The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) has presented its 2026 ABC Fredi Kronenberg Excellence in Research and Education in Botanicals for Women’s Health Award to Jillian Stansbury, ND, a naturopathic physician, ethnobotanist, author, educator, gardener, musician and artist.
For more than 30 years, Stansbury practiced naturopathic medicine in Battle Ground, WA, and has been a professor of botanical medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR. She has authored several books on botanical medicine, been a frequent contributor to various journals, served on several editorial boards, and been a speaker on botanical medicine topics at professional and consumer health conferences. After retiring from clinical practice in 2025, she now enjoys more time in her garden in southwest Washington State, as well as creating artwork and playing music, but still travels and teaches.
The ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award was created in 2018 and named in honor of distinguished researcher, educator, and longtime ABC Board of Trustees member Fredi Kronenberg, PhD (1950–2017). Kronenberg dedicated her professional life to the study of medicinal plants and phytomedicines for women’s health conditions. She particularly was interested in botanicals, such as black cohosh (Actaea racemosa, Ranunculaceae), for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
“When I settled into my natural medicine career, I knew I had not only found the right livelihood, but I had found my path, my purpose, and my people,” Dr. Stansbury said. “To be selected by the American Botanical Council for this year’s Fredi Kronenberg Award is not only a great honor for me, it is like a warm embrace from the people who matter most to me. I will cherish this gift and plant it like a seed in these fertile forests that I so love and grow more plants and inspire more plant people.”
“As a past recipient of this honor, I can think of few herbal pioneers more deserving than Jillian Stansbury,” wrote Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, herbalist, past president of the American Herbalists Guild, and recipient of the 2018 ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award. “She stands among the rare visionaries whose work is both vast and deeply original—an extraordinary scholar, a gifted artist, and a teacher whose influence continues to ripple through generations. Deeply respected across our field, she has woven together scholarship, creativity, and healing in a way that leaves a lasting imprint on all who encounter her work.”
Tori Hudson, ND, naturopathic physician, author, educator and recipient of the 2021 ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award, wrote: “Dr. Jill Stansbury has exemplified excellence and decades of commitment to the study and teaching of botanical medicine. She has combined the art and science of plant medicine in her publications, scientific plant drawings, research, and lectures with grace and intellect. In her more-than-35-year career as a naturopathic physician, she has manifested all that is valued in the ABC Fredi Kronenberg Award.”
The 2026 ABC Kronenberg Award was presented at the 21st annual ABC Celebration and Botanical Excellence Awards Ceremony on March 3, 2026, in Anaheim, CA, during the annual Natural Products Expo West conference and trade show.
For more information, visit www.herbalgram.org.
