Mark Wheeler-Founder
The soul of our farming operation is our founder Mark Wheeler. He established Pacific Botanicals in 1979 after healing himself from a long bout with chronic colds and flues using simple herbal remedies. Mark was so inspired by his own healing that he started a small farm in Southern Oregon to grow organic medicinal herbs. After 10 years he moved the farm to its present loctation in the heart of the Applegate valley where he eventually expanded the farm to its present size of 140 acres. Mark’s experience and expertise, developed over 3 decades in the business, has allowed Pacific Botanicals to become a leader in our industry. Mark has a simple but powerful vision: to help as many people as possible experience healing by providing them with the finest quality organic medicinal herbs available. To assure you of quality Mark participates directly with Pacific Botanicals quality control team on decisions about the quality of herbs that we source and sell.

His hard work and dedication set the pulse of the farm. What has grown up around his vision is truly an amazing farming operation. The beauty of it is inspiring. Mark is a man of few words who puts his heart into the work he does. He is passionate about organic and lives his life with an exceptional commitment to sustainable practices and personal simplicity. Mark is a leading international figure in the organic agriculture and medicinal herb field and is in demand for speaking, teaching, and other herbal educational events. He conducts educational tours here at the farm for students and practitioners, and is committed to organizations like United Plant Savers and The American Herbal Products Association. Mark's passion is traveling and outdoors adventure. He is an accomplished whitewater rafter and loves his time on the river with friends. His biggest delight in life is his son Sam. Oh, and there’s his dog named Beatrice (Bea for short) who is in charge of gopher control.

Toni Corrente-Evans-Chief Operating Officer
Toni is our chief operating officer. She is a certified master level human resource professional and certified coach and brings 35 years of business leadership experience to the farm. Her passion is working with people to support them in making the contribution they are here to make. She has inspired the growth and development of the customer service aspect of our business and her glowing spirit has helped create the structure for a wonderful working atmosphere here at the farm. Toni finds her inspiration not only in the great people here but also in the beauty of the environment. To be able to work at such a lovely place like the farm brings her much joy and peace. Toni also leads our purchasing and sales department and loves the opportunity for building relationships with our regional, national, and international customers. Toni’s philosophy on life is to live with a deep generosity of spirit, to live with gratitude for our many blessings, and to always look toward the promise of possibility. Her favorite herbs (at the moment) are Hawthorne berry, (with which she makes a wonderful heart tonic), and hibiscus flower (which she loves for iced tea). Toni loves to camp, visit friends, garden, create art with her dried pressed flowers, and hang out in the delightful energy and natural beauty of the Oregon Coast. She is married to a wonderful guy, has two great stepchildren, and two grandsons. She has a little white dog (Coton de Tulear) named Lizzie whom she adores and who is very entertaining. The thing she would most like to change in the world is to eliminate world hunger, especially among children. To this end she has sponsored a child from the Philippines through Children’s International for the past eight years.

Dave Metzger- Farm Manager
Dave is our Farm Manager and has been working in agriculture for over thirty years. In addition to driving tractors, repairing equipment, and supervising the field crew, he enjoys the abundant wildlife that the farm sustains. Everything from bald eagles, cranes, kites, hawks, swallows, deer, foxes, ducks, geese, and the occasional cougar make farm life quite exciting. Dave finds the variety of herbal crops that we grow here very interesting and likes the challenge of growing so many different species. He also enjoys the people he has met and worked with here. Dave’s philosophy is that life is a great journey so we might as well enjoy the ride. He is a big fan of Pacific Botanicals and thinks it is a fantastic place to work. At home he loves to garden (on a smaller scale of course). He grows a variety of vegetables and specializes in gladiolas that he brings in during the season for all to enjoy. He is an avid outdoorsman and loves animals. He feeds the ducks, birds, and deer that live around his own property and he and his partner Kathy enjoy dog sitting for friends. Dave’s care, and kindness permeates the work in the fields and his energy and devotion to the work are an inspiration. Dave considers our health our biggest asset and his wish for the world is for people to find ways to get and stay healthy. It is no coincidence that his favorite herbs are chamomile and Echinacea purpurea.

Bruce Fain-Mill Manager
Bruce is our miller extraordinaire and our mechanic and has been in heavy industry processing for 30 years. His work has taken him from lumber, to stone, to feeds, and finally to farming. He has been with Pacific Botanicals for seven years and brings his expertise to not only our milling operation but our quality control team as well. He is the one who cuts and sifts and powders for our customer’s orders. What gives him satisfaction here at the farm is the relationships with coworkers, the diversity of the work, and knowing that his labors directly affect the health of people all around the world. His personal philosophy is to live lightly on the earth by consuming less and recycling. Bruce lives on the farm and rides his bike through the fields from his house to the mill. His favorite plants are tomatoes, especially the heirloom varieties. He loves to grow and preserve many of the foods that he eats (including a dynamite salsa), collect antique medicine bottles, and explore the rich landscape of the state of Oregon. He has three beautiful daughters whose names all begin with the letter C…Chantel, Ceanna, Chevill. If he had the power to change the world he would have us concentrate on alternative energy, liberate us from the grip of the oil companies, and commit to being a fully green nation.

Dori J. Moran-Quality Manager
Dori has been with us for 10 years and has a great deal of experience in a variety of areas on the farm. She grew up on a farm and understands how varied farm work can be and the need for flexibility in dealing with its processes. She has a BA in zoology, laboratory experience, and her interest in living organisms has lead her to an interest in the vital power of medicinal herbs. This knowledge and experience contribute to her work as a member of our quality control team.

Dori loves the whole growing process but her passion is the working in greenhouse propagation and seed harvesting; seeing the plants journey from seed to seed. She has learned so much about our herbs over the years and is a resource for us all. She also coordinates our fresh product shipping. Dori is at home with the people here and enjoys the relationships she has built with co-workers as well as the opportunity for connection with our wonderful customers.

Her personal life philosophy can be summed up in this way: live simply, speak kindly, keep growing, be happy in life, and if your not enjoying what you are doing then make a change...Life is too good not to enjoy it! Her favorite plants are vegetables because they bring us essential healing nourishment. She loves all flowers and is especially drawn to the herbs Angelica archangelica and Nettles. Dori’s spirit comes alive outdoors and she enjoys spending time in the garden, at the ocean, on hiking trails, or on a raft on the river, with family and friends.

Holly Crosson-Administrative Services Manager
Holly is our Administrative Services Manager. Her catch all title means she does a little of everything, from purchasing, writing Standard Operating Procedures and conducting consumption studies for everything we sell, to keeping our Oregon Tilth organic certifications current, filling customer orders, and even driving the tractor when needed! Holly is a professional botanist and aquatic ecologist with over 25 years experience restoring marine and freshwater habitats. For eight years she worked at the Botanical Garden and Arboretum at the University of California in Davis where she developed educational exhibits for their extensive plant collections from around the world. Prior to her career as a biologist and educator, she managed an organic vegetable and herb farm, and was the staff horticulturist at a nursery. Her passion for plants and the natural world was cultivated at an early age. She has fond memories of playing in the herb and flower gardens on her grandmother’s farm.

Holly’s passions outside of work include gardening, cooking (especially from the bounty of the garden), photography, and white water rafting. She loves to travel and experience the cultures of the world, but equally enjoys spending time at home with family and friends, relaxing by the koi pond and water garden. Holly says she feels incredibly fortunate to be working at the farm, a place of stunning natural beauty, and where there is a deeply-held philosophy about caring for the soil, plants and all the creatures that inhabit this little plot of earth. She finds living amongst the herbs to be a continual sensory delight too. Her favorites grown on the farm are nettles (for a delicious and healing tea), fennel, lavender and lemon balm (for their wonderful fragrance) and Echinacea (for keeping the birds and the bees happy, and we the people healthy). She enjoys the supportive work environment at Pacific Botanicals, and being able to share her day with so many talented and dedicated co-workers.

Our Customer Care Team
"You have the nicest people!" This is something we hear a lot from customers who order from us here at the farm. The reason for this is because our people really do care. Great customer service from good people is very big part of our mission. We are small enough so that you can still talk to a person on the phone if you wish. We have the experience so that you can always get the help you need from someone who has a good working knowledge of our products. And, even when you order online, your order is handled and packaged by one team member all the way through. We asked each of our care team members to describe in one sentence what they liked about working at the farm. Here is what they had to say.

Customer Care Team Photo From left to right:
Suzanne: I like working at Pacific Botanicals because of the healing that I am bringing to myself and to others. Antonia: I love the farm, the people I work with, and the 100% wonderful peaceful feeling I get whether I am working outside or inside. Julie: I love this job because it is like a loving, caring, and nurturing family that has a common purpose of healing and wellness for the Earth Mother, her people, and each other. Blessed Be! Donovan: It feels good here: the work, the people and the fact that I get to come back again tomorrow.

Click here to read about Our Commitment to Quality...