Since 1979, I have worked at all levels of the medicinal plant sector; organic farm and wild collection, production of extracts, manufacturing of finished herbal medicinal products, TCM clinic, standards-setting (quality and sustainability), and consulting governmental- and intergovernmental organizations in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation projects in Africa, Asia, and South America.

From 2002 to 2016, I served as International Consultant on Market Intelligence for Medicinal Plants at the International Trade Centre, the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations; 2004-2008 as a member of the International Standard for the Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) Steering Group; and 2008-2021 as a member of the Board of Trustees of the FairWild Foundation, a standards setting organization for sustainable wild collection of medicinal plants. I presently serve as Research Fellow for Medicinal Plants and Botanical Supply Chain at Traditional Medicinals (Sebastopol, California).

I am an elected member of the United States Pharmacopoeia Botanical Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines Expert Committee. At the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, I am an advisor on commercial sources & handling and international regulatory status. I serve as an Advisory Board member of the American Botanical Council and Advisory Group member of ABC’s Sustainable Herbs Program. In 2016, I was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in Healing and Sustainability honoris causa from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and California Institute of Integral Studies.

Listen to Josef Brinckmann’s Herbcast episode “First do no harm – A sustainable approach to herbalism“.