Spinal Research is proud to announce three new appointees to our Board following last month’s Annual General Meeting. The names are likely to be familiar to you, as all are passionate voices for chiropractic, renowned international speakers and long-term friends of the Foundation. Chiropractic trainer and leadership coach Brandi MacDonald joins chiropractic champions Dr’s Gilles LaMarche and Shawn Dill to add their voices to our Foundation.
Board President Dr. Craig Foote welcomes the appointments, stating, “This is an opportunity for Spinal Research to further advance our research agenda by adding three strong, international voices to an already outstanding group. Our mandate to fund chiropractic research and disseminate knowledge is becoming more and more important, not just for Australia and New Zealand, but for the chiropractic movement internationally. Research is such a powerful currency in today’s climate. I believe the new additions to our board will help us broaden our impact, and I’m looking forward to working with our new board governors as we take our research agenda forward into the new year.”
LaMarche, Dill and MacDonald bring impressive credentials to the table. Dr Shawn Dill ran what many considered to be the largest upper cervical practice in the world during his time in Costa Rica, having also authored the law regulating the practice of chiropractic in the country at that time. Upon returning to his native United States, he has become a renowned authority in upper cervical specific practice. He currently operates nine clinics and offers private coaching to vitalistic-minded health professionals. His academic credentials also impress, having held membership or directorship positions at Life Chiropractic College West, the Institute for Advanced Care in Chiropractic, and the Council on Upper Cervical Care of the International Chiropractors Association.
Dr. Gilles LaMarche is a passionate voice for chiropractic and has been since his life was essentially transformed by chiropractic care as a child. He is now a chiropractor, educator, author, speaker and coach who has endeared himself to many in the chiropractic community. Hailing from Canada and having practiced since 1979, LaMarche was and still is motivated by a vision to help the world discover the importance and value of taking personal responsibility for overall health and well-being naturally.
He was named International Chiropractor of the year in 1988, and Canadian chiropractor of the year in 2005. He has served on, and been the president of, the College of Chiropractors licensing board. He has also held multiple positions within Parker University, Parker Seminars and LIFE University, and is the author of 13 books and numerous articles on health and healing.
Brandi MacDonald is the third of the new appointees, having run a subluxation based chiropractic clinic with her husband Don, in Alberta Canada for many years now. Hers is a life irrevocably changed by chiropractic and it has become Brandi’s personal mandate to further chiropractic communication and understanding. Having left a leadership career to work within the chiropractic industry (as a non-chiropractor), she brings a level of leadership and communication expertise that is unique. She currently runs True Concepts, a consulting and leadership training organisation for chiropractic teams, and True Concepts Seminars, which is dedicated to spreading neurological principles. She is also the Co-Founder and Developer of the online training program for Chiropractic Assistants, Epic CA, and the past Executive Director of the International Federation of Chiropractors and Organisations. “My passion is to bring the subluxation correction brand of chiropractic to the world and to be a beacon for what is possible for the public,” says Brandi.
“We are honoured to be able to add such high calibre professionals to our Board,” says Board President Dr. Craig Foote. “We have a well-rounded group of professionals from diverse backgrounds who will be, and will continue to be, excellent representatives of what our Foundation is all about.”
MacDonald, LaMarche and Dill join the existing members of the Board: Dr Angus Pyke, Dr Nimrod Weiner, Dr Malcolm Rudd, Dr. David Russell, Professor Elizabeth Deane, Dr Billy Chow, and Associate Professor Sinan Ali.
As we cross over into 2017, there’s a world of opportunities ahead of us. Thank you for your ongoing support of Spinal Research. We look forward to being able to facilitate more quality research and learning opportunities to back our profession and further communicate its value to the world.
