Julie Thenell, BS, MS, NC, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®, Certified Dietary Supplement Professional™

Committee Chair

Julie Thenell, BS/MS/NC/BCHN®/CDSP™, believes good health is as close as your kitchen. Her nutrition practice is based on nutrient-dense whole food and lifestyle choices that support health and well-being, especially during times of high stress and transitions. Her role is to educate, guide, and support individuals in their pursuit of stress management and resilience building.

In addition to her private nutrition practice, Julie serves as Chair of NANP’s Certified Dietary Supplement Professional Committee and Chair of the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board. She also actively participates in the Continuing Education and Educational Standards Committees. She is proud to align herself with professionals who share the belief that nutrition and lifestyle play critical roles in health and are taking steps to make significant changes in our nation’s health.

Part of Julie’s “lead by example” lifestyle includes hiking, biking, running, snowshoeing, reading, cooking, and sipping tea. She is on a mission to inspire others to nourish themselves despite the daily stressors in life to build resilience and thrive.

Kate Mahoney, FNTP, BCHN®, IHS

The Supplement Academy

Committee Vice-chair

Kate is a functional supplement specialist and supplement quality expert whose goal is to empower practitioners and consumers with the knowledge to make informed supplement choices.

Before completing the FNTP program in 2014, she had 5 years of supplement quality-focused education and over 10 years’ experience in the remedial use of nutrients. After graduation, she was an international functional nutrition instructor for the NTA for 5 years while also working one-on-one with clients in her private practice. After years of encouragement from her colleagues, at the beginning of 2020, she released supplement education courses for practitioners that address important quality considerations and the functional use of supplements. Teaching the online supplement courses and consulting one-on-one with colleagues and consumers about supplements has been her primary professional focus since 2021.

Jennifer Brooks, BCHN®, CDSP™

(NANP Board Member since 2024)

As president and co-founder of GOLO LLC, the nationally recognized wellness solutions company, Jennifer Brooks actively shapes the discussion around e-commerce and health and wellness.

Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition® and holding degrees in culinary arts and mind-body transformational psychology, Brooks’ unique perspective is at the core of GOLO’s mission of empowering people by helping them transition to healthier lifestyles, whether by reaching their weight loss goals, gaining an understanding of how to incorporate exercise into their daily routines, or learning the basic principles of good nutrition.

She credits her success in the health and wellness industry to a lifelong passion for cooking with family and friends, often featuring traditional recipes introduced by her mother and grandmother. The experience created a sense of community, later leading to an interest in the science behind food and nutrition.

Jennifer makes finding meaningful ways to give back to the community a corporate priority. Under her leadership, the company has provided critical financial assistance to deserving charities and community-based organizations, including local chapters of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Feeding America Network, the Police Athletic League, and Special Olympics.

Among her many professional credentials, Jennifer is a Certified Dietary Supplement Professional™ (CDSP™) and a National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP) member.

Other accomplishments:

• Board Member, Better Business Bureau of Delaware
• Named to Top Women in Business List for 2023 by Delaware Today Magazine
• Named one of the top Women in Consumer Health Tech for 2022 by Healthcare Technology Report.
• Contributing health and wellness expert for Alternative Medicine Magazine
• Marketing committee member at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Delaware

Jennifer is also in demand as a subject matter expert, appearing in several articles covering health and wellness, including Alternative Medicine Magazine,  Authority Magazine,  and  Medium.

Jini Cicero, BS (Kinesiology)

Committee Secretary

Jini Cicero is a Los Angeles-based Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and over 20 years’ experience as a health and fitness professional. Whether she’s working with Hollywood celebrities or cancer patients, Jini uniquely combines exercise science, sports nutrition, and corrective exercise. A speaker, presenter, and writer -numerous publications, such as Shape, MindBodyGreen, and The L.A. Daily News have featured Jini’s work.

As a seasoned Sales Rep and Consultant to the professional nutritional supplement industry, Jini is passionate about advancing natural medicine and optimal health. In addition to exercise, writing, and consulting, she is in training to become a Master Gardener through the University of California Master Gardener Program. Outside of work, Jini is an avid reader and enjoys diverse interests such as sprinting, baking, amateur make-up artistry, and shopping.

Rebecca C. Zolotor, PharmD, MS, RPh

Purdue University Global

Dr. Rebecca Zolotor is passionate about combining the worlds of pharmacy and nutrition to improve health outcomes. As Associate Dean in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University Global, Rebecca oversees degree programs and coordinates interdepartmental operations and projects. Her experience includes conducting bench research, coordinating research trials, practicing pharmacy in various settings, and counseling clients utilizing a holistic approach to health. Serving as a textbook and multimedia reviewer for several major publishing companies and a peer reviewer for health journals, she is committed to ensuring reputable information is shared.

Rebecca holds a PharmD from Nova Southeastern University, an MS in Nutritional Science from the University of Connecticut, and a BA from Emory University. She is a registered pharmacist in the state of Florida and earned a Lean Green Belt certification.

Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, RH(AHG)

Huntington University of Healthcare Sciences

Gene Bruno is the Provost and Professor of Nutraceutical Science for Huntington University of Health Sciences. With graduate degrees in nutrition and herbal medicine, and as a 43-year veteran of the dietary supplement industry as well as an award-winning formulator, he has developed natural products for dozens of dietary supplement companies; educated and trained natural product retailers and health care professionals; and written articles on nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals and integrative health issues for trade, consumer and peer-reviewed publications, as well as authoring books and textbook chapters. His latest book is What’s In Your Blood & Why You Should Care: How to Cleanse and Detoxify Your Blood for Optimum Health (©2019, Square One Publishers). Professor Bruno is one of the original developers of the exam for Board Certification in Holistic Nutrition, as well as the exam for Certified Dietary Supplement Professional™.

Dorene Petersen, BA, DIP.NT, DIP.ACU, RH (AHG)

American College of Healthcare Sciences

Dorene Petersen, BA, DIP.NT, DIP.ACU, RH (AHG), is the Founder of the American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) and has over 45 years of clinical teaching and lecturing experience in aromatherapy and integrative health and wellness modalities.

She has presented papers on essential oils and clinical aromatherapy at the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades (IFEAT) Annual Conferences; the Alliance of International Aromatherapists (AIA) Conference; the Aroma Environment Association of Japan (AEAJ) in Tokyo, Japan; the Asian Aroma Ingredients Congress (AAIC) and Expos; and many others.

Dorene currently serves as Chair of the Aromatherapy Registration Council (ARC), and she is also active with the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). Dorene is a travel devotee and has led ACHS’s immersive travel study programs to France, Greece, Hawai’i, India, and Indonesia to study each regions’ indigenous plants and rich cultures.