Karen W. Andrews
Karen W. Andrews is senior research program manager for the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) at the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), Agricultural Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Six years ago, she initiated work on the DSID, an analytically validated dietary supplement database. Andrews is a member of AOAC International and the AOAC Presidential Task Force on Dietary Supplements.
Judy Blatman
Judy Blatman, senior vice president, communications, for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), has over 20 years of experience in the communications field, including expertise in issues management, lifestyle consumer marketing, crisis communications and development and execution of results-oriented publicity campaigns. Blatman has worked in the consumer/health group of a large international public relations agency, led public relations efforts for a luxury resort company, and managed communications efforts for an alcohol industry trade association. At CRN, Blatman is responsible for overseeing the development and execution of the association’s overall strategic communications efforts, and supervised the association’s Life…supplemented consumer wellness campaign.
Richard Bloomer, Ph.D.
Richard Bloomer, Ph.D., holds two advanced degrees in exercise physiology and one in nutritional science. He is currently an assistant professor within the Department of Health and Sport Sciences at The University of Memphis. Dr. Bloomer’s research focus is centered on oxidative stress, and he has been frequently honored for his research on the effect of exercise on postprandial oxidative stress in pre-diabetes.
Mark Blumenthal
Mark Blumenthal is the founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to disseminating accurate, reliable and responsible information on medicinal plants. Blumenthal is the editor of HerbalGram, an international, peer-reviewed quarterly journal, and HerbClip, ABC’s reviews of recent scientific literature on herbs. He is the senior editor of three reference books: The Complete German Commission E Monographs – Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs and The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, and co-author of Rational Phytotherapy, 5th ed.
Jack F. Bukowski, M.D., Ph.D.
Jack F. Bukowski, M.D., Ph.D., is a rheumatologist and has a doctorate in immunology. He is assistant clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and has been doing research on the immune system for over 35 years. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Bukowski has produced research showing that specific molecules in tea beverage have remarkable strengthening effects on the immune system in clinical trials.
Nicole Butterfass
Nicole Butterfass is the quality assurance manager in the research and development department of American Dairy Queen Corporation, where she is responsible for managing product quality. She joined Dairy Queen in 1999 as a food technologist and rose to senior food technologist before being promoted to her current position.
Jack Corley
Jack Corley is the executive vice president and director of sales and marketing for Trilogy Fragrances Inc. He has been retained by some of the largest fragrance and flavor companies in the world, advising them on natural and organic product/market development, natural and organic ingredient sourcing and natural/organic product formulation, labeling and regulatory issues. Corley has 28 years of experience in the fragrance and flavor industry, including 20 years with IFF.
Randy J. Dennin
Randy J. Dennin is chairman of Natural Products Association China, established in 2006 as a branch of the Natural Products Association USA to assist companies in entering the Chinese market and to test Chinese raw materials prior to shipment to the US. Dennin retired from the position of vice president, global business development at Capsugel, a Division of Pfizer, that is the world’s leading producer of gelatin and vegetarian capsules for dietary supplement and pharmaceutical industries. He is also chairman of the Natural Products Foundation, a non-profit organization formed to enhance and promote the integrity of natural products through quality, science and education. He has also served as chairman of the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations and chairman of the board of trustees for Bastyr University.
David Djerassi
David Djerassi is founder and president of New York City-based Intrachem Technologies, a marketing and scientific consulting firm for the global cosmetic, food and dietary supplement industries. His extensive business career includes many years of cosmetic experience with Roche Vitamins Inc., the Pantene Co., Revlon and American Home Products. Djerassi is active in the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association.
Lynn Dornblaser
Lynn Dornblaser is the director, CPG Trend Insight, for Mintel International Group. New product trends have been the focus of Dornblaser’s career for more than 20 years, giving her a unique perspective on the marketplace and new product development. A trained journalist and experienced public speaker, Dornblaser has been quoted by major U.S. news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and CNN.
Vasilios H. Frankos, Ph.D.
Vasilios H. Frankos, Ph.D., serves as the director, Division of Dietary Supplement Programs (DDSP) for FDA. Dr. Frankos directs and coordinates policy, budget, personnel and administrative activities within the division. He advises on policy and management issues and decision, and provides expert advice and assistance to the Office of Nutrition, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements director, and other key FDA officials on dietary supplement programs, new dietary ingredient safety assessments, good manufacturing practices, adverse reaction monitoring and related activities pertaining to dietary supplements. Dr. Frankos is responsible for the full implementation of DSHEA.
Mariano Gascon
Mariano Gascon directs product and food technology developments through Wixon’s staff of food technologists, flavorists, and research professionals, and leads the team of flavor chemists at Wixon. He joined the staff of Wixon, Inc. in 1997 as Flavor Lab Director from Virginia Dare, Brooklyn, New York. His experience in creating flavors spans nearly 18 years and includes many successes in developing new products and masking unwanted notes for his clients. Gascon is a Certified Flavor Chemist and serves as president of the Society of Flavor Chemists.
MINDY S. GOLDSTEIN, PH.D.
Mindy S. Goldstein, Ph.D., is executive director of research & development for The Estee Lauder Companies. Her responsibilities include supplier contact for REACH activities, internal commercialization of new treatment actives for all of the Estee Lauder brands, troubleshooting formulation issues with active materials, encapsulation technology and identifying new platform technologies. Dr. Goldstein has previously held directors positions in R & D at Bath & Body Works, Lipo Chemicals and Collaborative Laboratories. She is an active member of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and served as its national president in 2002. She has been credited with more than 11 publications in scientific journals, and books and has been awarded patents in the area of encapsulation and controlled release. Dr. Goldstein is editor and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Cosmetic Science.
PAUL M. GROSS, PH.D.
Paul M. Gross received his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and has been a contributing author for science-based articles on superfruits since 2006. He is author and editor of the Wikipedia article on superfruits, and has a book on superfruits in press with McGraw-Hill Professional Consumer Group, New York. A former research scholar for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, he published 85 articles and one book over a 25 year career in medical research. From 1997-2002, he was co-founder and vice president for CroMedica Inc., San Diego, a contract research organization specializing in management of neurology and cancer clinical trials. Currently, Dr. Gross is a consultant for development of superfruit products.
Arwen Kimmell
Arwen Kimmell, ethnographic analyst for The Hartman Group, has a background in linguistics and cultural anthropology, and extensive retail experience in the natural foods industry. Kimmell’s current research interests include the ways language is being used to express a variety of beliefs about health and wellness, and how the language of health and wellness changes over time.
Rick Kingston, PharmD
Rick Kingston, PharmD, is president, regulatory and scientific affairs for SafetyCall™ International. SafetyCall™ is a multidisciplinary medical practice providing poison control and product safety call center services for manufacturers of drugs, dietary supplements and consumer products. He is also professor, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota where he serves as course director for “Therapeutics of Herbs and Other Natural Medicinals” and directs an initiative to establish a “Center for Dietary Supplement Safety” within the College of Pharmacy and Academic Health Center.
Brian Kuz
Brian Kuz is the director of business insights at Red Bull, an industry innovator and leader in the functional beverage category. As the director of business insights, Kuz establishes best practices for business intelligence, category and space management, as well as advanced analytics. He is an expert in integrating traditional practices along with cutting-edge consumer and shopper research to drive retailer-profitable new age category growth.
Daniel Latev
Daniel Latev, industry manager, OTC healthcare and nutritionals, joined Euromonitor International in 2003. In his current position, Latev is responsible for the content and quality of Euromonitor's consumer goods industries research across the full spectrum of researched countries in Western Europe. In this role, he has built an extensive knowledge of the key trends and issues driving the packaged food, beverages, healthcare and other retail industries across these markets.
Gary R. List
Gary R. List (retired), was a lead scientist at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. He was involved in research for 44 years, and his research interests have been analytical methods development, processing of oilseeds and edible oils, lecithin, hydrogenation, physical refining, deterioration of oilseed in international trade, supercritical fluid extraction, interesterification, genetically and structurally modified oils and functional properties of triglycerides. He is the author of over 300 publications, proceedings, book chapters and abstracts.
Michael McGuffin
Michael McGuffin is president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). McGuffin has been active in the herbal industry since 1974, having owned both retail and manufacturing businesses in this field. McGuffin has represented the herbal industry at state and federal hearings on regulatory issues and has twice served on a working group and a subcommittee of FDA’s Food Advisory Committee. He also serves on the boards of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and United Plant Savers, and as an advisor for the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy’s Regulatory Sciences Program.
Gerard McIntee
Gerard McIntee is vice president of marketing integration at NBTY Inc. A skilled strategic planner with 25 years of experience in the sales and marketing of consumer products, McIntee has successfully created marketing strategies that integrate magazine publishing, direct mail, national advertising and a retail sales force to achieve heightened brand awareness, increased market penetration and consistent product distribution. A 20 year health food industry veteran, McIntee has a proven track record of conceiving and implementing integrated marketing programs that increase sales and generate significant incremental income.
Robert S. McQuate, Ph.D
Robert S. McQuate, Ph.D., is CEO and co-founder of Oregon-based GRAS Associates, LLC, a consulting firm with a strong FDA heritage that focuses on food ingredient safety matters. GRAS Associates convenes independent expert panels that produce rigorous GRAS evaluations and also assists clients with new dietary ingredient and color additive submissions to FDA. Dr. McQuate previously worked for the FDA, The Dial Co., and the National Soft Drink Association.
Louis C. Paul, ESQ.
Louis C. Paul, Esq., is the founder of Louis C. Paul & Associates, PLLC – a Manhattan intellectual property law firm specializing in product development law for cosmetic, topical pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. He advises an international clientele of finished goods companies, raw materials suppliers and physicians on patents, trademarks, claims substantiation and regulatory issues as well as related commercial agreements covering clinical trials, licensing, supply, marketing and distribution. Paul teaches a course on cosmetic patents for the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and in 2007 authored the book Patent Peace of Mind.
Harry G. Preuss, M.D., MACN, CNS
Harry G. Preuss, M.D., MACN, CNS, is currently a tenured professor in three departments, physiology, medicine and pathology, at Georgetown Medical Center. He has two recently published books: one co-authored for the lay public entitled The Natural Fat Loss Pharmacy (Broadway Books) and a second co-edited for the academic community entitled Obesity: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Prevention (CRC Press). His previous government appointments included four years on the advisory council for the National Institute on Aging, two years on the advisory council of the director of the NIH, and two years on the advisory council for the Office of Alternative Medicine of the NIH.
Carl Reynolds
Carl Reynolds, vice president of EAS Consulting Group, is one of the country’s premier food and dietary supplement regulatory experts, with more than 44 years of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and consulting experience. Reynolds is a frequent speaker on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) issues at industry training events and conferences and has contributed to the activities of various supplement trade groups including by Natural Products Association (NPA), Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and American Herbal Products Association (AHPA).
Janet M. Roseland, M.S., R.D.
Janet M. Roseland, M.S., R.D., is a nutritionist and project coordinator for the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) at the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prior to joining NDL, Roseland was department manager at U.S. Foodservice. Since 2005, she has been the team leader for the professional research team that is initiating the DSID. Roseland has been responsible for coordinating efforts to compile, generate, validate and disseminate data on the analytical composition of dietary supplements.
Leila Saldanha, Ph.D
Leila Saldanha, Ph.D., is a scientific consultant to the Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH, where she facilitates the implementation of Analytical Methods and Reference Materials program initiatives, and the development of dietary supplements databases. Dr. Saldanha is founder of NutrIQ® LLC, a nutrition-oriented consulting firm that offers nutrition-marketing, communications, scientific, technical and regulatory consulting services related to foods and dietary supplements. Previously, she was vice president, nutritional sciences for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and prior to that held several management positions during 10 years at The Kellogg Company.
ANNETTE SANTAMARIA, PH.D.
Annette Santamaria, Ph.D., is a senior manager in the Health Sciences Practice of ENVIRON International Corporation in Houston, Texas. She is a board-certified toxicologist and has extensive experience evaluating the health risks associated with exposure to a variety of consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food additives, personal care products, and industrial chemicals. Dr. Santamaria has participated and presented in several meetings addressing toxicological and risk assessment issues regarding nanomaterials. She recently developed the Specialty Section called “Nanotoxicology” for the Society of Toxicology, and is serving as the Interim President of the Specialty Section.
David Seckman
David Seckman is the executive director and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), which represents nearly 10,000 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products including foods, dietary supplements, and health and beauty aids.
Andrew Shao, Ph.D.,
Andrew Shao, Ph.D., is vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Prior to joining CRN, Dr. Shao worked in scientific affairs for General Nutrition Corp. (GNC), and in research and development for Kemin Health.
Connie Sindelar
Connie Sindelar is probiotic format development manager at Danisco. She received her Master of Science in Food Science from Michigan State University. At MSU her thesis research investigated the possible immunomodulatory effects of probiotic lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria. Sindelar worked at Danisco for two years as an R&D probiotic scientist before moving to the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics as a microbiologist using molecular techniques to approve licensing of animal vaccines. In 2007, she rejoined Danisco and has been working on probiotic applications in food and dietary supplements.
Gregory J. Stephens, R.D.
Gregory J. Stephens is vice president of strategic consulting with The Natural Marketing Institute. Stephens brings 25 years of specialized expertise in the nutrition and pharmaceutical industries to NMI. His background includes sales, marketing, strategic planning, clinical research and regulatory affairs for companies such as Nurture, Inc. and Ross Nutritional Products Division of Abbott Laboratories. He received a bachelor’s of science degree in human nutrition from Georgia State University, and is a Registered Dietitian.
Michelle M. Stout
Michelle M. Stout is regulatory policy director, responsible for China and Korea, within the Technical Regulatory Affairs Department of Amway/Nutrilite. She is responsible for proactively developing relationships with key opinion leaders and regulators, identifying regulatory issues and influencing regulations to achieve positive policies for health supplements and cosmetics products. Stout has more than 17 years of experience in the regulatory field, working within the consumer products industry for food, nutrition and cosmetics.
David Thibodeau
David Thibodeau is the managing director in Canaccord Adams Investment Banking Group, and head of the firm’s Consumer Health, Wellness & Lifestyle business, which specifically focuses on mergers and acquisitions as well as public and private financings in North America and Europe. Thibodeau’s operating experience and finance background offers clients a unique combination of industry and corporate finance skills. Prior to joining Canaccord Adams, Thibodeau worked for Wellfleet Capital Partners, providing companies with mergers and acquisitions and private placement advisory services. Thibodeau has more than 20 years of corporate development, finance and operating experience with particular expertise in the food and beverage industry.
James S. Tonkin
For more than 33 years, James Tonkin has served as a private-sector brand product and marketing development professional who builds and designs national infrastructures for food and beverage industry clients. He has successfully created and implemented business and financial strategies for domestic and international corporations—focusing on production, branding, sales, marketing and distribution. Tonkin has promoted brand and marketing programs for clients in the bottled water, functional food, and beverage industries. His long-standing expertise stretches across several sectors, including domestic cheeses and potato chips; bottled waters for people and pets; and nutraceutical, functional and enhancement beverages.
Marc Ullman, Esq.
Marc Ullman, Esq., partner at Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman LLP, represents clients in matters relating to FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) matters, regulatory issues, FTC proceedings and litigation. His practice includes representation relating to FDA compliance including labels, labeling, claims, good manufacturing practices, as well as a number of complex proceedings with the FDA relating to the agency’s powers under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.
Tom Vierhile
Tom Vierhile is the director of Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics, the 2009 successor to the Productscan Online database of new products, now fully integrated with Datamonitor’s Consumer Products Knowledge Center. He has more than 20 years of experience in consumer packaged goods reporting and analysis. Vierhile is an internationally recognized expert on new product marketing and has made television and/or radio appearances on CNN, PBS, the BBC and Fox News Channel. Additionally, publications like USA Today and The Wall Street Journal frequently call upon Vierhile for his views on new product launches and packaged goods trends.
David Williams
David Williams is vice president at Living Naturally. He has developed an international reputation for helping retailers increase their sales and profits by intelligently leveraging their own Point-of-Sale (POS) data. Consumer packaged goods clients have included Revlon, Unilever, Pfizer, Bayer, Bristol-Myers, Wyeth Healthcare, American Greetings and retail clients include CVS/Pharmacy, Eckerd, Walgreens, Duane Reade, L.L. Bean and Toys R Us.
