Biographies

Susan Betz' s long history of growing and using herbs to educate the public is evidenced by her membership in The Herb Society of America (life member) as well as the International Herb Association, Garden Communicators, and the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Susan received The Society’s Helen D. Conway Little Medal of Honor in 2018. She is a charter member of HSA’s Native Herb Conservation committee and contributes to HSA’s native herb fact sheets. She is the author of Magical Moons & Seasonal Circles, Stepping into the Circle of the Seasons & Neighboring with Nature/Native Herbs for Pleasure and Purpose.

Amy E. Dawson is a cataloger, librarian, archivist, and educator who has worked at appraising and describing collections. She has completed rare book cataloging projects for The Herb Society of America and other organizations such as The Rowfant Club, The Golden Group, and Library Cataloging Solutions. She is the former Special Projects Coordinator of the Special Collections Department of the Cleveland Public Library.

Carol Ann Harlos, a Society member at large, is a retired math and science teacher (Buffalo City Schools) and retired lecturer at Buffalo State College. She is an active writer and gardener! She is a previous The Herbarist author, served as editor for the Essential Guide to Monarda and participates in the HSA native plants committee. She writes a gardening column for Forever Young Magazine as well as being newsletter editor and writer for Herb Gardeners of the Niagara Frontier. She is a Master Gardener, past MG President, and MG Coordinator (Erie County New York state).

Erin Holden works in the National Herb Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum and holds a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She has worked at the Arboretum since 2013, primarily in the Herb Garden and the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. She helped launch the Arboretum’s Herban Lifestyles, an educational series suggesting ways to include herbs in everyday life. Erin is a clinical herbalist and has served as a teaching assistant for various herbal medicine graduate courses. Currently she is the co-blogmaster of The Herb Society of America’s blog.

The Society’s Honorary President for 2022 – 2024, began her career with degrees in forestry and environmental horticulture. With that background in mind, she and her husband, Dan Sales, began their nursery, Morningsun Herb Farm, in 1995, growing drought tolerant plants, including culinary, and medicinal herbs. Long an advocate for replacing grass yards with plants attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies, Rose continues to be a trend setter for California gardeners.