Hosted on March 3, 2026, in Anaheim, California, during the annual Natural Products Expo West, the American Botanical Council’s 21st annual Celebration and Botanical Excellence Awards honored individuals and companies who have made outstanding contributions to the herbal and botanical communities.
2026 ABC Champion Award
Recognizing individuals who have been outstanding supporters of ABC and who have helped the organization promote and achieve its nonprofit research and educational mission, whether through monetary support or contributions of their own time, this year’s award was presented to Marisa Williams, ND, and Aaron Jenks, PhD, both of Traditional Medicinals.
For several years, Williams and Jenks have co-authored the Herb Profile section of ABC’s quarterly, peer-reviewed scientific journal HerbalGram. Williams and Jenks were recognized for contributing their experience and expertise and generously and meticulously dedicated hundreds of hours to researching and writing these extensive articles.
Williams was first listed as a co-author of HerbalGram Herb Profiles beginning with the artichoke (Cynara cardunculus syn. C. scolymus, Asteraceae) profile in issue 130 (Summer 2021), and Jenks was first listed as a co-author beginning with the Echinacea purpurea (Asteraceae) profile in issue 138 (Summer 2023).
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Marisa since the artichoke Herb Profile in 2021 and with Aaron since the echinacea profile in 2023,” wrote Tyler Smith, managing editor of HerbalGram. “They consistently deliver exceptionally thorough manuscripts, often ahead of deadline. What sets them apart is not only their depth of expertise, but also their ability to translate complex botanical topics into clear, engaging writing — a rare combination. I genuinely look forward to reading their drafts, and they are a true pleasure to work with.”
In response, Williams wrote: “I have deep appreciation for ABC’s dedication to the scientific and herbal community as a cornerstone resource for herbal medicine education. To be recognized with the ABC Champion Award and stand alongside others who have devoted their life’s work advocating for medicinal and aromatic plants is a celebration and an honor.”
Jenks stated: “It brings me great honor and delight to be awarded ABC’s 2026 Champion Award. Since my earliest days as an herbalist and throughout my career, I have relied on HerbalGram and other work of ABC for accurate and accessible information on botanical medicine, as do so many people around the world. And it is with gratitude that I support ABC’s mission to further herbal education.
“Plants speak in a language that crosses all boundaries and is understandable to all, connecting people wherever they are, through the gift of healing and better health. As individuals, communities, and organizations, may we all strive to be as plants are: Catalysts of positive change. Thank you to ABC for the opportunity to contribute to work that connects people and plants toward a healthier future.”
2026 Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award
Kathi Keville, herbalist, educator, and author, was the recipient of the 2026 Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award. Keville is also the director of the American Herb Association (AHA), founder of the Green Medicine Herb School, and a founding member of United Plant Savers and the American Herbalists Guild.
The ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award is given annually to individuals who have played a significant role in creating a sense of connection and community among herbalists, botanical researchers, members of the herb and natural products communities and industries, and others who have exhibited leadership qualities in the areas of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Describing herself as a storyteller at heart, Keville has written more than 150 articles, 17 books, and five book chapters on herbs, essential oils, and herb gardening. From 1974 to 1983, she was a staff writer, photographer, and article editor for Well-Being Magazine and has served as the editor of the AHA’s quarterly newsletter since 1980. In 1975, she founded the Green Medicine Herb School, leading weekend retreats and classes on herbal medicine, aromatherapy, herb cultivation, and more. She also leads herb- and plant-focused tours to Greece, Italy, and France.
“I’m surprised and delighted to receive this award from the distinguished American Botanical Council,” said Keville. “It’s an honor being recognized as an herbalist. It’s been a great job and a wonderful opportunity to help others. I also love being connected to nature since plants are the true healers.”
“Kathi has been involved with herbal studies and education longer than most herbalists in North America — over 50 years! She’s one of the most generous and passionately committed herbalists I’ve ever met,” said Blumenthal. “Everything about her, including her wide-open heart, is about planting, growing, harvesting, preparing, cooking, teaching, and writing about herbs, medicinal plants, and essential oils. She has amassed an impressive library of thousands of herb books. While seeking and sharing her herbal knowledge, Kathi has influenced and inspired thousands of readers, students, herbalists, and many others about the healing value of medicinal plants. Kathi is a true herbal treasure and widely loved and admired in the herbal community that she has helped create.”
2026 ABC Steven Foster Botanical Conservation and Sustainability Award
German botanist and taxonomist Uwe Schippmann was named as the recipient of this year’s ABC Steven Foster Botanical Conservation and Sustainability Award.
The ABC Steven Foster Award was created in 2022 and recognizes excellence in conservation and sustainability efforts related to medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). It is named in honor of botanist, author, and photographer Steven Foster (1957–2022) and commemorates his many years of professional interest, writing, and advocacy work in this field.
Schippmann’s work focuses on the sustainable use, conservation, and trade of, vulnerability analyses for MAPs species, capacity building for CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) implementation, and more.
“I’m very grateful to receive the conservation and sustainability award from ABC,” Schippmann said. “Being my first, it is also the most prestigious award I’ve ever been given. I’m very proud.”
From 1990 to 2019, Schippmann led the German CITES Scientific Authority for Plants, which forms part of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN) in Bonn, Germany. There, he was responsible for international plant species conservation and advised the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on the scientific background of these issues.
Since 2019, Schippmann has worked as an independent consultant in the fields of sustainable wild collection, trade, and conservation of medicinal plants. This includes the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Resources of the World (MAPROW) database, which he created and manages and which contains conservation-related data on some 20,000 MAP species. He carries out vulnerability analyses of MAP species based on a nine-factor matrix method.
Since 2020, he has been developing the National Redlists Database for Vascular Plants (NRL-DB), a synopsis of Red List categories for higher plants extracted from 350 Red Lists from 130 countries worldwide.
“The sustainable botanical products trade today owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Uwe Schippmann,” wrote Josef Brinckmann, the current president of ABC’s Board of Trustees who endorsed Schippmann for the award. “During his nearly 30 years of civil service as the head of the CITES Scientific Authority for Plants at BfN (1990–2019), Dr. Schippmann was a persistent and driving force for the development and implementation of credible, scientifically valid standards for sustainable production, trade, and use of wild medicinal plants.”
2026 ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award for Women’s Health
This year’s winner of the Fredi Kronenberg Award for Women’s Health was Jillian Stansbury, ND, a naturopathic physician, ethnobotanist, author, educator, gardener, musician, and artist.
For more than 30 years, Stansbury practiced naturopathic medicine in Battle Ground, Washington, and has been a professor of botanical medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon. She has authored several books on botanical medicine, been a frequent contributor to various journals, served on several editorial boards, and been a speaker on botanical medicine topics at professional and consumer health conferences. After retiring from clinical practice in 2025, she now enjoys more time in her garden in southwest Washington State, as well as creating artwork and playing music, but still travels and teaches.
The ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award was created in 2018 and named in honor of distinguished researcher, educator, and longtime ABC Board of Trustees member Fredi Kronenberg, PhD (1950–2017). Kronenberg dedicated her professional life to the study of medicinal plants and phytomedicines for women’s health conditions. She particularly was interested in botanicals, such as black cohosh (Actaea racemosa, Ranunculaceae), for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
“When I settled into my natural medicine career, I knew I had not only found the right livelihood, but I had found my path, my purpose, and my people,” Stansbury said. “To be selected by the American Botanical Council for this year’s Fredi Kronenberg Award is not only a great honor for me, it is like a warm embrace from the people who matter most to me. I will cherish this gift and plant it like a seed in these fertile forests that I so love and grow more plants and inspire more plant people.”
“As a past recipient of this honor, I can think of few herbal pioneers more deserving than Jillian Stansbury,” wrote Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, herbalist, past president of the American Herbalists Guild, and recipient of the 2018 ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award. “She stands among the rare visionaries whose work is both vast and deeply original — an extraordinary scholar, a gifted artist, and a teacher whose influence continues to ripple through generations. Deeply respected across our field, she has woven together scholarship, creativity, and healing in a way that leaves a lasting imprint on all who encounter her work.”
The ABC James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Awards
Recognizing authors whose books contribute significantly to the medicinal plant-related literature, and the fields of botany, taxonomy, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, phytomedicine, mycology, and other related disciplines, the 2026 ABC James A. Duke Awards were awarded to Healing Plants of South Asia: A Handbook of the Medicinal Flora of the Indian Subcontinent, Volumes 1 and 2 (CRC Press, 2025) by John A. Parrotta, PhD (reference/technical award) and Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves (Princeton University Press, 2025) by Jaap de Roode, PhD, (consumer/popular award).
Healing Plants of South Asia
In two volumes and almost 2,000 pages, Healing Plants of South Asia connects the extensive diversity of the flora of the Indian subcontinent with its long history of use by multiple cultures and traditional medicine systems. Parrotta drew on his 40 years of experience in tropical forest ecology, forest management, and traditional forest-related knowledge to create a meticulously researched text. Parrotta is a scientist emeritus of the US Forest Service, where he served as national research program leader on international science issues for 25 years, as well as a past president of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. He has authored or co-authored many books, scientific papers, and chapters, and serves as an editorial board member for the scientific journals Restoration Ecology and Forest Ecology and Management.
“The depth and breadth in Healing Plants of South Asia is a testament to the years of work that went into its compilation,” said HerbalGram Associate Editor Hannah Bauman, who manages the book review section of the journal. “Parrotta has created a reference that includes both codified and folk traditions as well as the names of the plants in the many languages used on the Indian subcontinent. This is a set that will be referenced for years to come.”
Doctors by Nature
In Doctors by Nature, de Roode disputes the belief that humans are unique in their use of medicines by delving into the emerging field of zoopharmacognosy. From goats and sheep to woolly caterpillars, he explores interactions between animals and plants as well as their relationship to the human use of medicinal plants. Doctors by Nature is his first book and has been translated into French, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Italian.
“It is such an honor to receive the James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award,” said de Roode. “Thank you so much to the American Botanical Council for all the important work you do. I also want to thank my editor, Alison Kalett, and the rest of the amazing team at Princeton University Press who have made this book possible.
“I have always been into animals and plants, and writing this book has really been a dream come true,” he continued. “As I was writing this book, I quickly learned that people have looked to animals for medicinal knowledge for thousands of years, well before science was even invented. I hope that this book will persuade people that nature has a lot to offer, and that the natural pharmacy and the medicinal knowledge of non-human animals can contribute to nature preservation. There really is no better time than the present to save what nature we have left, and I am so grateful for this award, which will hopefully help in spreading this message.”
ABC also gave honorable mentions to Medicinal Properties and Molecular Mechanisms of Thai Traditional Herbs (CRC Press, 2025) edited by James M. Brimson, PhD, Tewin Tencomnao, PhD, and Ciro Isidoro, DSc, MD, and Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats (Ten Speed Press, 2025), by Paul Stamets.
2026 Varro E. Tyler Award for Investment in Phytomedicinal Research
This award recognizes a botanical ingredient, dietary supplement, and/or phytomedicinal products company that makes a strong investment in human clinical research to support the authenticity, safety, and efficacy of its ingredients or products.
This year’s award was presented to Natural Remedies, a Bengaluru, India-based botanical research and ingredient company, in recognition of its commitment to clinical research on botanicals used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
“We are deeply honored to receive the 2026 Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award from the American Botanical Council (ABC),” said Natural Remedies CEO and Director K Narendra Reddy. “This recognition reinforces our long-standing belief that botanicals, when backed by rigorous science, can deliver meaningful, sustainable solutions to global health and nutrition challenges.”
Founded in 1950, Natural Remedies develops botanical ingredients and phytomedicinal products for the global nutraceutical, food, and animal nutrition industries. The company focuses on research-supported plant-derived ingredients used in Indian traditional medicine systems, particularly Ayurveda, and operates dedicated R&D facilities with sustained investment in the scientific evaluation of botanical ingredients.
Natural Remedies has supported more than 20 human clinical trials on ingredients including andrographis (Andrographis paniculata), bacopa (Bacopa monnieri), holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and turmeric (Curcuma longa), among others. These studies have explored applications related to immune function, cognitive health, digestive health, stress and anxiety, and joint health.
Among the company’s research-backed ingredients are Holixer, a holy basil extract named Ingredient of the Year for Mind & Mood at the 2025 NutraIngredients-USA Awards, and Ashwa.30, an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract recognized with an innovation award at Vitafoods India 2026.
“At Natural Remedies, we have consistently invested in phytomedicinal research that bridges traditional wisdom with modern validation,” Reddy said. “This award strengthens our commitment to advancing evidence-based phytomedicine for the benefit of industry, academia, and society at large.”
Stefan Gafner, PhD, ABC’s chief science officer, congratulated Natural Remedies for being recognized with the 2026 ABC Tyler Award. He said: “With over 20 published human clinical trials, Natural Remedies has shown an impressive dedication to documenting many of the traditional and modern health benefits of botanicals with a long-standing use in traditional systems of Indian medicine in the areas of cold and flu, cognitive function, digestive problems, joint pain, and anxiety and stress relief, among others.”
2026 Norman R. Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award
Recognizing those who make significant research contributions in the fields of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, or other scientific disciplines related to medicinal plants, this year’s recipient was Anna-Rita Bilia, PhD, a professor of chemistry at the University of Florence in Italy and director of its postgraduate School of Hospital Pharmacy.
Dr. Bilia has been recognized internationally for her extensive research on medicinal plant extracts, biopharmaceuticals, and innovative drug delivery systems.
“I am honored and delighted to be selected as the recipient of the ABC Norman R. Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award,” Bilia wrote in an email. “This recognition is especially meaningful to me because Professor Farnsworth was one of the giants in medicinal plant research, and his work represents many important milestones in pharmacognosy.
“I share with ABC and its community the same passion for plants that has driven and continues to drive my research. My work often brings together different scientific disciplines to explore new frontiers in research, an approach that may be considered somewhat unconventional,” she added.
At the University of Florence, Bilia leads a research group focused on developing delivery systems for natural products and evaluating their safety, efficacy, and stability. Her research has expanded the use of nanotechnology and liposome-based systems to improve the bioavailability of phytocompounds, including cannabinoids.
Bilia has held several leadership roles in prominent scientific organizations. She has served as president of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), where she was also previously a board member and vice president, and as president of the Italian Society of Phytochemistry and Sciences of Plants for Medicinal, Food, and Cosmetic Use (SIF). Bilia is currently the president of the Interdepartmental Center of Services for Biotechnologies of Agrarian, Chemical, and Industrial Interest (CIBIACI) at the University of Florence. In addition, she serves as an expert for the European Pharmacopoeia, a member of the traditional Chinese medicine working group, and an Italian delegate and vice-chair of the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP).
“I am quite certain that if Professor Farnsworth were alive today, he would fully endorse ABC’s decision to present this award to Professor Bilia,” said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “She is a highly productive top-level scholar who is congenially collaborative with scientific colleagues in Italy and throughout Europe, and her impressive record clearly shows the level of respect that she has earned among her fellow medicinal plant scientists.”
