Bill Bookout is a founding member of the National Animal Supplement Council, serving as President and Chairman of the Board of the nonprofit organization since early 2002. Mr. Bookout is also President of Genesis Limited, a company he founded in 1999 that provides both feed products and non-feed products for companion animals. Prior to founding Genesis, he spent 15 years in the human medical device, drug and animal health industries, including executive positions with Medex Medical, the All-Care Animal Referral Center (a specialty referral veterinary hospital) and AnaMed International, and Director of Sales & Marketing for Marquest Medical Products. Mr. Bookout received his bachelor's degree in physical sciences at the University of Wyoming, and an MBA from Pepperdine University, Presidents and Key Executives Program. He has been selected by Health Canada to serve on the Expert Advisory Committee for Veterinary Natural Health Products. Bill was raised on a ranch near the town of Wheatland, in South Eastern Wyoming and although he currently resides in San Diego, California he still considers Wyoming his home. He serves on the Board of Directors of the University of Wyoming’s National Ambassadors as a student mentor and UW.

Todd Brodersen, President of Same Page Consulting, has more than 17 years experience in the animal health industry, specifically in executive level sales and marketing management. Todd has first-hand knowledge of conceptualizing and implementing best practices in sales, marketing, distribution, and procurement. He now operates Same Page Consulting providing consulting services to many major companies within the animal health industry.

Dr. Phil Brown holds a Doctorate Degree in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of California at Davis and a Master of Science Degree in Animal Science and Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Physiology from the University of California. He is Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Regulatory Affairs at Nutri-Vet™ Animal Health Care Products, Veterinary Consultant to Newman’s Own® Organics, Veterinary Advisor to The Bradford Group, Past President of the Yavapai Humane Society Board of Directors, former member of the Board of Directors of Prescott College and member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and National Animal Supplement Council. He writes and lectures frequently on the benefits of supplements for animals and lives in Idaho with his wife, two cats and an Afghan hound.

David A. Dzanis, DVM, PhD, DACVN, is CEO of Regulatory Discretion, Inc., a consulting firm for the pet food, animal feed, supplement, and related industries in matters pertaining to veterinary nutrition and US regulatory affairs. Prior to starting his own business in 1998, he served in the FDA for eight years. During his government service, he represented the agency in various AAFCO committees, including the Pet Food Committee, and chaired the expert panel that developed the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Currently he represents both the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) on matters before AAFCO.

Michael DiTullio is president and owner of Especially for Pets, a seven-store chain that provides pet food, supplies and services. Especially for Pets is a pioneer in Massachusetts for responsible pet care and natural/organic/raw food products. In addition to forming and managing Especially for Pets since 1988, Mr. DiTullio has over 25 years executive-level experience working for large, multi-national corporations.

Dr. Martin Glinskyhas been developing, formulating, manufacturing and marketing pet food and pet supplies for over 35 years. He started his own private label pet food manufacturing company in 1980 after receiving his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from the University of Illinois. He has been intimately involved with many of the premium, holistic and organic products currently on the market and is credited with developing the first dry pet food to utilize fresh ingredients. Dr. Glinsky has developed over 300 pet products, ranging from food and treats to supplements and remedies.

A partner in Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Inc., he currently functions as their VP of Technical Services. Dr. Glinsky also has his own company, Sedona Pet Products, Inc., where he develops and markets his own products, as well as operating his own international pet food and supplies consulting firm. He is one of the most respected individuals in the area of pet food and pet product development in the industry today.

Jerome Gainer spent the last 10 years of his career as the senior regulatory affairs manager with Virbac Animal Health Company based in Ft. Worth, Texas and St. Louis Mo. Prior to that, he worked at Johnson and Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb. In his most recent capacity, he dealt with many different regulatory agencies to include the following: The US Food and Drug Administration, The US Environmental Protection Agency, Veterinary Drug Directorate for Canada and MHRA for England. His dealing with these agencies were in pursuit of new prescription drug product registrations and/or dealing with compliance issues with these agencies. In addition his responsibilities included dealing with the states regarding feed and feed additives, bird and fish products (and regulatory discretionary products for other furry creatures) as well as registrations of EPA products in each of the 50 states and some US territories. Previous experience has also included dealing with city environmental officials. As you might imagine involvement with these regulatory entities helped Jerome to develop some level of expertise in maintaining good relationships with any regulatory agencies.

Marco Giannini, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DOGSWELL, a born entrepreneur, has found his calling in the world of pets. In 2004, he launched DOGSWELL® – creating the first pet food company to fortify its treats with supplements and introducing an entirely new category to the pet food industry. Marco’s entrepreneurial vision was recognized by Inc. Magazine, who has named DOGSWELL® the fastest growing private pet food company in the U.S. Marco’s inspiration for DOGSWELL® came at an early age. Growing up, he had a white German shepherd named Emily that developed hip dysplasia, and he went through the difficult and unpleasant experience of giving her pills. He initially tried his hand at creating a functional food brand with “Clear Day,” a beverage supplemented with glucosamine and chrondroitin. Although the drink was not successful, through the process, Marco realized that there were no functional products in the pet world and wanted to apply the concept to pet treats. In 2004, using his vast knowledge in the pet arena, past personal experience and his entrepreneurial background, Marco created DOGSWELL®.

Under Marco’s leadership, DOGSWELL® products are now carried in more than 10,000 independent pet stores and natural food stores around the country. All DOGSWELL® products are made from premium, natural ingredients with the added benefits of functional formulas that are healthy for dogs and cats. He has molded DOGSWELL® to not just be a healthy, functional food and treat company, but also a benefactor. DOGSWELL® has donated more than $1 million of retail product to animal charities across the country and supports the adoption of animals from shelters.

Marco received his MBA from the University of Southern California where he was awarded the Best Business Plan Award and the Marcia Israel Curley Award for “Excellence in Entrepreneurship.”

Marty Grosjean is the founder and CEO of Only Natural Pet Store, an online retailer of natural pet supplies. Only Natural Pet Store began 6 years ago selling a broad range of food, treats, supplements, and holistic remedies and has since added its own line of private label products. Today the company’s website is the leading destination for natural-minded consumers looking for products and information about natural pet supplies for dogs and cats.

Marty’s background includes prior experience as an entrepreneur in the fields of direct marketing and technology. In 2004 he was attracted to the natural pet supply industry by its high growth rate and the lack of distribution channels for natural pet supplies beyond small independent retail channels. As the industry has grown and transformed Only Natural Pet Store has remained at the forefront of the online retail channel with a broad product offering, rigid product selection standards, and helpful articles and customer service for consumers new to natural pet supplies.

Steve Hellem is the President of Navista, Inc., The Public Affairs Group (www.navista.net) a Washington, DC-based public affairs firm specializing in coalition and association management, regulatory and legislative advocacy, corporate representation and strategic counseling. Navista is a full service public affairs firm that operates on a value base of honesty and trust that is committed to the success and growth of our clients and our employees.

J.J. Lin, Ph.D, is CEO and Chief Scientist of Imagilin Technology, LLC, and adjunct professor of Hood College in Frederick, MD. In Imagilin, Dr. Lin leads the group to develop as well as to market and sell a comprehensive probiotic product lines for pets-Mitomax® for dogs and cat, and MitomaxSuper™ for animal clinics and veterinarians, Mitobird™ for exotic birds, MitoFish™ for ornamental fish; for farm animals-MitoSwine™ for piglets, and Mitgorw™ for poultry; and for human -Nutritot ™ . Through international business partnerships and collaborative field studies, Dr. Lin establishes the well recognized brand name-Mitomax® and MitomaxSuper™ for dogs and cats health in Asia- Pacific countries. Recently, Dr. Lin has been dedicated to developing pet functional food product lines through integrating probiotics into ice cream for dogs.

Dr. Gen Kato, was born in Kobe, Japan in 1932. After graduating from College of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, he set off his lifelong veterinary career as a zoo veterinarian at Kobe Oji Zoo and opened up his own practice “Daktari Animal Hospital” in Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan in 1964. While he has been developing three practices, he has held a teaching post successively starting from Kansas State University (1973), to Colorado State University, California State University, Florida State University, and up until this day in Colorado State University where he is an affiliate faculty member.

Honored the Excel Award in 1987 and the Waltham Award in 1994 from the American Animal Hospital Association as the first foreign veterinarian. In 2001, was presented the Most Prestigious Award, the First JAHA Award, from the Japanese Animal Hospital Association, which had been authorized by Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, working on upgrading hospital standards and intensive continuing education advocating importance of Human Animal Nature Bond for peace.

In 1973, translated “Kirk-the Current Veterinary Therapy”, the bible of small animal practice, into Japanese and then published 43 American textbooks of all disciplines in small animal medicine, 4 books of veterinary technicians and 3 books of human animal bond including Leo Busted “Compassion-Our Last Great Hope”. Authored books such as “How to Take Care of Dogs”, “How to Take Care of Cats”, “Care for the Mind of the Elderly People”, and “Training Your Dogs by Praising”.

He has consistently dedicated himself in introducing the world most progressed small animal medicine and education of the U.S.A., improving the standards of small animal practices and fostering specialty groups, promoting activities related to the human animal bond in Japan. He founded Japan Human Animal Bond Society in 2000, and initiated the world first HANB education and its corresponding courses for training HANB instructors for children. In 2007, he was the first Asian recipient of the Pioneer Award from IAHAIO. In 2008 he was appointed as an adjunct professor, Chiba Institute of Science due to launch the official and world first curriculum of “Science of Human Animal Nature Bond”.

Carol McConnell, DVM, MBA, is Vice President of Underwriting and Chief Veterinary Medical Officer at Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). In this role, she oversees the company’s underwriting, product development and veterinary services departments. Her prior roles have included positions at ALZA Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and Priority Consultants, where she provided management consulting to veterinarians around the country. Dr. McConnell was a practicing veterinarian at Wilmington Animal Hospital in Delaware. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California, Davis.

Kevin Meehan: As the Developer of Mulligan Stew, Kevin is a naturopathic practitioner and researched Biochemist with a human practice home-based in Wyoming. He holds a Masters in Chinese Medicine, is a Diplomat in Acupuncture and is cutting edge in his formulations and nutritional perspective. Kevin will discuss the foundation of biochemistry in overall pet health and talk about how biochemistry will affect the future of health considerations.

Dr. Steven Melman is a second generation veterinarian, internationally known expert on dermatology of animals and the manufacturer of an all-natural and medicated line of pet products. His book Skin Diseases of Dogs and Cats: A Guide for Pet Owners and Professionals won two Best Book awards, including a Maxwell Award from the American Dog Writers Association for Best Book.

Dr. Melman has cared for Presidents' dogs, having appeared in an AP wire service photo/story with Grits, President Carter's dog, in an effort to stamp out Canine Heartworm Disease. He discovered a vaccine to protect the world's dogs from the devastation of parvovirus, which was reported in major media such as Newsweek. While teaching at the University of Illinois, Dr. Melman was a primary researcher in exposing the toxicity of Blockade, a Hartz Mountain insecticide that was killing cats and dogs and reported in major media including CNN's Headline News. He discovered how to use psychotropic drugs such as Prozac in pets to treat various behavioral and dermatological conditions. He has appeared in virtually all major media with this discovery, including Good Morning America, The Donahue Show, The Today Show in Australia, GM/TV and a TV miniseries Hollywood Pets in the UK as well as People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and has been mentioned on Saturday Night Live, Jay Leno and The David Letterman Show and many more. Dr. Melman was featured in PBS' "The Gentle Doctor" Series in their third segment in 1997-1998. He is a regularly quoted expert in the pet and veterinary industry.

Dr. Melman's areas of interest include microbiology and pruritus (itching) having created a product to treat Malassezia -a problem in the ears and skin of dogs and cats -Pseudomonas and Ringworm.

Dr. Melman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He did his dermatology clinical training at the University of Illinois under Dr. Erwin Small, comparative training at the Washington Hospital Center and the National Institutes of Health and pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. He is a member of many professional and trade organizations, including the Dog Writers Association of America, the Cat Writers Association, the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

Dr. Steven Melman is the founder of DermaPet, a 21st century line of all-natural and medicated, environmentally sensitive pet dermatological products that include shampoos, conditioners, ear products, vitamins and food supplements. He is a writer and lecturer who has operated referral veterinary dermatology and psychiatry practices in Palm Springs, CA and Potomac, MD.

Travis Meredith has a diverse background in animal health that extends from hospital ownership to the pharmaceutical industry. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A&M University, completed residency training in reproductive physiology and embryology at the University of Pennsylvania and is board certified by the American College of Theriogenologists. In addition, Travis earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Travis is President of Alliance Veterinary Centers, LLC, a local network of primary care veterinary hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic United States. He is also a founding partner of MBF Therapeutics; an oncology focused, animal health development company based in Philadelphia, PA.

Diane Peterson: Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Mulligan Stew. Diane has been on the ground floor of launching Mulligan Stew into the national pet food market place. She sits on the Board of the American Pet Products Association, APPA and is a founding Member of the Professional Women’s Group, a woman-focused business support group of APPA. Additionally, she is serving her 5th year on the Board of Jackson Hole’s premier animal non-profit, PAWS of Jackson Hole. Diane will discuss the unique challenges of marketing forward-thinking formulations to an increasingly nutritionally savvy consumer.

Chris Ragland is an experienced Senior Executive with 20+ years of success in the global animal health industry. His assignments have included commercial operations, R&D, business development and general management. Key areas of responsibility have emphasized strategy development, business integration, research program leadership and merger / acquisition oversight.

After concluding his assignment as President of Intervet Inc. in April, 2008, Chris founded Axxiom, LLC an executive consultancy focused on the development and commercialization of new animal health technologies, M&A, strategy development and business integration initiatives. Over the past two years, Chris has successfully executed a variety of initiatives for several leading animal health and veterinary distribution companies as well as start-ups in both the veterinary pharmaceutical and biotech markets. Additionally, Chris serves as a Member of the Board of MBF Therapeutics, a developer of proprietary oncology therapies for companion animals and is a co-developer of the “Day 1” initiative (www.day1program.com) with his collaboration partner, Robert Rich of the Ithaca Consulting Group.

Ted Rheingold is Founder/CEO of Dogster, Inc., makers of the largest pet-related communities and pet-owner information sources on the internet. You can see his work at Dogster.com, Catster.com, Togethertag.com, & Snuzzy.com among others. As CEO, Ted, sets the company's strategic direction and growth, though he still plays an active role in extending the brand through the deployment of socially engaging media campaigns.

Ted Root joined VetCentric as President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2008. He manages all aspects of the company’s strategic and daily operations. Ted brings the VetCentric community over 20 years of leadership in fast growth, technology-based companies. Previous roles include President and CEO of VitesseLearning, one of North America's leading e-learning development companies and COO of Thomson Prometric, the world’s largest provider of computer-based testing services. He has also worked in the supply chain and professional services sectors with Ernst & Young, Sara Lee and Hyatt Hotels. Ted earned a BA with Honors from Connecticut College and an MBA from The University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business.

Ted has a full house of pets including Bubba (a Swissie), Mousse (“American Mixed Breed”--aka mutt!) and Rocky (a Tabby).

In 1979 Chip Sammons, Owner of Holistic Pet Center, lost his beloved Boxer, Buster, to cancer at age 4 and a half. His mission since then has been to determine which pet food ingredients might cause cancer in dogs and cats, and then in 1988 to open a health food store for dogs and cats that only carried healthy ingredients for all foods and treats.

Though he's taken canine and feline nutritional classes from Cornell University, Colorado State University, Pet Industry Advisory Council, and many other places, as well as visiting pet food manufacturing plants across North America, Chip continues to research and work directly with customers and breeders "on the front line" at the Holistic Pet Center on a daily basis.

In the course of serving the public by sharing great nutritional information in his store and on his weekly live radio program, Chip co-founded "Friends Involved in Dog Outreach (FIDO)” which supports the Clackamas Dog Shelter, delivers Ani-Meals to homebound seniors along with their Meals on Wheels, and gives dog and cat food away once a month at the FIDO Food Bank.

Dr. Tom Schwarzer graduated from the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College in 1999 and practiced for 3 years at busy 24 hour emergency and critical care hospital in Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Schwarzer then relocated to Toronto to assist in the opening of a new emergency clinic launched by a group of 30 area practices. While practicing as an emergency veterinarian, he also taught client communication skills to final year veterinary students at the Ontario Veterinary College as a member of the Community Practice team. In 2003, he returned to the classroom to earn his MBA from the University of British Columbia, incorporating a semester abroad at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia. In 2005, Dr. Schwarzer was recruited by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. as a technical services veterinarian during the launch of their new pet division. Dr. Schwarzer worked in adverse event reporting, pharacovigilance and technical support for both pet and equine products for three years before accepting his current position as a Professional Services Veterinarian for the Pacific Northwest. Tom currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Kathryn (a board certified veterinary cardiologist), two cats and two dogs.

Bette Schubert, Bravo, Inc., brings a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding pet nutrition and health advocacy for both feline and canine wellness. Schubert founded the Bravo raw diet line of products(www.bravorawdiet.com) in 2002 in order to apply her knowledge about feeding a healthy nutritional program to both cats and dogs. Since it’s founding, Bravo has emerged as one of the leading brands of fresh frozen raw diet and all-natural food products. The brand is distributed in all 50 states as well as several foreign countries through a network of more than 2000 retail stores. Because of her extensive experience regarding pet nutrition, Schubert often writes and speaks on pet health, nutrition and wellness to a variety of professional and animal advocacy organizations. She is a regular contributor to various industry publications including Animal Wellness Magazine, Pet Business, Pet Product News, and Pet Age. She has worked with pet trainers, pet guardians, veterinarians, shelters and national trade organizations regarding canine and feline nutrition and behavior. She has spoken at the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine, the Integrative Pet Care Expo of the Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and the CT Veterinary Association at the request of their Pet Advisory Committee.

During 2008 and 2009, Ms. Schubert gave over 15 special presentations to educate pet distributors and retailers about animal nutrition. The presentation entitled, Bottom Line Raw was given as a special educational program at all four of the industry’s major trade shows. Beginning in 2010, Bottom Line Raw will be featured on the web site of Pet Product News as an online educational resource program. Ms. Schubert received her BA degree from Virginia Intermont College in Bristol Virginia. She is a member of NARPA (North American Raw Pet Food Association). Bette is also a certified dog trainer utilizing both the lure and clicker training.

Julia Stephanus is the first employee and the President and CEO of Summit VetPharm. Headquartered in Rutherford, New Jersey, Summit VetPharm is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation that was started in 2007. The company develops and manufactures veterinary-exclusive products for companion animals and has a core expertise in parasiticides. Julia has been working in the veterinary pharmaceutical business for over 26 years. She has worked in various sales and marketing positions for Pfizer and its legacy companies (Hoffmann La Roche, SmithKline Beecham and Pharmacia). She had the commercial responsibility for the development and global launch of two blockbuster companion animal products (Rimadyl and Revolution) and numerous other pharmaceuticals and biologicals. Julia graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. Julia has been married for 30 years and has two daughters, Lauren 22 and Kelsey 18. Julia lives in Basking Ridge, New Jersey with two Portuguese water dogs, Madison 9, Charlie 7 and a Himalayan cat Jack who is 5.

Greg Tilford is President of Animal Essentials Inc., a company that produces natural supplements for animals. He is author of four books about herbal medicine, including the critically acclaimed "Herbs for Pets - The natural way to enhance your pet's life," Bowtie, 1999. He is a recognized expert in the field of veterinary botanical medicine, serving on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Animal Supplements Council (NASC), and on the Board of Trustees of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). He chairs the AHPA Animal Products Committee in support of a healthy and responsible natural pet product industry.