Our Board of Directors

Drake Sadler

In the early 1970’s, Drake Sadler was a community activist who believed that empowered people could change the world for the better. His mission was to promote the knowledge of Traditional Herbal Medicine, while creating fair and equitable trading relationships with the mostly impoverished people around the globe who collect and grow medicinal plants. For the past four decades, Drake has guided Traditional Medicinals through a time of incredible change, leading people to a newfound respect for herbalism.

As Drake said recently: “With the support of our health conscious consumers and the introduction of organic agriculture, we have developed a unique business strategy which reduces poverty and hunger, rebuilds families and restores their self-sufficiency, and provides economic stability in the rural indigenous communities where our herbs come from. Herbal experts from Traditional Medicinals are constantly working to improve herb quality and social conditions in these communities, but it isn’t necessary to travel to distant native villages to see that the entire planet desperately needs new social business models which are non-exploitive, free from discrimination, environmentally sustainable, nurture our spirits and serve humanity.”

Traditional Medicinals has pursued the rigorous process of getting nearly every product certified organic, and many also certified Fair Trade and now Fairwild. We’ve also built strong relationships with supply partners that affect real change.

For Drake, Traditional Medicinals is a vision realized, and after all these years, the ideals he started out with remain fundamental to the core values of the company.

Stephen Hohenrieder

Stephen serves as the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Grounded Capital, a firm he founded after exploring the role of capital in building the health of diverse systems over fourteen years. He works with investment teams to build strategies and manage investments, and collaborates with aligned partners to pursue ideas and solve problems.

Stephen is particularly interested in the opportunity to support the health of people and our planet through food and agriculture, in relationship with capital, the built environment, energy and natural ecosystems.

He has invested private capital across different categories of food, from soil to the consumer, over the past decade. For the first part of his career, Stephen invested across a broad range of assets on behalf of family offices and related entities.

He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Agribusiness. Stephen enjoys being outdoors, in the mountains, skiing, hiking, playing tennis, and traveling with his family.

Katie Huggins

If you want to understand Katie’s basic approach to life, all you need to do is read the bumper sticker that says,” I am a tree hugging dirt worshiper.” Her interest in plants began in childhood, when she would spend time visiting the various plants in her backyard. Eventually, she went on to study plants through the lenses of a variety of scientific disciplines and through her work in the natural products industry.

Katie has been with us since 1997 and is definitely one of our preeminent herbal experts, as well as a key member of our management team. She has been responsible for developing our Quality Control testing laboratory and testing programs, as well as growing the QC department from a staff of 5 to 12. She’s been instrumental in our work to transition to mostly organic, pharmacopeial ingredients. She’s also devoted time over the past number of years to an agricultural study of senna (the primary ingredient in our popular Smooth Move teas). Prior to her work with us, Katie spent a decade in the natural products industry at Celestial Seasonings and 4 Health.

Katie brings an exceptional level of knowledge and passion to her work in Technical Services, where she oversees our Quality Control, Legal & Regulatory, and Research & Development Departments. Katie’s advocacy for plants—whether that shows up in a commitment to pharmacopeial standards, rigorous quality control processes, rational formulation approaches or sustainability efforts—has fundamentally influenced the culture of our organization and we are very grateful for her contributions.

When not in the lab, you can find Katie working in her organic garden, which she aspires to turn into a small-scale farm, where she grows herbs, vegetables, flowers, fruit and nut trees on her urban lot.

Tripp Baird

Tripp is an entrepreneur, impact investor and advisor who has dedicated his entire career to health, wellness and sustainability. As a younger man, Tripp was heavily influenced by his father, an early investor in the organic movement. This early exposure, coupled with his active outdoor lifestyle, a spiritual practice in Buddhism, and a love of systems has driven an ongoing passion for supporting the Health and Natural Foods (HNF) world.

After co-founding Partnership Capital Growth, a merchant bank focused in healthy, active and sustainable living, Tripp founded and is serving as managing partner for The Builder’s Fund. This private equity platform and fellow B-Corp invests in purpose-driven companies in the areas of sustainable food and agriculture, health and wellness, environment and resource efficiency, and social justice.

Throughout his career and among his many credentials, Tripp has invested in, secured funding for and helped develop successful brands like Manduka, Sambazon, Planet Organic, Pure Organic, Equator Coffee, BOGS Footwear, Muscle Milk, Faraday Bicycles, Ragnar Relay, Urban Remedy, New Leaf Paper and Mrs. Green’s Natural Markets. He is a dual magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University.

When not lending his financial expertise to the next great HNF company, Tripp can be found teaching yoga, making art, or enjoying the outdoors with his wife and two sons near their home in the San Francisco Bay.

Caitlin Landesberg

On a quest to develop the best beer in the world for active people, Caitlin Landesberg was the founder and CEO of Certified B Corporation and functional beer pioneer, Sufferfest Beer Company. After being fully acquired by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in 2019, Caitlin launched This Is Water, an investment fund focused on mission-driven consumer companies. Caitlin brings 20 years of consumer marketing experience from global brands such as Adobe Systems, Mozilla Firefox, and Strava to her portfolio brands, corporate board seats, and advisory roles.

Residing in Mill Valley, California, Caitlin has a deep passion for supporting and protecting Marin County’s farmers, farmland and coastline through her involvement and Board work with Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) and the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM). Caitlin is an avid hiker and trail runner, proud wife and mom of three, farmers market regular, and graduate of Kenyon College, where she proudly serves on its Campaign Leadership Committee to support the school’s equity and diversity initiatives.

Sheryl O’Loughlin

Sheryl O’Loughlin is an accomplished entrepreneur, CEO, and board member with 30 years of experience leading fast-growing, innovative consumer branded companies as well as a classically trained business manager and marketer with multinational corporations.

Sheryl is a current Board Member at Pet IQ Inc., Simple Mills Inc., S. Martinelli and Co., and One Step Closer. She has an impressive track record as the former CEO and President of REBBL Inc., Co-Founder and CEO of Plum Inc., CEO and President of Clif Bar & Company, Co-Founder and Board Chairperson of Women on Boards, and Co-Founder of the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Collaborative. Previous boards O’Loughlin served on include Zuke’s pet treats, thinkThin nutrition bars, Gardein plant-based meats, Sugar Bowl Bakery, Sustainable Business Council and Women’s Initiative.

Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She held a faculty position at Sonoma State University, where she taught hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs. Sheryl started her career at General Foods and Quaker Oats as a classically trained business manager focused on marketing and innovation.

In 2018, Sheryl co-founded the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I) Collaborative, a project of OSC. In 2018,she co-founded the Women on Boards Project and had served as the Board Chair. Both non-profits focus on supporting and advocating for a more inclusive industry and economy to drive innovation, growth, profitability, and justice.

In 2017, Sheryl introduced her first book, Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart (Harper Business) focused on the mental health of entrepreneurs. The book was featured in Fortune, Conscious Company, Inc., Forbes, and Huffington Post, among others. Sheryl has earned numerous awards including a 2018 Silver Stevie Award Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Products, 2018 BevNET in Leaning Into Beverage: Conscious Company Magazine: 2017 Conscious Leaders Award for Personal Journey, and Forbes Consumer Catalyst Award: The Consumer Industry’s Top Dealmakers and Influencers of 2016.

Sheryl earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and her Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. With a passion for the outdoors, Sheryl is an avid camper and traveler. She lives in Santa Rosa, California, with her husband, Patrick, as a new empty nester and missing her sons Connor, a recent college graduate, and Gavin, a college sophomore.

Friends and Advisors

Nioma Narissa Sadler

Since early childhood, Nioma always wanted to be a reporter and travel the world telling stories. Denied a formal education, she spent her early teen years in libraries, reading about crimes and discrimination against women and girls. Her passion for these issues propelled her to work for change, and she created WomenServe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to women’s empowerment.

Many women are engaged in the wild collection and cultivation of medicinal plants. Their empowerment and the well being of their families are fundamental to the Traditional Medicinals social business mission. For the past decade, WomenServe has helped to shape policies and implement programs focused on gender equality, health, food and water security, economic development, and education for women and girls in Traditional Medicinals sourcing communities. Nioma is honored to serve as an advisor to the Traditional Medicinals team in this capacity.

Dr. John B. Elstrott, Jr.

Dr. John Elstrott adds a wealth of knowledge and a great understanding of our mission and purpose as a board member at Traditional Medicinals. He has a long career in the natural foods industry, including working as Chief Financial Officer of Celestial Seasonings and currently serving as Chairman of the Board for Whole Foods Market, Inc.

In addition, Dr. Elstrott is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Emeritus Executive Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business in New Orleans, LA.

He is the Founder and Director of the Tulane Family Business Center and has served as an economic development and strategic planning consultant for state and municipal governments. He’s also an active entrepreneur in the venture capital, wetlands mitigation, banking, pharmaceutical, financial services, medical and functional food industries. Dr. Elstrott has won numerous teaching awards including the National Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education, the Edwin Appel Prize for bringing Entrepreneurial Vitality to Academe, and the James T. Murphy award for Teaching Excellence. He was named the Ernst and Young Louisiana Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997 for his support of entrepreneurship education, and in 2007 he was awarded the Howard W. Wissner Award in recognition of a professor who has displayed excellence in teaching, interest in students, and their activities and exceptional efforts to improve the A. B. Freeman School of Business.

William Culler-Chase

William Culler-Chase is Principal and Co-Founder of Grounded Capital and a Traditional Medicinals Board Observer. William is part of a team investing long-term private capital across the value chain of our food system, managing a portfolio that includes investments in food companies, processing infrastructure, and farmland.

Joel Dee

Joel Dee has been advising Traditional Medicinals since 1979. Joel is the founder and President of Edward & Sons Trading Co., Inc. Edward & Sons’ mission is to bring to market innovative natural grocery products from around the world. He serves on the Board of Northern Expediting, a NJ converter and printer of packaging films, and also on the Board of the Ce De Candy Inc. Best known for its Smarties brand candy rolls, Ce De is a family owned business founded by Joel’s father.

Steve Demos

Steve Demos is the natural foods trailblazer and the visionary behind NextFoods and its GoodBelly brand. A progressive entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in creating and marketing environmentally and socially-conscious foods, Demos is also the founder and former president of White Wave Inc. (Silk Brand), the largest producer and marketer of soy-based products in the U.S. He founded White Wave in 1977, where he led all aspects of the Company until it was sold to Dean Foods in 2005.

NextFoods is an extension of Demos’ belief in “right livelihood,” a concept that fosters responsible, mindful and profitable capitalism. Simply stated: “Good for me, good for you, good for everyone that touches it.”

Michael Funk

Michael Funk has been a key pioneer in the natural food industry for over 38 years. His experience in promoting and distributing organic foods started in 1976 when founded Mountain Peoples Warehouse, building his company into the leading natural food wholesaler in the Western United States. In 1996, he co-founded and took public United Natural Foods to form a natural food distributor that he led to become the largest in the world. As President and CEO of UNFI, Funk grew the company at an average growth rate of 20% per year. He stepped down as CEO in 2008, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board.

Peter Roy

Peter Roy was the former President of Whole Foods Market. In 1984, Peter founded and became president of the Natural Foods Network, an industry trade association that brought together the principles of Whole Foods Market, Bread and Circus, Mrs. Gooch’s, Wellspring Grocery, and Whole Food Company. All of these companies would eventually merge into Whole Foods Market and become the highest volume natural and organic products retailer. Peter currently serves on the board of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI).

Steve Terre

Steve Terre is a highly motivated sales professional with 34 years of experience in all aspects of sales and sales management. Steve was Vice President of Sales at Traditional Medicinals for 18 years from 1984 to 2002. He has served in an advisory role from 2002 to today. Steve’s strength in building businesses are well known in the natural products industry, from independent health food store owners to top executives of the largest companies.

Mike Burbank

Mike met Drake Sadler almost twenty years ago and fell in love with Traditional Medicinals’ mission, people, and products. Since 1983, he’s served as a financial advisor to the founders and CEOs of food and beverage companies, and today, he is Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor with the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley, leading a team focused on financial planning and investment management for the owners of food, beverage and consumer products companies. He’s achieved such success that in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, The Financial Times recognized Mike as one of the Top 400 Financial Advisors in the United States. Mike and his wife, Cindy Roberts, are also proud to be investors in a number of businesses that are pioneering market-driven restoration and sustainable business practices including Guayaki, Sambazon, Big Tree Farms, and Traditional Medicinals.