The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., will welcome several keynote speakers at its upcoming event, The Conference, taking place Oct. 18–21 at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Arizona, just outside Tucson. The Conference: CRN’s Annual Symposium for the Dietary Supplement and Functional Food Industry takes place in tandem with The Workshop: CRN’s Day of Science, a daylong symposium focused on relevant scientific discussions of dietary supplements and nutrition topics, taking place Oct. 18. 
 
Kicking off the first full day of sessions at The Conference on Thursday, Oct. 19, is Stephen Ostroff, MD, FDA’s deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, who will discuss the agency’s regulatory priorities for dietary supplements and food. 
 
On Thursday afternoon, Bryce Hoffman, author of “Red Teaming: How Your Business Can Conquer the Competition by Challenging Everything,” will share insights on how companies can stress-test their strategies, identify missed opportunities, and expose hidden threats in order to help them succeed in today’s rapidly changing global economy.
 
Friday begins with a keynote address from Bob Woodward, two time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and associate editor at the Washington Post. A journalistic icon who gained international attention when he and Carl Bernstein broke the deeply disturbing news of the Watergate scandal in 1972, Mr. Woodward will share insights on the current political climate.        
 
Friday afternoon, Stephen Wunker, consultant, entrepreneur and author of “Jobs to be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation,” and articles for major outlets including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and The Financial Times, will discuss ways of connecting with the dietary supplement consumer based on his innovative methods, followed by a panel discussion with industry experts.
 
Saturday morning, the popular “Breakfast With…” session will feature Mark Halperin, senior political analyst, NBC News and MSNBC. Mr. Halperin, co-author of New York Times bestsellers “Double Down: Game Change 2012” and “Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime” among other books, is at work on the third Game Change installment, scheduled for publication in early 2018, and acquired by HBO for a planned mini series, following the success of the 2012 Game Change adaptation by HBO Films. 
 
The final keynote session, following “Breakfast With…” on Saturday morning, will feature Brian Solis, digital analyst, business strategist, futurist, and author of the best-selling books “X: The Experience When Business Meets Design,” “The End of Business as Usual,” and “What’s the Future of Business?” 
 
In addition to these keynote talks, The Conference will include sessions on: nutritional gaps and ways to fill them; highlights from the CRN 2017 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements; pathways to dietary supplement consumers; understanding poison control center data for dietary supplements; and more.
 
Details and registration information are available at: www.crnusa.org/2017events. 
 
CRN offers four registration options: 1) The Workshop/The Conference package; 2) The Workshop only; 3) The Conference only; 4) The Workshop and first day of The Conference. Attendees must register first in order to be eligible for a room in CRN’s block at The Ritz-Carlton. Attendees are urged to book their hotel room promptly, once registered, as rooms are subject to availability and have historically sold out at CRN conference host hotels.
 
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, is in Marana, Arizona, near Tucson, surrounded by the Sonoran Desert and framed against the Tortolita Mountains. Air travel options include: Tucson International Airport, approximately an hour away (32 miles); Marana Regional Airport, about 30 minutes away (17 miles); and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, approximately two hours away (120 miles).