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.

Nioma Narissa Sadler is the Founder of WomenServe, the Co-Owner of the wellness tea giant, Traditional Medicinals Inc. and the Co-Founder of the Traditional Medicinals Foundation. She has spent over ten years working on social change for women and girls, turning her life’s passion into a powerful force for change.

In 2006, as the Goodwill Ambassador for Traditional Medicinals, Inc., her dedication led her on a journey into herb sourcing communities in Rajasthan, India. She began developing initiatives around gender inequality, education, and water scarcity and founded WomenServe as a nonprofit organization dedicated entirely to unlocking the potential of women and girls.

Nioma bases her community development philosophy on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and takes her life mantra, “Love and Serve,” from India’s spiritual leader, Amma.

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.

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

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.

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 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.