The Organic & Natural Health Association (O&N Health) will be commemorating its 10^th anniversary at its annual conference. This year’s theme is “Cultivating Change: A Decade of Defining Moments for People and the Planet.”
 
The event will be returning to The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral, Florida on Jan. 23-25.
 
“In commemorating a decade of defining moments, we are looking forward to reflecting and celebrating what we have achieved through our vitamin D consumer awareness initiatives and our advocacy for transparency and consumer choice, particularly on platforms like Amazon,” said Karen Howard, CEO and executive director of O&N Health. “What truly exhilarates us is the enduring vitality of the initiatives we set in motion, each gaining momentum and exemplifying our organization’s unwavering commitment to the industry. The Organic & Natural Health Association is a necessity in this sector, and has left an indelible mark. We are on fire, we are here to stay, and we will continue to shape and influence the cosmic landscape of our industry.”
 
In addition to executing five advocacy and education campaigns, the association has dedicated resources to other influential organizations like Women in Nutraceuticals (WIN), Naturally Proud Network, and the Williams-Franklin Foundation. The association has surpassed its five-year commitment of $50,000 by raising more than $70,000 for the Williams-Franklin Foundation.
 
Agenda
 
On the first day of the conference, keynote speaker Christine Burych, president of Starlingbrook Leadership Consulting and author of “Unleash Her,” will discuss leadership strategies for mental health in the workplace.
 
The agenda will then shift toward discussions about domestic policy, with speakers like Todd Harrison, partner at Venable LLP, Alan Lewis, director of government affairs and food and agriculture policy for Natural Grocers, and Charlie Brown, attorney at Mercury-Free Dentistry.
 
Following this will be a discussion titled “My Health Advocacy and Alliance,” featuring Corinne Bush, co-founder and CEO at American Nutrition Association; Rob Verkerk, PhD, scientist at Alliance for Natural Health; Carrie Balkcom, executive director at American Grassfed Association; Alexis Bayden-Mayer, political director at the Organic Consumers Association; Debra Short, executive director at SENPA; and Jim Higdon, co-founder at Cornbread Hemp Co.
 
The day will be brought to a close by John Fagan, chairman and chief scientific officer at Health Research Institute, who will provide updates on synbio research for O&N Health.
 
Day two will begin with a discussion about women leadership in the industry with Heather Granato, O&N Heatlh board member and president of WIN.
 
Then, Heather Isley, board member at Natural Grocers, will discuss collaborative efforts to enhance access to quality food and health solutions.
 
This discussion will be followed by a panel on international supply chain stress and standards with Natural Grocers’ Lewis; Alliance for Natural Health’s Verkerk; Ercilia Sahores, international director at Regeneration International; and Pat Smith, vice president of business development at RFI Ingredients.
 
Next on the agenda is a session called “Cultivate or Crumble: Nurturing Partnerships and Growing Sales in the New Era.”
 
Speakers for this session will include Torah Torres of Simply Connect; Sandra Lee, CEO of NJ Labs; Lewis; Ivan Khymych, founder at SimplyDepo; Matt Fain, CEO at PopCapacity; and Derek Lurth, co-founder of HealthLoq.
 
The conference will go on to feature a panel discussion on the topics of artificial intelligence and Amazon, featuring speakers including David Trosin, managing director at NSF; Asa Waldstein, principal at Supplement Advisory Group; and Ryan Sensenbrenner, senior director of the marketing group at Enzymedica, Inc. This panel discussion will be moderated by Dan Lifton, CEO of Quality of Life and board member at O&N Health.
 
Registration for the conference is open to association members, where non-members may attend by invitation only. Special block room rates are available for those who book rooms at the Westin before Jan. 8.
 
The conference, in addition to sessions, is designed to optimize networking opportunities while promoting meaningful discussions on issues facing the natural products industry and its consumers, O&N Health reports.