Dr. George Collings is President & General Manager of Nutrition Solutions. He has a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Michigan State University and is board-certified in nutrition and food science. His 40+ year career has built over 3,000 retail nutrition and health products for many animals. Dr. Collings has led several companies and business initiatives of many well-known brands and new brands that have changed the

marketplace. Nutrition Solutions and Ingredient Solutions help to build new products, ingredients and technologies. His new company, Mo Knows, is a direct communication to pet consumers to provide nutritional information. Dr. Collings has written many articles and

has taught worldwide and is known for his honesty and integrity.

Lisa DeSmet serves as Vice President Quality & Regulatory for FoodScience, LLC, an animal and human supplements manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont. She joined the company in October 2018 and has prior experience in industries including dairy foods, infant formula and nutritional products. Her background includes management of global quality systems and working across borders to train others and implement new programs, such as an integrated global change control system that supports over 600 employees across 18 sites worldwide for Perrigo. In addition, Ms. DeSmet has supported numerous external audits in both lead and supporting roles including FDA infant formula manufacturing bringing a new site online, USDA dairy product plant inspections as well as ISO 9001, NPA UL, SQF food safety and quality, and NASC Preferred Supplier audits. She has also served as lead auditor on a variety of audits including suppliers, external warehouses, co-manufacturers and co-packing operations. Ms. DeSmet has an MBA from the University of Vermont and a BS in microbiology from Michigan State University. She holds certifications as a Quality Auditor and Quality Engineer from American Society of Quality (ASQ), as well as a Six Sigma Green Belt from University of Michigan and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University. 

Raj Lall is founder and CEO of Vets Plus, Inc., an international leader in the animal health industry with over 100 proprietary formulations, more than 25 technology patents and a leading manufacturer of animal nutritional supplements and treats for livestock and companion animals. Mr. Lall is also the founder and CEO of ProbioticSmart, LLC, a novel nutraceutical ingredients development company based on research and evidence-based science. He earned master’s degrees in both botany and pharmacognosy/medicinal chemistry, and is co-author of the books “Nutraceuticals in Veterinary Medicine,” which is about the aspects of nutraceutical research in animal health and disease, utilization of nutraceuticals in specific animal species and covers a variety of specialties in veterinary medicine, and “Nutraceuticals: Efficacy, Safety and Toxicity,” a comprehensive encyclopedia on virtually every natural ingredient used in supplements, including their mechanism of action, safety, toxicity and interactions with other therapeutic drugs. In support of the animal health industry, Mr. Lall is now founder and CEO of Noble Pharma, LLC, a pharmaceutical company in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Mr. Lall and his wife, Swati, have developed the Raj and Swati Lall Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in support of future scientists and business leaders and the community in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Dr. Anita Sinha is Senior Vice President of Quality & Regulatory for Vets Plus, Inc., a leader in animal health nutrition delivering products of unsurpassed quality for companion animals and farm animals. Dr. Sinha has managed responsibilities in research and development, operations, quality control/assurance, and regulatory compliance. She has also handled product registration in European, Asian and South American countries. In leadership roles over the past 20 years, she has handled customer audits, quality certification audits, regulatory inspections, quality system documentation and marketing literature control, and has conducted quality system trainings and seminars. Dr. Sinha has led the company through multiple third-party quality certifications including ISO 9001, USAD-Organic Certification, Eu-GMP, Safe Quality Food (SQF), EU Food Chain Alliance (FCA), and USDA-APHIS. Her achievements in the animal health and nutrition industry have earned multiple awards and recognitions for the company, including NASC MVP Supplier of the Year and the NASC Visibility Award. Dr. Sinha completed her education with a master’s degree in analytical chemistry and a Ph.D. in human resources development. 

Ruben Martinez has a deep and personal connection to the animal health industry and this year celebrates 36 years working in a career that he has loved every day! He is president of Custom Veterinary Services, Inc. (CVS) in Miami, Florida, a contract manufacturer for the veterinary industry that he founded in 2005. CVS customers range from well-established veterinary companies that require manufacturing support to small start-ups looking for the right partner to develop, formulate and launch their products. The CVS mission is to be fully transparent and create true relationships with customers so they can help them grow and realize their goals. Mr. Martinez credits his family and employees for the success CVS has experienced, and says he is thankful to be doing a job he loves and to have met so many good people along the way. Earlier this year CVS merged with Align Capital Partners after a diligent search for the right partner to help the company expand and further meet customer needs while maintaining its longstanding reputation for quality, innovation and customer service.

Jan Sorensen has had a long history of selling consumer packaged goods to the retail industry. His decades of nationwide sales experience have enabled him to develop a strong understanding of the needs of various retail industries, including grocery, mass merchant, specialty, e-commerce, farm stores, drug stores and pet stores, and how to be successful within those industries. As Director of Ridley Specialty Products for the past 19 years, Mr. Sorensen has been responsible for product development, custom manufacturing, and sales of equine and livestock animal health/supplement products to the retail markets, with his sales territory encompassing all of North America. Beginning over 125 years ago, Ridley (Hubbard Milling Company) began manufacturing and selling products into the animal feed industry. That torch is now carried forward by Ridley. Mr. Sorensen’s previous sales positions were also with quality-focused companies including Maytag, Hubbard Pet Food and Malt-O-Meal. He earned his business degree from Mankato State University and after living and working in many different locations throughout the U.S., he and his wife once again call Mankato home. They have raised three wonderful children and are also pet parents to two sweet dogs.

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter, author and educator with decades of field research investigating medicinal plants all over the globe. The founder of Medicine Hunter Inc., Mr. Kilham helps to develop sustainable chains of botanical trade, promote traditional cultures and preserve the natural environment. He has investigated the health properties of ashwagandha since the early 1970s and has conducted numerous field missions on ashwagandha in India. Mr. Kilham has appeared on hundreds of TV and radio programs worldwide. The New York Times calls him “part David Attenborough, part Indiana Jones.”

Robert Durkin is of counsel with Arnall Golden Gregory’s FDA and Healthcare practices and is a member of the Dietary Supplements industry team. A former acting director and deputy director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), he brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to his legal practice. In working with AGG clients, he draws from the extensive experience he gained at the FDA, where he was responsible for performing policy analysis and evaluations related to all aspects of the agency’s dietary supplement programs while also providing skillful advice on compliance and enforcement issues. During this time, he was active in a variety of agency working groups including Agency-wide Marijuana Working Group, Agency-wide CBD Policy Working Group and Agency-wide Investigational New Drug Policy Working Group. In his former role as acting director of CFSAN’s Food Defense, Mr. Durkin led a dedicated group of professionals whose duty it was to determine the best regulatory strategies to help protect our nation’s food supply from intentional contamination through implantation of the Food Safety and Modernization Act’s Rule for Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food against Intentional Adulteration and by determining the best ways to educate, and then regulate, industry relative to the Rule. Mr. Durkin has also served in the Commissioner’s Office where he managed a staff of Emergency Response Coordinators whose focus was on coordinating an overall agency approach to mitigate and respond to urgent health concerns related to FDA regulated commodities, and in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, where he worked in the areas of health fraud, over the counter drugs and pharmacy compounding.

Kim R. Pearson has been Thorne Research’s in-house general counsel since August 1995. Before coming to Thorne Research, Mr. Pearson practiced law in Washington, D.C., from 1979 to 1995, where, in addition to representing clients in various matters related to federal food and drug law, he was a partner in a law firm that helped secure passage of the legislation that governs the dietary supplement industry – the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.  At Thorne Research, Mr. Pearson provides corporate legal advice on matters related to food and drug law, intellectual property law, human resources law, federal health and safety law, and international law.  Since the launch of Thorne’s ThorneVet product line in 2003, and Thorne’s membership in NASC that same year, Mr. Pearson has been Thorne’s representative to the NASC.

Laura B. Gaylord is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition and has been a general practitioner in North Carolina for over 24 years. She is currently an independent consultant member of the Veterinary Nutritional Consultations, Inc. East Coast Think Tank with Dr. Donna Raditic. Dr. Gaylord offers homemade diet recipe formulation and commercial diet consultations through PetDiets.com. She is also the founder of a nutrition consulting business for both pet clients and companies called Whole Pet Provisions, PLLC, established in 2016. Combining her clinical experiences with out-of-the-box thinking, Dr. Gaylord provides nutrition and supplement consulting for general practitioners and their clients, as well as the pet industry. 

Donna M. Raditic, DVM, DACVN, CVA, is graduate of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. She was a professor for both the Nutrition and the Integrative Medicine Services at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Currently she is a member of Nutrition and Integrative Medicine Consultants which offers independent consulting, education and information about companion animal nutrition and pet supplements. With a career that includes being a general practitioner, veterinary nutritionist, academician and consultant, she offers unique perspectives on the role of nutrition, supplements and integrative veterinary care for companion animals.