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2022 AHPA Awards recognize those making a difference in the herbal community
Marc Allen, Celestial Seasonings, Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D., Planting Justice, and Rodale Institute are the 2022 AHPA Award honorees
March 9, 2022
AHPA is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the annual AHPA Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the continued success of the herbal products industry and wider herbal community. The awards were presented today, March 9, 2022, at the AHPA Annual Member Meeting at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA.
2022 AHPA Award Winners
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Herbal Hero Award: Marc Allen
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Herbal Industry Leadership Award: Celestial Seasonings
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Herbal Insight Award: Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D.
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Herbal Diversity & Inclusion Award: Planting Justice
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Environmental Impact Award: Rodale Institute
Established in 2006, the annual AHPA Awards acknowledge individuals and organizations that help further AHPA's goal of promoting the responsible commerce of herbs and herbal products.
The AHPA Environmental Impact Award is a new category for 2022. “This award recognizes an individual, organization, or company that has implemented innovative sustainable or regenerative business practices that will continue to have a meaningful positive impact on the environment,” explained Holly E. Johnson, PhD, AHPA's Chief Science Officer and staff liaison for the AHPA Sustainability Committee. “AHPA is honored to present the inaugural Environmental Impact Award to the Rodale Institute, an incredible organization that has embodied the spirit of this award for decades through their commitment to advancing organic and regenerative farming through research and education.”
About the Honorees
Herbal Hero Award: Marc Allen
Marc Allen has dedicated himself to many years of highly engaged service on the AHPA Board of Trustees – including two terms as Chairman of the Board – as well as serving as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Finance & Governance Committee.
In these roles, Marc brought his experience in corporate governance and business practices to help update AHPA's operational practices. Finance & Governance is not known for its “glamour," but it is the backbone of running a financially and operationally successful organization. Marc is known and appreciated by many as “one of those quiet people who get the work done.” His contributions include:
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Starting and leading the Financial Audit Committee;
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Participating in formal development of the President's review process;
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Initiating appropriately timed reviews of dues levels and structure;
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Helping to launch AHPA's Strategic Planning Process.
In addition, Marc has shepherded Herb Pharm's participation in and continued support of the AHPA ERB Foundation and many AHPA projects that benefit the herbal products industry.
Herbal Industry Leadership Award: Celestial Seasonings
As a founding member of AHPA, Celestial Seasonings was at the table for AHPA's earliest board meetings and remains an active member today. When the brand was founded in 1969, Celestial Seasonings started an entirely new way of thinking about herbal tea and a movement toward healthier lives.
Celestial Seasoning's goal is to provide delicious, high-quality teas that are good for both tea drinkers and the world, ensuring their teas are produced in a way that protects the earth's natural resources. Celestial Seasonings and their parent company, Hain Celestial, stand up as leaders on important topics such as GMO labeling, sodium and sugar intake and animal welfare. From sourcing to shipping, Celestial Seasonings is committed to social and environmental responsibility in everything they do.
Selecting only the highest quality herbs and botanicals grown using earth-friendly practices, Celestial Seasonings sources 100+ botanicals from 35 countries around the world, with 70% of ingredients purchased directly from farmers and local communities. Celestial Seasonings' natural fiber, pillow-style teabags do not need string, tags, staples or individual wrappers, saving more than 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills each year. Further, Celestial Seasonings uses carriers that participate in the U.S. EPA's SmartWay program, aimed at advancing supply chain sustainability and helping companies save fuel, lower costs and reduce adverse environmental impacts.
Herbal Insight Award: Cassandra L. Quave, PhD
Cassandra L. Quave, PhD, is a medical ethnobotanist whose work is focused on the documentation and analysis of botanical remedies used in the treatment of infectious disease. Dr. Quave's passion for ethnobotany and the healing power of plants is a personal one: born with multiple congenital defects of her skeletal system, she has traversed the world with just one leg on her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease.
As the herbarium curator and associate professor of dermatology and human health at Emory University, Dr. Quave leads anti-infective drug discovery research initiatives and teaches courses on medicinal plants, food, and health. She is also the co-founder and CEO/CSO of PhytoTEK LLC, a drug-discovery company dedicated to developing solutions from botanicals for the treatment of recalcitrant antibiotic-resistant infections.
A leader in the field of medical botany, Dr. Quave has authored more than 100 scientific publications and has been featured in New York Times Magazine and BBC Focus, as well as on PBS, NPR and the National Geographic Channel. In her recently published novel, The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines, Dr. Quave takes readers on a journey of her field research spanning flooded forests in the remote Amazon, the rolling hills of central Italy, isolated mountaintops in Albania and Kosovo, and volcanic isles arising out of the Mediterranean, all in search of natural compounds that could help save lives from the looming crisis of untreatable superbugs.
Dr. Quave is also passionate about sharing her knowledge of ethnobotany and beyond on her Foodie Pharmacology podcast and Teach Ethnobotany YouTube channel.
Herbal Diversity & Inclusion Award: Planting Justice
Planting Justice is committed to transforming the food system one garden at a time and empowering people to grow their own food. Since 2009, Planting Justice has built over 550 edible permaculture gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area, worked with five high-schools to develop food justice curricula, and created over 40 green jobs in the food justice movement for people transitioning from prison.
A 501(c)3 nonprofit, Planting Justice is working to address the structural inequalities embedded in the industrialized food system – such as the systemic exploitation of food system workers; lack of access to fresh, nutritious food in low-income communities of color; and over-reliance on packaged, processed food that is harmful to human health and the environment.
In addition to operating a local, organic nursery with rare and heirloom varieties, Planting Justice programs include food justice education, holistic re-entry from prison, a permaculture landscaping team, urban farms and training centers. Planting Justice collaborates with marginalized communities to provide equal access to nutritious affordable food, dignified jobs, education, green space, safety and mobility.
Environmental Impact Award: Rodale Institute
In 1940, J.I. Rodale – who struggled with health problems all his life – bought a rundown farm in Pennsylvania. On that farm, he began growing food without chemicals, a practice he coined "organic." In 1947, he founded what is now known as Rodale Institute, a global leader in regenerative organic agriculture.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Rodale Institute is dedicated to growing the organic movement through rigorous research, farmer training, and consumer education. For more than 70 years, Rodale Institute has been carrying out their mission to conduct rigorous research designed to discover the most effective, efficient, and regenerative farming practices. The institute's research is shared with farmers and consumers all over the world and acts as a catalyst for change in food systems around the globe.
The Rodale Institute's groundbreaking research includes their 40-year-old Farming Systems Trial, the longest-running side-by-side comparison of grain cropping systems in America. The institute has also invested in new and exciting research on industrial hemp and the crop's potential to heal soil and support American farmers. In addition, Rodale Institute conducts ongoing research on nutrient management, improved techniques for composting, soil carbon accrual, pest and disease prevention, and more, as part of their continued commitment to developing best practices in organic agriculture.