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 flu 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 location 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 three decades in the medicinal herb 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.

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. He 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, educators, and practitioners, and is committed to organizations like United Plant Savers and The American Herbal Products Association. Mark's passion is traveling and outdoor adventure. He is an accomplished whitewater rafter and loves his time on the river with family and friends.

Toni Corrente-Evans-Chief Operations 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. She has inspired the growth and development of the customer service aspect of our business and her leadership has helped create a culture of teamwork here at the farm. Toni is inspired not only in the healing mission of the farm work, but also the peace and fulfillment that comes from the farm life. Toni also leads our purchasing and sales department and works hard to continually build relationships with our regional, national, and international customers. Toni’s philosophy on life is to live with gratitude, express a generosity of spirit and always look toward the promise of possibility. Her favorite herbs (at the moment) are Damiana, Hibiscus, and Chamomile. Toni loves to camp, visit friends, garden, read, do art projects, and explore the wild natural beauty of the Southern Oregon Coast. She is married to a wonderful guy (D.E.), has two fantastic stepchildren, three grandsons, one granddaughter, and one grandaughter on the way. She has a little white dog (Coton de Tulear) named Lizzie 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 11 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 loves to garden at home, he is an avid outdoorsman and loves animals. He feeds the ducks, birds, and deer that live around his own property. 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. His favorite herbs are chamomile and Echinacea purpurea.

Bruce Fain-Mill Manager
Bruce is our mill manager. He has been in heavy industry processing for 32 years. His work has taken him from lumber, to stone, to livestock feeds, and finally to farming. He has been with Pacific Botanicals for almost 12 years and brings his expertise to not only our milling operation but our quality control team as well. What gives him satisfaction here at the farm is the relationships with co-workers, 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 our state. 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 Moran-Quality Control Manager
Dori has been with us for 12 years and has a great deal of experience in a variety of areas on the farm. She grew up on a farm in Maine 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 curiosity for living organisms has lead her to an interest in the vital health giving power of medicinal herbs. This knowledge and experience contribute to her work as a member of our quality control team.

Her personal 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 kitchen vegetables because they bring us essential health and nourishment. She loves all flowers and is especially drawn to the herbs Angelica archangelica and Nettles.

Her personal 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 kitchen vegetables because they bring us essential health and 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 her home garden, at the Oregon coast, on hiking trails or on a raft on the Rogue River with family and friends.

Holly Crosson-Administrative Services
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 among the herbs to be a continual sensory delight. 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, the bees, and 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.

Lisa Ward- Administrative Assistant
Lisa is our administrative assistant. She has a business clerical background and does every thing from bookeeping, product receiving and returns, to supplies management. She is a problem solver and affectionately refers to herself as our “internet procurement ninja.”

Lisa is a “cubicle refugee” and is grateful to work at Pacific Botancials because she gets to come to work and see the vital beauty of the farm. Her window looks out over the fields and she loves seeing the big stands of echinacea, calendula and red clover. She is a recent convert to herbalism and actively takes care of her health with the herbal tinctures she makes. Learning about the herbs and how they can support our well being is one of her passions. In the warmer weather she loves to walk on the farm with her dog.

Perhaps her biggest passion in life is music of all kinds. “I think music is the universal language, she says. I love live concerts.” Her current favorite music is classical jazz and especially the music of Billy Holiday. She says it speaks to her soul. But she also wants to explore live dance, and opera. For Lisa an ideal day would be to take a drive in her Chevy truck with her dog Dizzy, (named after Dizzie Gillespie of course) get some great coffee, take a walk through the park, and sit and watch the river go by. She also loves being with her family, and lately enjoys playing trucks with her three year old nephew.

What Lisa would like to change in the world is to end racism and celebrate ethnic diversity. She wants us to wean ourselves from a dependence on oil and move toward alternative energy.

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 care. Great customer service from good people is a 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. 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:
(left to right, top to bottom)
Donovan: It feels good here: the work, the people and the fact that I get to come back again tomorrow.Lindsay: I enjoy working here because it makes me feel good to help spread the healing powers nature kindly shares with us all. Nate: I enjoy working at PacBot because of the loving and genuine people I get to interact with everyday. 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. Lupita: I am more happy working here than any other place I have worked because of the fresh air, the plants, and the peaceful environment. Kathy: Here at PacBot I enjoy the people I work with and knowing that the herbs we ship are helping people all over the world.

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