Our CEO, Cindy Marteney

Cindy Marteney, CEO and President of Our Health Co-op, has a passion for alternative medicine and mind/body wellness, dedicating herself in recent years to Our Health Co-op (the "body" side of health) and to Insight Shift (her coaching company, which is dedicated to the "mind/body" integration and well-being).

Cindy's strong background in business has enabled her to look both broadly at strategic trends in nutrition and deeply into quality control for individual products. Her vision and energy guide Our Health Co-op's daily decision-making.

When asked to comment on the origin of her interest in alternative medicine, she had this to say:

"I grew up in California, which has always been a magnet for alternative medicine practitioners. Still, as a teen, in Santa Monica, when I was struck with headaches that stopped me dead in my tracks, all my doctor knew to do was to prescribe pain relievers for my "sinus headaches."

A few years later, I started studying alternative medicine while attending U.C. Santa Barbara. I learned to watch my intake of dairy products, and my crippling headaches never returned! Pretty simple stuff initially, mostly around food allergies and sensitivities, food rotation strategies, and diet.

Encouraged, my next interest was in avoiding two or three colds a year, which often lasted for weeks on end, not infrequently moving into bronchial infections. Traveling a lot and working long, stressful hours (first for the Navy and then for business), I learned to rely more and more on myself to stay well.

I started giving "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" to friends and family alike and found myself in more and more conversations about what was working or not working.

When the opportunity to buy the assets of a supplements company (the Generic Co-op) came along, it felt like a really natural fit. I would be able to combine my diverse business skills with something I was passionate about -- alternative medicine.

The catch? I had to study up on the specific needs of seniors and the dynamics of healthy aging. Just 41 when I invested in the Co-op (in February 2002), I had yet to experience aching joints or changing eyesight!

What was immediately clear was that I needed an expert (or a team of experts) to support the Co-op. My search started on the Internet, included university professors, extended to active networking (asking "who knows someone who...?"), and ultimately led to an unbelievably knowledgeable and incredibly principled group of professionals on the west coast. Hurray!

I am deeply thankful for finding such a wonderful industry partner, a partner who has always had time for a small outfit like ours and a partner who has always taken the time to track down the right answers for us.

Of course, the "kat" takes credit for everything!

I love my work with the Co-op, kat and all! Where else do would I get to support alternative medicine and laugh out loud every time I read my email?

Cindy lives with her husband, Steve, in Park City, Utah and works in Salt Lake City. She has two Siamese cats, Damon and Diva, who think that anyone visiting is coming to visit them!

If you are interested in learning more about Cindy Marteney's professional experience and perspective on the nutritional supplements industry, click through to the following pages:

To contact Cindy Marteney, write to her at cindy@ourhealthcoop.com.