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Product Spotlight

Our Herbalists & Scientists

Herbalists and Scientists

Clockwise from top left:

Ed Smith, Herb Pharm's co-fownder/owner & Senior Herbalist

Sara Katz, Herb Pharm's co-founder/owner & Director of Environmental Conservation & Community Relations

Dr. Hellen Oketch, PhD, Doctor of Pharmacognosy & Principal Scientist

David Bunting, Staff Herbalist

Julie Plunkett, Clinical Herbalist & Health Educator

A Broad Spectrum of Herbal Talent

Ed Smith, founder, co-owner and Chairman of the Board. Ed, popularly known as “Herbal Ed,” has worked as a medical herbalist for over 30 years and is a founding member of the American Herbalist Guild. He designs and formulates Herb Pharm’s herbal extracts and compounds, and is an internationally respected teacher and lecturer on medicinal herbs and herbal healthcare. He has traveled to over 60 countries in search of medicinal herbs and knowledge of their traditional and modern uses.

Sara Katz, founder, co-owner and President. Sara has been actively working with medicinal herbs for over 30 years. She directs the management of Herb Pharm, focusing on team-building and supporting employees, suppliers, customers, and relationships with the local community. She also serves as President of United Plant Savers, an organization dedicated to the conservation of North American medicinal plants, is on the board of the American Herbal Products Association, and she works with a number of local, state and national environmental groups.

Dr. Hellen Oketch, PhD, is Principal Scientist of Herb Pharm’s Botanical Sciences and Analytical Laboratory. Raised in Kenya by a practicing herbalist mother, Hellen naturally acquired a life-long passion for herbal medicine which led her to receiving her PhD in botanical pharmacognosy from the University of Copenhagen. She taught pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nairobi in Kenya where she also did research on Kenyan medicinal plants and worked with a grant from the World Health Organization (WHO) on antimalarial medicines. Hellen also did post-doctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley on medicinal plants for the treatment of post-menopausal symptoms and on cancer biology.

Julie Plunkett is a Clinical Herbalist and Health Educator. Julie has worked in the herb and natural foods industry for over 25 years, and has practiced as a clinical herbalist and nutritionist for 15 years specializing in women’s health and healing chronic illness. Julie frequently lectures and writes about the use of herbs and natural foods to establish and maintain optimal health. Julie is also the author and voice of Herb Pharm's Tele-Training Series, which is designed to train retail store personnel on recommending to their customers the safe and effective use of health promoting herbs.

David Bunting, Staff Herbalist, has been dedicated to herbal medicine and quality herbal pharmacy for over 25 years. He is a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild, and has served on the Board of the American Herbal Products Association. He attended and later taught at the California School of Herbal Studies. David has worked with leading companies in the herbal industry where he has had responsibility for herbal extract production, product and botanical quality assurance, product development, and regulatory affairs.