4Leaf Team

Meet the 4Leaf Leadership Team

J. Morris Hicks, CEO, author of Healthy Eating, Healthy World and creator of the 4Leaf concept. Shortly after learning the truth about our food choices in 2003, Jim realized that there needed to be a simpler way to explain healthy eating to the world. The “V words”, at best, convey more information about what you’re avoiding than what you are eating. He began working on developing the 4Leaf Program in 2009 and first introduced it to the public in his book, Healthy Eating, Healthy World, in September of 2011.

J. Morris Hicks One-Page Bio

A former Strategic Management Consultant and Senior Corporate Executive with Ralph Lauren in New York, J. Morris Hicks has always focused on the big picture when analyzing any issue. In 2002, after becoming curious about the optimal human diet, he began a study of what we eat from a global perspective, discovering many startling issues and opportunities along the way.

In addition to an MBA from the University of Hawaii and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Auburn, he holds a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, where he has also been a member of the Board of Directors since 2012. Having concluded that our food choices hold the key to the sustainability of our civilization, he has made this his #1 priority: exploring all avenues for influencing humans everywhere to move back to the natural plant-based diet for our species.

Kerry Graff, MD, Chief Medical Officer. The owner of Lake Country Family Medicine in Canandaigua, New York, Dr. Graff is the first medical doctor to make extensive use of all 4Leaf materials, while helping her 800 patients take charge of their health. In her own words:

I spent the first half of my career treating patients’ diseases with medication. I am dedicating the second half of my career to treating what causes the disease in the first place- primarily the woeful, typical Western diet. I am having a ball helping patients regain their health and get off their medications!

Dr. Graff graduated from Cornell University summa cum laude as a Biology major in 1990.  After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center cum laude in 1994, she completed a three-year Family Practice Residency at UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh, PA.  Following completion of her residency in 1997, she relocated to Canandaigua, NY and was employed by Thompson Health, providing primary care including obstetrics at the Honeoye Family Practice.

In 2006, she opened her own practice in Canandaigua that allowed her more flexibility in the way she practiced medicine. After watching Forks Over Knives in 2013, she adopted a whole food, plant-based diet and experienced huge improvements in her personal health. She then earned her certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and began incorporating the 4Leaf Survey as a teaching tool to help patients transition to a healthier diet. The results have been absolutely amazing. The 4Leaf Program has become an integral part of the way she practices medicine today, as the future of medicine has begun. Check out her Sept. 2015 Forks Over Knives article. 

J. Stanfield Hicks, President, co-author of Healthy Eating, Healthy World and the first person (in 2010) to successfully use the 4Leaf Program to assist one of his clients (a doctor) in taking charge of his own health.

Always interested in health and fitness, Jason first began eating a whole food, plant-based diet in 2005 and later played a very important role in the creation and use of the 4Leaf Program. He earned a BS in Business Administration from Auburn University in 1997, then began his career as an Atlanta-based Logistics Consultant, serving national retail clients like Staples.

In 2000, shortly after the birth of his first child, he joined the Staples management team and moved his family to the Boston area. He, his wife Lisa, and all five of their children, are very interested in health & fitness and participate in a wide variety of sports activities throughout the year. His professional career and his Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, coupled with his intimate knowledge of our book and 4Leaf, has enabled him to develop many skills and insights that are essential as we roll out our 4Leaf Program around the world.

Lisa Hicks, Director of Recipes & Meal Planning, creator of Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen and all of the wonderful recipes that makes this way of eating so much fun.

Beginning her 4Leaf journey shortly after meeting Jason in 2008, Lisa is a walking poster-girl for vibrant health associated a near-optimal 4Leaf way of eating. She is a mother, public school-teacher, fitness enthusiast, bike rider, mountain-climber and an incredible chef. Lisa went from a size 8 to a size 2 after less than one year of eating at the 4Leaf level.

Since christening her brand new 4Leaf Kitchen in Holden, MA, in 2012, she has added many great recipes to our website. I always look forward to visiting with Jason and Lisa in their home- especially because of the delicious 4Leaf meals that I enjoy on each and every trip.

Justine Robertson, Chief Financial Officer. With a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Rutgers, and many years of experience as a CPA and business executive, Justine takes good care of our financial, legal and trademark needs. A native of Connecticut, she is a mother of two, grandmother of four and now resides in Monmouth Beach, NJ, where she began taking charge of her health with 4Leaf  in 2012.

In 1994, she leveraged all aspects of her previous background to transform her family’s old movie theater in Hartford into a concert venue that she ran successfully for sixteen years. Getting an early start in the entertainment business, she sold tickets, popcorn and Eskimo Pies as a teenager in that same Webster theater, built by her grandfather in 1937.

Her primary focus on our team is more about maintaining the integrity of 4Leaf Global and in maximizing its availability around the world for the greater good — rather than focusing primarily on financial gain.

Contact Us: info@4leafglobal.com

J. Morris Hicks, 500 Bank Street, Suite 215, New London, CT 06320