Women’s History Month: Elizabeth Zafonte models mentorship, thoughtfulness

Editor’s note: To celebrate Women’s History Month, Natural Products Insider is serving as a platform for women in the natural products industry to honor other women. In this series of articles, we asked several leading women in the industry to choose anyone else in the industry to celebrate. Want to recognize a woman in this way? Contact Sandy Almendarez to get published in Natural Products Insider, or write a shoutout with the hashtag #WomenInNaturals on your social media of choice.

To those that have gotten the pleasure to know or work with her, Elizabeth Zafonte is an angel. I worked for Elizabeth for six years at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and she made a permanent impression not only on my career, but my life holistically.

It was from Elizabeth that I learned what a great mentor is. She put so much time and effort into helping me grow and understand the ins and outs of the regulatory landscape. She’s one of the few people that knows the CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] parts for every regulation off the top of her head! She is a human encyclopedia for 21 CFR (e.g., 101.54 for nutrient content claims). She also would forgo going to large conferences just so I could get the exposure. Her heart for others is what makes everyone fall in love with her.

One of the most beautiful qualities about Elizabeth is her thoughtfulness. Some examples are her creating a long list of everyone’s birthdays of who she worked with throughout her career and sending cards and other goodies to make them feel special. She would also randomly bring in flowers to the office and give them out to brighten someone’s day!

Elizabeth is a woman of virtue and grace. That said, she is also tough as nails when it comes to standing up for justice and what she believes is right. I am beyond honored to have met Elizabeth and have my life changed forever! (P.S. She’s the reason behind the idea for What’s Up With SUPPS).

Diana Morgan is head of scientific and regulatory affairs at Care/of, where she is heavily involved in almost every aspect of the business. She plays an instrumental role in new product innovation, guiding the business on regulatory pathways, strategic claim positioning, safety and market intelligence. Morgan also supports the claims process from ideation to substantiation to approval, and partners with marketing to ensure communications positively impact the consumer. A certified sports nutritionist, she founded What’s Up With Supps and is on the board of directors for CRN (Council for Responsible Nutrition). Morgan is passionate about the natural products industry and has served it for over 15 years, having held previous roles at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, The Vitamin Shoppe and Solgar Vitamin & Herb, a Nature’s Bounty company.