Change Agent: John’s Policy Work

John Weeks With US Senator Tom Harkin

With US Senator Tom Harkin

John Weeks’ background 1977-1983 prior to working in integrative health and medicine included time as an aide to a Washington State Senator, community organizer, volunteer activist, issue spokesperson, political reporter and political fundraiser. His work in the integrative health and medicine realm has drawn on each of the above.

“His fingerprints are likely on every major policy and visioning statement within the integrative health movement of the last thirty years.” –Beth Clay, Former Congressional Aide, Lobbyist, Washington, DC

Proudly photographed with integrative health and medicine champion U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (2014), Weeks was honored to have a lead role in organizing a team that convened 120 stakeholders from across the integrative health and medicine field for the September 29, 2014 symposium: A Call to Action on Interactive Health and Medicine Policy, Advancing the Legacy of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin.


Sample Policy-Related Contributions

1983-1989

  • Directed the community organizing, media and public campaign that is credited with successfully helping the then John Bastyr College to become the first regionally accredited college of naturopathic medicine.

1996

2001

2002

2005

2009

2009-2011

2011

2013

2014-2016

2016


Second WHO Working Group Meeting in Hong Kong, 2012

Second WHO Working Group Meeting in Hong Kong, 2012

Governmental and Quasi-Governmental Engagements

 1985-1989

  • Managed political and media campaign for Bastyr University in its prolonged, political battle for historic regional accreditation before the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.

1993

  • Panelist: Congressional Briefing managed by the Institute for Alternative Futures, on medical trends, Rayburn House Office Building
  • Co-author: White Paper on Contributions of Naturopathic Physicians to Health Reform, for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton reform effort.

1995-1996

  • Consultant: Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, on the first publicly funded integrated natural medicine clinic
  • Presenter: Washington State Office of Insurance Commissioner, hearing on CAM-related legislation
  • Presenter: US Senator Bernie Sanders-backed Vermont conference on CAM integration

1997-1998

  • Co- organizer/facilitator for Washington State Office of Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn of the Clinician Work Group on the Integration of CAM
  • Presenter/participant: US Health and Human Services-Bureau of Primary Health Care workshop

1999

  • Presenter: Congressional briefing on CAM, Rayburn House Office Building
  • Health Canada-funded symposia and conference on CAM

2001

  • Panelist: White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy on coverage issues (2001)

2005

  • Cited source: Institute of Medicine’s Complementary and Alternative Medicine in America

2011

  • Panelist: presentation on CAM for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors

2012-present

  • Alternate member: Institute of Medicine Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education
  • Invited member: World Health Organization, 2nd and 4th Working Group meetings on the 2014-2023 Traditional Medicine Strategy
  • Reviewer and cited participant: Institute of Medicine’s Establishing Transdisciplinary Professionalism for Improving Health Outcomes: Workshop Summary

2013

  • Webinar presenter: Institute of Medicine workshop on Assessment in Health Professional Education

2017

  • Invited presenter, Pan American Health Organization/WHO in development of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine strategy
  • With the Integrative Health Policy Board in 2013 following two days facilitating the annual board retreat

    With the Integrative Health Policy Board in 2013 following two days facilitating the annual board retreat