The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) has awarded its 2024 Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award to David Winston, RH (AHG), founder and president of the B Corp certified product manufacturer Herbalist & Alchemist (H&A), and dean of David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies.
 
The award is named after ABC’s founder and executive director, who has been involved in the North American and international herbal medicine movement for 50 years. The Blumenthal Award is given annually to individuals who’ve 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 work with medicinal and aromatic plants.
 
Winston, who founded H&A in 1982, is an ethnobotanist, author, and herbalist, and serves as a mentor and consultant to physicians, other healthcare practitioners, and members of the natural products industry. He is a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild, where he serves on the clinical herbalist certification committee. He is also a member of the American Herbal Product Association (AHPA)’s “Botanical Safety Handbook” review committee, and is a longtime member of the ABC advisory board. Winston has practices herbalism since 1976 and often speaks at conferences and organizations.
 
Winston is the co-author of “Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief,” a 432-page book that compiles traditional as well as scientific and clinical information on herbs used as adaptogens, like ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), and Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea).
 
“I would like to thank the American Botanical Council for this recognition honoring my 55-year love affair with herbs and herbal medicine,” Winston said, upon accepting the award. “In 1969, all of my friends were interested in one herb, and I was interested in all of the other ones. Learning about herbs at this time was difficult as there were few books and fewer teachers, but I was hooked and wanted to share what I was learning and find ways to learn more. In 1981, I heard that there was going to be an herb conference at Breitenbush Hot Springs, in Oregon. On the first day of the conference, there were 70 of us sitting in a circle and I thought, finally, ‘these are my people.’
 
“Now, over 40 years later, the American herbal renaissance is in full bloom and our herbal community has grown exponentially,” Winston continued. “Last year, some of my former students who make up the Northern New Jersey chapter of the AHG held an Herb Day event at Well Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey. I was asked to be the keynote speaker and was happy to participate. We hoped a few hundred people would show up, but over 2,000 people attended. As I walked around the grounds surrounded by current and former students, medical professionals, farmers, children, parents, and scores of interested people, I thought to myself, once again, ‘these are my people.’” 
 
“David is what I might call an herbalist’s herbalist,” said Blumenthal. “He is highly respected by hundreds, probably thousands, of herbalists and natural health care practitioners in the United States and beyond. Frequently, I see emails from physicians and other licensed health care practitioners who have studied with David who all laud his comprehensive and responsible herb study courses. I am deeply grateful to consider David to be one of my colleagues and teachers, a supporter of ABC, and a good friend.”
 
Previous recipients of the ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award are:
 

• Mimi Hernandez (2023), former executive director of AHG; Emily Ruff (2022), director of Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary;
• Michael McGuffin (2020), president of the American Herbal Products Association;
• Mary Blue, Katheryn Langelier, and Nicole Telkes (2019), “The Fire Cider Three,” who successfully battled in federal court to keep “fire cider” a generic term;
• Linnea and Larry Wardwell (2018), organizers of the Medicines from the Earth and Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine symposia;
• Jon Benninger (2017), director of the annual SupplySide East and SupplySide West trade shows;
• Ikhlas Khan, PhD (2016), director of the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research and the annual International Conference on the Science of Botanicals;
• Michael Tierra (2015), herbalist, author, teacher, and co-founder of the American Herbalists Guild;
• Loren Israelsen (2014), founder and president of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA);
• Sara Katz (2013), co-founder of Herb Pharm and past president of United Plan Savers (UpS);
• Rosemary Gladstar (2012), author, lecturer, and founder of UpS, the California School of Herbal Studies, the International Herb Symposium, Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary, the Herb Retreats at Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon, and other herb-related groups and events. 
• The 2023 ABC Mark Blumenthal Community Builder Award was presented at the 19th annual ABC Celebration and Botanical Excellence Awards Ceremony on March 13 in Anaheim, California, as part of Natural Products Expo West.