Global phenomenon Melanie Wentzel selected as Top Healthcare Strategist by IAOTP

The International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) will honor Melanie Wentzel at their annual awards gala in NYC at the Plaza Hotel

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, January 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Melanie Wentzel, Australian Healthcare Strategist, Coach, Consultant, Bestselling Author, International Speaker, and Documentary Maker, was recently selected as Top Healthcare Strategist for 2026 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for her outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry.

Inclusion with the International Association of Top Professionals is an honor in itself; only a few members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, longevity in the field, other affiliations, and contributions to their communities. All Honorees are invited to attend the IAOTP annual award gala at the end of this year for a night to honor their achievements.
www.iaotp.com/award-gala

With over a decade of experience in the industry, Ms. Wentzel has certainly proven herself an expert in the field. As a dynamic, results driven leader, Ms. Wentzel is healthcare strategist to the global cannabis industry, bestselling author, influential thought leader, international speaker, consultant, and coach, and has delivered over $10M in healthcare reform projects for government and private entities across the globe.

Melanie states “Being selected by IAOTP as Top Health Strategist 2026 is one of my proudest achievements to date – and I have many! I am honored by the award and my induction into this community of exceptional changemakers. We are writing the cultural zeitgeist in real time, and this celebration of excellence serves as a model for how to balance performance, community, and values”.

During 2025 Melanie Wentzel launched Cannabis Queens , an independently published study on the role of women in the global cannabis industry, which has sold into sixteen countries and sits on the desks of policy makers and world-renowned clinicians. Her first and bestselling book Women Making a Difference won two American literary awards and was included in the Academy Award Finalists gift bags.

Melanie’s reach is unparalleled – in the past year she has guested on 24 podcasts and was featured in esteemed publications including Forbes, LOUD, HEAD, and Fat Nugs Magazine, and on the cover of CIO Times.

She is a sought-after speaker delivering world-first on women’s health, cannabis, and drug reform, speaking at international summits for United Nations drug reform, keynoting the Icelandic Hemp Conference in Reykjavik, presenting to Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York at the Women Changing the World Summit in London, delivering women’s leadership on stage at MJBizCon in Las Vegas – the world’s most influential cannabis conference, and regularly mentors American college students and coaches other female founders. She is also a Founding Visionary for Veri Health Media in Australia, works in partnership with High Science Media in the US, and is considered a top voice globally on high-performing healthcare, gender, and the reemergence of cannabis as a therapeutic tool. During 2026 she will once again grace world stages and is currently booked to appear in Iceland, London, Barcelona, the US, South Africa and France.

Melanie further states “For millennia – from ancient China to ancient Egypt, to Victorian England, and globally today – women have found solutions and solace for their healthcare among other women. Plant medicine and person-centred care is the future – over the past 100 years a health system that simply doesn’t work for women was constructed, and now it must be reformed. Open, authentic storytelling and breaking the taboos around women’s bodies, our pleasure, and our power is the way forward and I am proud to serve women, and the system, in a way which honors and celebrates those that came before me, and those most in need now.

Primary dysmenorrhea affects 93% of young women globally, costing governments billions, largely in absenteeism. Endometriosis takes 7 years to be diagnosed, and menopause is still treated as ‘the ugly sister’ of women’s health, when really, it’s a second blossoming and a transition to be celebrated. It’s not HRT or the highway – there are solutions available for women and I intend to ensure every woman who encounters my work has the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage her life journey with ease and joy”.

Melanie is dedicated to the meaningful reemergence of cannabis as a therapeutic tool to improve health outcomes, experience, and quality of life, especially for women who are underserved, under researched, and underwhelmed by contemporary health systems. She is the Founder and Lead Consultant in the Healthcare and Cannabis Industries at Melanie Wentzel Consulting, where she operates as an independent, strategic, collaborative, and contemporary consultant, coach, and advisor. In addition, she is the lead coach in personal and professional development. Areas of expertise include, but are not limited to leadership, healthcare, coaching, consulting, speaking, writing, publishing, and producing.

Melanie is the founder of Melanie Wentzel Consulting and serves as a trusted advisor for her global portfolio. She is currently accepting expressions of interest for new and innovative projects across the health, care, and cannabis continuum. Using a globally informed evidence-based approach, she provides tailored consulting services to organisations across the health and care continuum to improve data-driven quality, outcomes, experience, product innovation, & profitability.

Her book, “Cannabis Queens” has become, in just one year since publication, a part of the cannabis canon. Sold into 16 countries worldwide so far, this iconic pink celebration of the work of women in cannabis has built on the work of so many to reignite the conversation around gendered-experience of the plant. The book goes much deeper, respectfully unpacking the personal lives of the Queens and their relationship with the plant. It is an unmissable read for anyone who loves, consumes, and works with the plant.

Before embarking on her career path, Ms. Wentzel earned her Bachelor of Psychological Science from Griffith University. She further studied Foundations of Directorship: Governance, Risk and Finance for Directors at Australian Institute of Company Directors. She also earned a certification in Leading Digital Transformation in Healthcare from Harvard Medical School. She is actively engaged in the Australasian Society for Lifestyle Medicine, Chronic Pain Australia, Australian Coalition for Endometriosis, Americans for Safe Access and other key peak bodies globally.

Throughout her illustrious career, Ms. Wentzel has received many awards and accolades and has been recognized worldwide for her accomplishments. In 2024, Melanie received a coveted ‘Women Changing the World Emerging Leader’ award. In the same year, she became a #1 bestselling author for ‘A Love Letter To Women In Business’, and later self-published the seminal work ‘Cannabis Queens’ which has been sold in to 16 countries worldwide. She is the recipient of two American literary awards and has twice published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA). This year she will be considered for The Empowered Woman Award and for a feature in TIP (Top Industry Professionals) magazine. She will be honored at IAOTP's annual awards gala at the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York City next December for her selection of Top Healthcare Strategist of the Year for 2026.

The President of the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP), Stephanie Cirami, stated: "Choosing Ms. Wentzel for this honor was an easy decision for our panel to make. She is inspirational, influential, and a true visionary and thought leader. We cannot wait to meet her and celebrate her accomplishments at this year's gala."

Looking back, Ms. Wentzel attributes her success to her perseverance, work ethic and mentors she had along the way. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her family. In the future she looks to continue expanding business.

For more information and to connect with Melanie please visit:
Website: https://www.melaniewentzel.com/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@melaniewentzel-cannabisqueen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniewentzel/


About IAOTP
The International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) is an international boutique networking organization that handpicks the world’s finest, most prestigious top professionals from different industries. These top professionals are given an opportunity to collaborate, share their ideas, be keynote speakers, and to help influence others in their fields. This organization is not a membership that anyone can join. You have to be asked by the President or be nominated by a distinguished honorary member after a brief interview.

IAOTP’s experts have given thousands of top prestigious professionals around the world, the recognition and credibility that they deserve and have helped in building their branding empires. IAOTP prides itself to be a one-of-a-kind boutique networking organization that hand picks only the best of the best and creates a networking platform that connects and brings these top professionals to one place.

For More information on IAOTP please visit: www.iaotp.com

Annette Natoli
IAOTP
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