Rob McCaleb is the founder and president of the Herb Research Foundation, a researcher, writer and educator and a leading proponent of natural health care with botanical and nutritional products. He was Research Director at Celestial Seasonings for 13 years, building their analytical lab and quality programs, including the first ever professional flavor profiling and control program for herbal products. He helped develop many of their herbal tea products, built their botanical research library, and conducted global quality troubleshooting of the herbal supply chain. Currently, he works with companies to assist them in formulating, labeling and marketing natural and organic foods, especially tea products, dietary supplements, and functional foods.

Educated in Cellular Biology and Botany at the University of Texas and University of Colorado, he was a PhD candidate in Ethnobotany (ABD) at Union Institute. He is author of The Encyclopedia of Popular Herbs, Best Herbs for Healing and was co-founder and technical editor of HerbalGram. McCaleb headed the Technical Committee of the American Herbal Products Association and was one of only two botanical scientists on the presidentially-appointed Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels created under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which studied global regulation of natural health products.

McCaleb has worked for over 30 years in sustainable herb growing and harvesting operations and marketing ventures throughout Africa, in Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Russia.