenoside concentrations. After completing his research, he returned to Rural Action in 2017 and continued to serve as the organizations NTFP Specialist, and ultimately Sustainable Forestry Program Director before accepting a position with United Plant Savers in 2021. In his spare time Tanner enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, and experiments with producing forest-grown mushrooms, maple syrup, American ginseng, and a variety of other edible and medicinal forest products.
LeAnn is an herbalist, massage therapist and artist in Gainesville, FL. She has a clinical practice offering bodywork and plant medicine, and also works with mutual aid groups locally to bring herbal medicine to the underserved in her community. She spends most of her time teaching, doing plant walks, growing food, making herbal medicine, and staying creative.
Chip has been involved with agroforestry and non-timber forest product work for the last 20 years. He began his career working with Rural Action’s Sustainable Forestry Program where he worked closely with producers growing medicinal herbs in their woodlands and helped to form the Roots of Appalachia Growers Association. At Rural Action he was also active in State and National policy work related to American Ginseng regulations and regularly consulted with lawyers, judges and prosecutors on ginseng poaching cases. He has consulted as an expert witness on ginseng and other medicinal herb crop damage claims, providing the court with lost crop values. Chip was the Assistant Farm Manager for Frontier Natural Products’ National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs where he helped manage research projects and oversaw their internship program.
He currently is the Sanctuary Steward for United Plant Savers 370-acre Botanical Sanctuary in Rutland, Ohio where he also oversees their Medicinal Plant Conservation Certificate Program. He also has been working for the United States Forest Service for the past 8-years monitoring wild ginseng populations on public lands. In 2016, Chip was hired as the Manager of Ohio Operations for American Ginseng Pharm; an agroforestry enterprise with operations in New York and Ohio.
In addition to his continued work with United Plant Savers, Chip operates his own business, Woodlandwise Botanicals. Through this, he does on-site consulting and education for landowners interested in growing ginseng and other woodland medicinal herbs. Chip’s focus has been to transition wild-harvested species into cultivation regimes in order to take pressure off of native populations of Appalachian medicinal herbs. This is being accomplished through consumer education, relationships with the natural products industry, and working directly with landowners that wish to grow these herbs.
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