2025 Winter President's Letter

“Wisdom comes with winters.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Greetings,

Happy Summer Solstice to those of you in the Southern Hemisphere. Happy Winter Solstice from snowy Minnesota! For me, the Winter Solstice signifies a time for reflection and new beginnings. This is perfect as I reminisce about my role as AIA President. I’ve thought about the last four years and everything our AIA Board of Directors, Representatives, Committees, and COO accomplished during my presidency. It has been truly amazing. I have personally heard wonderful comments from the global aromatic community.

I believe it is our highest achievement to do our best and mentor people so they can start where we leave off and take everything to the next level. On January 1st, I step away from the role as president. I’m confident that our new AIA President and Board of Directors are very capable of moving the Alliance of International Aromatherapists forward in an exciting way.

Your 2026 Board of Directors:

AIA has been busy and we have fun announcements! Check out these updates from our committees and representatives:

Look for your rep in the journal and if you don’t see one in your area, connect during the all-member rep meetings – or fill out an application and join the fun.

• • Business & Fundraising: Thank you to all our members who donated to the Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign. We raised $2,825 and plan to celebrate Giving Tuesday every year. It’s not too late if you would like to donate to AIA before the end of the year. Your money could support one of AIA’s many important initiatives.
• • Ethics & Professionalism: They completed the Code of Ethics and Professionalism, and this will be on our website soon. They are currently formalizing the Complaint Procedure.
• • Research Academy: Mentoring continues and we just finished a group case study mentoring series. It was well-attended and at least four case studies from the group will be published in the next issue of Aromatics in Action®. Our next two group mentoring series will begin January 25 and April 8. Mentoring is free through the end of 2026. We have fun and the process has been successful. We have two presentations in January and one in February. Watch email and social media for details. Our YouTube channel is gaining more subscribers weekly and includes our presentations and YouTube shorts.
  • Clinical Committee: The Language of Aromatherapy, a Glossary of Terms final draft is completed and the committee sent it on for review by several other AIA committees. Carol Scheidel resigned as the Clinical Committee Co-chair while remaining on the committee, and she is also working diligently on the AIA Conference Committee. Carol has been an excellent Co-chair and we are grateful she will continue to be involved.
  • Research Committee: Consistently publishes reviews in Aromatics in Action® and adds to the Research Database. They continue to work on the Safety statement. The AIA Journal and Research Group on Facebook routinely welcomes new members and posts research-based and evidence-based content. They are hard-working and continually add to the value of AIA membership.

• • Education Review Team: We are constantly adding and renewing Advanced Practice Members and AIA Recognized Schools and this team makes certain they are up to our standards. The schools are listed in the journal and on our website, making it easy to find education you can trust.
• • Education Committee: A survey was sent out to AIA Recognized Schools to ask which AIA member benefits they use and how we can better support them. AIA Recognized Schools are invited to join the AIA Education Committee as they plan to discuss curriculum standards in 2026. The committee continues to offer credible, reputable, educational webinars which are based on science, experience, and tradition.  
  • Membership & Nominations: This dedicated committee reached out to find quality candidates for the 2026 Board of Directors. You may nominate yourself or another for the 2027 Board of Directors anytime during the next nine months, so if you are interested, please reach out. The AIA Membership Committee continues to increase member engagement and works hard to ensure AIA membership is a valuable asset to all aromatherapists. The dynamic Membership & Nominations Committee has openings and you are welcome to join. Contact them at nominations@alliance-aromatherapists.org.