Aboca S.p.A
Aboca cultivates 2000 acres of certified organic medicinal herbs at their farm & manufacturing facility in Tuscany, Italy and…
Adolfo
Adolfo came to the farm in 2007 from Rio Verde, Mexico. His favorite crop is Echinacea because it is…
Adrian
Weed eating is a big job at the Gaia Farm. Luckily, Adrian likes to weed. Organic farming can be…
Alejandro
Alejandro has been farming since he was 13 years old. In Mexico he works in the fields growing maize…
Angela
Angela Guerrant currently serves as Vice President of Sales for Gaia Herbs and sees her role at Gaia as…
Ann
VP Marketing
Ann Buchman joined Gaia Herbs as a consultant in 2006 to direct the company’s first-ever large-scale consumer…
Beverly Yates, ND
Professional Background:
Dr. Beverly Yates, ND is a California licensed doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and a 1994 graduate of…
Bill
Director of Herbal Education
Bill Chioffi has worked extensively in the natural products industry for 18 years. He began…
Christian, Francesco, and Massimo
Though not technically “Staff Members” – more like “family”, Christian, Francesco, and Massimo are the core representatives from Aboca,…
Daniel
Daniel likes to pull weeds, a task many farmers would rather not tackle. He says it’s because he can…
Doug Elliott
For many years, Doug Elliott has earned his living as a traveling herbalist – collecting and selling herbs, teas,…
Etson
CPA, CFO
Etson Brandenburg joined Gaia Herbs in October 1999 as its Chief Financial Officer. Etson has been a…
Euromed
Euromed is a top producer of standardized herbal extracts and natural active principles for the pharmaceutical, health food and…
ForesTrade
Gaia Herbs Validated Partner
Honoring the relationship between people and plants at the most fundamental level, the practices of…
Horizon Herbs
Horizon Herbs is a certified organic farm and organic processor located in the Williams Valley of southern Oregon. The…
Jackie
VP Global Sourcing
A degreed and published plant biologist, Jackie Greenfield works directly with farmers and wild crafters—nationally and…
James
Director of Quality Control
James Traub currently serves as Director of Quality Control for Gaia Herbs. An analytical chemist…
Jamie
Plant Manager
Jamie Brandenburg joined Gaia Herbs in 2005 as Inventory Controller and Cost Manager. He became the Plant…
Jeremy
Jeremy is Gaia Herbs’ Chief Scientist; he’s been working with us since 2005. Beginning as Gaia’s staff pharmacognosist, he…
Jill Stansbury, ND
Professional Background:
Jillian Stansbury is a licensed naturopathic physician and an accomplished writer/author, speaker, and teacher. With more than…
Jorge
Jorge, also known as “George”, manages our Gaia Farm crew. His roots go back to the start of the…
Juan
Bushogging the grass is the best part of the job at the farm according to Juan. He prides himself…
Lucio
Lucio enjoys harvesting at the Gaia Farm. Digging roots allows him to work directly in the soil, which is…
Luis
Every job here at Gaia is special. But Luis favors picking the vegetables for the Gaia employee CSA (community…
Mary Bove, ND
Professional Background:
Dr. Mary Bove is an accomplished herbalist, author, teacher, and lecturer. Having been published in many magazines…
Michael Traub, ND
Michael Traub, ND, DHANP, CCH, FABNO graduated from National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) in 1981. Since 1986, Dr.…
Nathan
Assistant Plant Manager
Nathan Johnson began his career at Gaia Herbs in the extraction department. His leadership skills were…
Pacific Botanicals
Gaia Herbs shares Pacific Botanicals’ sustainable agricultural values; as a result Pacific Botanicals is one of the most experienced…
Ric Scalzo, CEO
CEO/President/Founder
As one of North America’s most respected herbalists and botanical researchers, Richard “Ric” Scalzo has more than 25…
Sabino
Sabino has worked at the Gaia Farm for 14 years, which makes him our veteran crewmember, as well as…
Sergio
Juan and his brother, Sergio, came to work at Gaia together. Story has it that when the Luciano brothers…
Servando
Otherwise known as the “Man of 101 Uses” around the farm, Servando takes care of Gaia’s drying rooms, where…
Tori Hudson, ND
Tori Hudson, ND, graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) in 1984 and has since served the…
Trout Lake Farm
Trout Lake Farm was born in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State in 1973. The tiny Trout Lake valley…
Vincente
Some jobs at the Gaia Farm are just plain fun. Vicente’s favorite is to ride on the back of…
Walter Crinnion, ND
Professional Background:
Walter J. Crinnion, ND, is an accomplished teacher, writer, and lecturer who specializes in chemical sensitivity and…
Our people are our strength, and to us, they are more than workers or partners—they are our family. We invite you to meet them by clicking on any of the links above.
Bushogging the grass is the best part of the job at the farm according to Juan. He prides himself at keeping the grounds looking good here at Gaia and likes to tinker with all the machinery onsite. If there’s trouble starting the tractor, Juan is the one to call. In Rio Verde, Mexico, he works on his pickup truck. Here in North Carolina, his 1988 Ford Mustang. And when the season comes to an end Juan will drive his ‘new’ car home to show it off to his friends.
Slowing down is what Juan likes to do when he’s not working. At home he enjoys sitting out front under the shade of a tree to watch the people walk by. Here at Gaia Juan is known for getting to sleep first at the end of the day. He’s also known for his trustworthiness.
Juan and his brother, Sergio, came to work at Gaia together. Story has it that when the Luciano brothers arrived to the United States and were asked where they would be working, they just said, “cucumbers”, in response. So now the two are nicknamed just that, ‘pepinos’.
Juan hopes to have his own farm in Mexico some day. Eventually he’ll save money to rent fields for his corn and cattle. He’s learning a lot about growing plants here at Gaia Herbs and we know he’ll go far with his farming career.
