The IIPA Mission and Vision Statements

The International Iridology Practitioners Association
was founded for the purpose of increasing and communicating knowledge
concerning the art and science of Iridology
and to provide a forum for the exchange of information and research
with the goal of promoting excellent international Iridology standards.

To see Iridology utilized as an assessment tool in all branches of medicine,
both alternative and allopathic, in all countries
and made readily available to every man, woman, and child.

IIPA History and My IIPA Vision
by: Ellen Tart-Jensen, Past President

My vision for IIPA from the beginning was to have a vehicle that would carry Iridology far into the future - a vehicle that would be for the people and not based on one person’s teaching – a vehicle that would not stop when a single teacher of Iridology passed away.  I dreamed of an organization for the Iridologists – an organization that was non-profit that embraced all those who wanted to study Iridology.  I envisioned and still envision IIPA trained Iridologists offering excellent Iridology to their clients throughout the world; and IIPA certified instructors and sanctioned schools offering excellent Iridology education throughout the world.  I envisioned a forum for men and women to support one another, connect with each other, and help each other to grow and learn Iridology and natural health care.  

Dr. Bernard Jensen was my mentor and my father-in-law.  He asked his son, Art Jensen to carry on Bernard Jensen International and me to carry on the teaching of Iridology when he left this world.  We promised him we would.  It was and is my passion.  I realized even while he was still alive that we needed an organization – a vehicle that would incorporate standards, policies, and procedures.  It needed to be a non-profit organization that would truly support Iridology students, teachers, and research.  It needed to be an organization that would go on and on long after the founders were gone.  I realized that if Iridology was based on one single individual, it would die with that individual.  It needed a board of directors that would lead the organization that could work for terms and then train others to step up to the plate so that it could continue into the future.  It needed democracy with a fair voting process in place make policy and to elect officers.

I also realized that there were many individuals who called themselves Iridologists around the world and most were using different terminology.  Many had very little education.  So if one Iridologist tried to discuss a particular sign with another, they would come up with different names for the same sign.  This is why I felt standards in training and terminology were crucial in this field.  I also saw Iridologists around the country diagnosing and prescribing.  They were actually doing harm to the individuals they worked with out of ignorance and because they had very little or very poor training.  We needed an organization with ethics in place that would protect those who visited Iridologists and those who practiced the wonderful art and science of Iridology.

At the time when I worked for Dr. Bernard Jensen, he had the organization, Iridologists International, which published a monthly Iridology magazine, and Bill Caradonna and Harri Wolf had started the National Iridology Research Association (NIRA) in 1982, which published a monthly Iridology journal, and Denny Johnson had started Rayid and was publishing his findings on the emotional aspects of iris analysis.  I was a member of all three organizations.  I worked for Bernard Jensen and wrote articles for the Iridologists International Magazine.  I also loved the research articles in the NIRA Journal as well as the teachings and publications of Rayid International.  

I dreamed at the time of all Iridologists working together.  I envisioned having an Iridology organization that embraced the greatest most accurate aspects of Iridology including both the physical and emotional dynamics based on all of the latest clinically relevant research and study.  So, hoping that we could all work together, I talked with Bill Caradonna and he said I could be a bridge between Dr. Jensen’s work and the Iridology information coming from Europe.  Art Jensen and I met with Harri Wolf and he agreed that NIRA needed assistance in order to grow.  I talked with Paulette Suzanne and she and I approached Bill Caradonna about ways we might help with the then established NIRA non-profit organization.  Over time, we formed a small Board of Directors.  Harri Wolf was the first President and Bill Caradonna was our second President.  Paulette and I worked diligently on the IIPA Syllabus and training programs.  Bill Caradonna was in naturopathic school at the time and desired to work with Iridology research. I felt that the research in Iridology was most important, so I offered to run for and was elected as NIRA President.  Dr. Bill Caradonna and Dr. Peter Guhl worked as an IIPA Iridology Research Team for many years and still advise IIPA in this area.  I was President when Bernard Jensen passed away and he gave us his blessings.  Bernard Jensen spoke at and was honored at the first NIRA Conference in 1986.  Later in 1999, IIPA presented him with a lifelong Iridology achievement award.  He was so proud that we were carrying on the work of Iridology.

Past Board members include Leonard Mehlmauer (who has done a great deal of research in Sclerology), Kianna Smith, Micki Jones, Dave Carpenter, Peter Guhl, Diana Silva, Georgina Cyr, Gino Bellinfante, Joe Vasquez, William Fullerton, Cheryl Matschek, Trixie Clark, Steven Horne, Kim Balas, Alicia Rocco, Marie Bouvier-Newman, Beth Golden, Betty Sue O’Brian, Dick Williams, Polly Heil-Mealey, Rebecca Thomas, Wanda Seitz and many others.  Many of these Board members are also Diplomate Iridology Instructors still today.   We have many International Diplomate Instructors including Gino Bellinfante, Georgina Cyr, Jackie Latimer, Judith Cobb, Diane Elms, Diane Blackburn, Gillian Marsollier, Elizabeth Micaller, Toni Miller,  Christos Miliankos, Emil Bewö-Lundblad, Birgitta Williams, Dr. Ta En Lo, Yiu Fai Levite Man, Kay Tse Chua, Chua Boon Hai Ocean and Daniele LoRito.  And, IIPA has collaborated and worked with John Andrews of England, Denny Johnson and Rayid International and Jim Verghis who teaches Emotional and Behavioral Iridology.  Many wonderful Iridology Instructors have joined us around the world since.   

While I was President, the Board voted to change the name from NIRA or National Iridology Research Association to International Iridology Research Association or IIRA.  We then made the final change to IIPA, or International Iridology Practitioners Association, so that it would incorporate all Iridology Practitioners as well as Certification, Standards and Research. 

We held Board meetings twice a year all over this country and in Canada.  We held monthly Board meetings over the phone.  We created committees and worked together to rewrite the By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation.  We worked for years on Policies and Procedures, a Syllabus with standardized terminology, an Instructor Packet, an Examination, a yearly Symposium, a website, a database, training programs for students and Instructors and a Sanctioning program for colleges. We worked to publish a journal or Newsletter every month. Several years later, a Medical Board was established through the vision of Kathy Norris, and monthly webinars for continuing education were incorporated.

For several years, Georgina Cyr, had an office in Canada and oversaw the students and the grading of the IIPA Certification Examinations.  Kianna Smith oversaw the work of the Instructors and was Director of the Certification and Standards Committee that included Georgina Cyr and Alicia Rocco.  Kianna also wrote Iridology, A Handbook – the first published IIPA approved Iridology manual.  The IIPA Central Office at the time was housed and run by Bernard Jensen International.  Later, we had an office in Texas run by Micki Jones.  Afterward it moved to California and was run by William Fullerton and Evelyn Mead.  All of this was volunteer work. The first paid home office was located in Texas and operated by Janet Wilson.  We now have an Executive Director in Patty Lower and a beautiful office in Birmingham, Alabama. This office houses our research, journals, Newsletters, database, website, By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation and Policies and Procedures.  The Central Office manages the database, website, Facebook page, certification examination, certificates and questions from all members.  There is no other Iridology organization in the world like IIPA that has this.

We had amazing Officers and Board members over the years including Vice Presidents, Treasurers, Secretaries, Researchers, Committee Leaders and Committee Members.  I cannot say enough about how hard each of the Officers, Board members, and Committee members have worked over the years as dedicated volunteers to make IIPA what it is today.  When I stepped down as President, Dave Carpenter, who had been Vice President, became an exceptional President after me and created Continuing Education Pathways.  And we have had several great Presidents that came after Dave: Cheryl Matschek, Polly Heil-Meily, Betty Sue O’Brian, Kathy Norris, and our current President, Christos Milankos, from Australia.  Each President along with their Officers and Board members has done an incredible job adding their own expertise to IIPA.  This is so great because it shows our policies are in place, our vehicle is going forward and our organization is growing stronger with each new President and Board Member.  We now vote for a President every three years.  This brings in new ideas and new creative energy. 

Iridology has come a long way since the early times of the Chaldeans and Ignatz von Peczely and 2x magnification.  Today, due to all of the diligent work of these amazing men and women, we have an Iridology organization, The International Iridology Practitioners Association (IIPA) that promotes ethics and standards in the practice of Iridology.  We have excellent, high powered iris imaging systems and we can email or Facebook iris signs across the world for input from other Iridologists who are a part of IIPA.

It is our IIPA Vision to have Iridology integrated into the healthcare system worldwide; to do research and to promote, gather, and teach credible Iridology, to be an accrediting body for teachers and schools of Iridology and administer standardized certification examinations.

IIPA has taken the best forms of Iridology from around the globe and created a core curriculum based on unifying standards in Iridology research and terminology.  We call this Comprehensive Iridology. Through IIPA a student may find an IIPA Sanctioned School or Diplomate Instructor that teaches Comprehensive Iridology and study and become Certified.  This helps to insure that those who visit an IIPA Certified Iridologist will receive an excellent iris analysis.  Used correctly, Iridology can provide tremendous benefits toward optimal health and well-being.

Comprehensive Iridology is a synthesis of ever evolving knowledge that has been critically evaluated and tested in the clinical setting.  The foundation is German constitutional approaches combined with clinically relevant American and European Iridology teachings, modern research-based findings, and a variety of psychological/behavioral models. 

This allows the practitioner to efficiently assess the iris information, apply therapeutic approaches more effectively, and create individualized natural health care programs.  This also provides the client with a truly holistic sense of self, empowered to act with greater responsibility and make personal decisions with deeper knowledge and understanding.

The International Iridology Practitioners Association was founded for the purpose of increasing and diffusing knowledge concerning the art and science of Iridology and to provide a forum for the exchange of information and research with the goal of promoting excellence in international Iridology standards.

Peter Guhl, Bill Caradonna, and I worked with Howard Medical University and Winston Salem State University on a research study of the heart and pancreas areas of the iris.  Currently IIPA is working with Dr. Lo in Taiwan who is doing research on the pancreas regions of the iris with his diabetic patients.  Elizabeth Micaller is doing research with her students in the Philippines.  Dr. Daniele LoRito is doing Iridology research in Italy.  We need more research in this field!

IIPA is an organization that we can be truly proud of.  We have a wonderful Board of Directors and an excellent Executive Director.  Visit the “About Us” link on this website and meet our currently Board of Directors. IIPA has a strong foundation and is truly there for its members.  We now have IIPA Certified Iridologists all over the world.  We hold monthly IIPA Continuing Education Webinars and a live-streaming Summit every year with highly skilled Iridology and natural health care Instructors.  In addition, our Iridology programs have been translated into several different languages.  Anyone can call the IIPA Central Office or go to the website to find an IIPA Certified Iridologist, an IIPA Diplomate Instructor or an IIPA Sanctioned School.  This way they know they are getting an Iridologist, Iridology Instructor, or School that has had specialized Iridology training based on standards and clinical research. IIPA has come a long way over the years and is still growing!

Let us all continue to work together as members of IIPA to bring Iridology to the people of this world who need it so very much.