Beth Clay serves as the ICA Executive Director/CEO and Director of Government Relations. A globally recognized expert in complementary and alternative (integrative) health policy, and a long time advocate for health freedom, Beth brings to the ICA a unique background of government, private sector  and life experience. Beth has been a lifelong patient of chiropractic. Her first experience with chiropractic was with an ICA State Representative Assembly Member and her exposure to ICA’s mission and philosophy on health and healing early in life helped set the stage for her life’s path.  Beth has extensive experience internationally, living for three years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and with business development consulting in the Middle East, North Africa,  and the Caribbean.

Beth began her US federal service at the National Institutes of Health, working administratively in the international, rare disease and alternative medicine activities of the Institute. She served as the first Committee Management Officer of the Alternative Medicine Program Advisory Committee. In 1998, she was invited by then Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the US House of Representatives (Congressman Dan Burton) to join the staff and lead an investigation looking at the role of complementary and alternative therapies in the U.S. health system. Her responsibilities as Senior Professional Staff would be expanded to lead investigations of high priority matters ranging from autism spectrum disorders, dietary supplement regulation,  to racial disparities in health care.

Beth is the primary author of two Committee staff reports – Mercury in Medicine and FACA: Conflicts of Interest in Vaccine Development. In her official capacity, Beth traveled to Russia, Germany, Canada and across the United States to represent and speak on behalf of the Chairman and conduct health related investigations. During her federal service, Beth served as a delegate to a WTO level Committee of the CODEX Alimentarius.

After leaving federal service, Beth re-entered the private sector as a government relations consultant focused on integrative health policy and business development in the Middle East. During this time she consulted on the development of projects related to the energy sector, health sciences education curriculum, emergency housing post natural disaster, technical writing including for an FDA device approval.

She has authored numerous papers, reports, including the 2009, article, “Study of Chelation Therapy Should Not Be Abandoned” in the Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons as a rebuttal to an attempt to shut down the first multi-site trial of EDTA chelation therapy funded by the NIH to evaluate the cardiovascular benefit.  The study would continue and have statistically significant findings of safety and benefit.  She also co-authored a chapter in the leading textbook, The Scientific-Basis of Integrative Health Care, 3rd edition.

Beth has always been philanthropically minded with years of service as a hospice volunteer, scouting, advocating on children’s health and human rights in mental health.  On behalf of the ICA, Beth co-Chaired the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC) Federal Policy Committee and the IHPC Committee on Bioenergy and Health.

Mr. Vega brings extensive experience and expertise to the ICA.  With an MBA in International Business and an Master’s in Program Management, Luis Vega has successfully obtained and managed billions of dollars worth of government and corporate contracts, domestically and abroad.  Prior to joining ICA, Mr. Vega was Executive Vice President of Business Development for SOC, a private U.S. government contracting firm specializing in international force protection and Nation Building third world environments.  As an operator and executive for the company, he developed all of the procedures pertaining to risk/threat and vulnerability assessments for corporations to enter into African and South American Countries.  Mr. Vega has served as the Senior Inspector for South Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training’s Internal Affairs Division.  His in demand expertise extends to serving as a consultant for the U.S. Government on the Counter-Narcotics and Drug Interdiction Task Force and previously as an agent for Legacy U.S. Customs Service, under the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.  Mr. Vega is a retired US Navy Rear Admiral and has active-duty military and Special Operation’s experience and has served overseas as a US Government Liaison team leader and operator  to help build nations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Panama, and Haiti to name a few; performing various assessments for multi-national corporations and sovereign governments in the regions.

Sondra Thomas serves as the ICA’s Membership Coordinator. Accomplished and results-driven professional with 18 years of experience in corporate banking, marketing communications, member and community engagement. Sondra joins the Membership Department focused on developing and implementing strategies that will help increase membership, and more importantly, providing a direct avenue of communications between the ICA and its’ members.

Sondra is a pillar for volunteerism and community outreach. Her award-winning support include both local and national organizations.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Michael Griesmer serves as a Special Projects Associate.  Prior coming to the ICA, he served in several administrative and management positions, two of which were bi-lingual English/Spanish. He holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from The Catholic University in Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

Mrs. Lorie Marsh joined the International Chiropractors Association in 2020.  She brings to the organization more than 25 years of accounting experience.  She began her accounting career wtih the University Legal Services, a Washington, DC based non-profit, transitioned into the corporate world where she spent 20 years specializing in government contract accounting services management.  She brings to the ICA significant accounting expertise and professionalism coupled with a customer service mindset in helping ICA members.

Juan Salvador Perez Mercado joined the staff full time in 2021.  Juan had previously worked with ICA part time while finishing up his college degree at Old Dominion University.  He graduated in June 2021 with a major in Marketing.  Juan’s long term goals are to focus in the non-profit sector.  As an immigrant from Bolivia, Juan is proud to work with the International Chiropractors Association  and bring some international flair.  Juan’s main focus in the office is on administrative support to our six post-graduate counsels and programs.

While in college Juan participated in the school’s chapter for the Latin Student Alliance and the LGBT+ ‘Spectrum’ Community. With an interest in helping the Latin, Black, and minority communities, Juan hopes to take his passion to help those who immigrate to America to transition themselves past vocational and trade work and into professional careers.  Juan is leading by example with his work at the ICA.