I am a writer and anthropologist (PhD, Harvard 1995) whose work explores the relationships between humans and the earth, most recently through my work with plants, herbal medicine, and the botanical industry.

I am the director of the Sustainable Herbs Program, a program of the American Botanical Council, which I began in 2016 to help bridge the gaps between the values of herbal medicine and the reality of sourcing and producing herbs on a global scale.

I am the co-producer of the documentary Numen: the Nature of Plants, and the author of the award winning ethnographic memoir, Thin Places: A Pilgrimage Home, based on my research in Nepal. I am a student of herbal medicine and was a 2017 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar documenting the supply chain of medicinal plants in India. My book, The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines in a Global Industry, will be published by Chelsea Green Publishing in February 2021.

Listen to Ann Armbrecht’s Herbcast episode “Where do all the herbs come from“.