Guild
We Practiced Alone Long Enough.
Guild has gathered independent acupuncturists, herbalists, and bodyworkers since 1987 — negotiating the panels, lobbying the legislatures, and hosting the annual gathering where technique passes palm to palm.
How a kitchen-table charter became a national voice.
Four decades. Four milestones. One unbroken thread.
Three acupuncturists. One kitchen table. One shared exhaustion.
Renata Osei, James Whitfield, and Mei-Lin Chu had each spent years writing individual letters to insurers, explaining what a licensed acupuncturist actually was. In the autumn of 1987, Renata called the others to her apartment in Portland. By midnight they had drafted the founding charter on a yellow legal pad. Guild was born from the simple conviction that the insurers would listen harder to thirty voices than to three.
A state insurance commissioner finally picked up the phone.
After seven years of collective lobbying, Oregon became the first state to mandate acupuncture coverage in group health plans. Guild members flooded the statehouse gallery the morning the vote passed. The celebration was a potluck in a borrowed conference room, and the speeches went on far too long, and nobody minded at all.
Five hundred practitioners in one room for the first time.
The first standalone Guild Annual Conference drew 512 attendees to Santa Fe. Keynotes ran alongside hands-on technique labs where veteran bodyworkers guided newer graduates through protocols they had spent decades refining. The hallway conversations lasted longer than the sessions. That year the Guild also negotiated its first group professional liability rate — saving the average member $420 annually.
The story isn't history. It's an invitation.
This September, Guild returns to Portland — the city where it all started — for the 37th Annual Conference. The program includes 22 CEU-approved workshops, a legislative briefing on three active state licensure bills, and the annual practitioner showcase where members demonstrate their work to peers and to the public. Early-bird seats are open now.
What your membership actually does.
Concrete, collective action — the kind that moves insurance commissioners and state legislators.
Insurance Panel Negotiation
Guild negotiates directly with regional and national carriers on behalf of all members — securing in-network status, reimbursement schedules, and credentialing pathways that would take a solo clinician years to navigate alone.
Licensure & Legislative Advocacy
Our policy team tracks licensure bills in all 50 states and maintains active lobbying relationships in 18 of them. Members receive monthly legislative briefings and action alerts when their state needs their voice.
Annual Conference & CEU
The Guild Annual Conference is the largest gathering of independent holistic practitioners in the country. Three days of technique labs, keynotes, and the kind of hallway conversations that change careers.
Group Purchasing & Liability
From professional liability insurance to treatment table suppliers, Guild members access group rates that reflect the buying power of 2,400+ practitioners.
2026 Annual Conference
Portland Convention Center · September 18–20, 2026 · 22 CEU-approved workshops · Keynotes · Practitioner Showcase
- 22 CEU-approved hands-on technique labs
- Legislative briefing on 3 active licensure bills
- Practitioner showcase open to the public
- Group dinner Saturday evening at the Pearl District
- Access to Guild member directory for the year
Reserve Your Seat
Early-bird pricing · Secure checkout
Not a member yet?
You found the conference first. That happens more than you'd think. Tell us a little about your practice and we'll reach out with membership details — no pressure, just a conversation.
- Annual dues from $148/year
- Immediate access to all insurance panel listings
- Monthly legislative briefing
- Conference early-bird pricing for members
Membership Inquiry
A Guild team member will follow up personally.