In recognition of her exemplary commitment to advancing chiropractic care and education, Cindy Howard, DC, DABCI, DACBN, FIAMA, FICC will receive the Dr. Beatrice B. Hagen Award during Logan University’s Symposium 2026 May 1-2.
Dr. Howard’s connection with Logan began when she attended her first of many Symposiums in 2019, and her involvement continued to grow from there. She has been a regular speaker at Logan events such as the Women’s Health Symposium and Logan’s annual Symposium and counts many Logan alumni among her closest
personal and professional friends.
“This award was very unexpected,” said Dr. Howard. “It’s a reminder that what I do every day matters and that I have friends and peers who took note that I make a difference in others’ lives.”
Dr. Howard earned her Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree from National University of Health Sciences in 1998. In 2000, she founded Innovative Health & Wellness Center in Orland Park, Illinois, where she focuses on treating the root cause of disease with functional medicine, chiropractic and acupuncture. For more than two decades, she also has represented Illinois through various roles with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), including as a delegate. She is currently vice president of the ACA College of Pharmacology and Toxicology, a past president of the ACA Council on Diagnosis and Internal Disorders, and recipient of the ACA’s Flynn-Lynch Award. She also was honored as Chiropractor of the Year by the Illinois Chiropractic Society.
“My mission is to help people and organizations find strength, joy and wellbeing in the middle of challenge—not after it’s over—because healing and happiness are choices we can make every single day,” Dr. Howard said.
In 2013, Dr. Howard noticed a swollen lymph node on her neck. She diagnosed and co-managed her care for stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Based on her years of experience, she was intent on a treatment approach that combined chemotherapy with personalized, evidence-based integrative strategies. Dr. Howard underwent six months of chemotherapy at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Skokie, Illinois, along with a supplement regimen and chiropractic care. Now cancerfree, she stresses how much the experience changed her perspective.
“It helps me empathize better,” Dr. Howard said. “I don’t know exactly what another individual is going through, but I can honor their experience.”
Dr. Howard’s battle with cancer was the inspiration behind her book, “Positively Altered: Finding Happiness at the Bottom of a Chemo Bag.”
“It’s about finding the fun and the gifts in every single day, even the very hard ones,” Dr. Howard said.
The book’s success has led to numerous national speaking engagements. Combined with running her private practice and a consulting business, teaching for the DABCI diplomate certification, and serving on the medical advisory board for Fullscript Functional Medicine University and Inguardia Health, Dr. Howard’s schedule is packed, which is how she likes it.
“I don’t have any plans to slow down,” she said. “I am always looking for ways to promote the benefits of chiropractic care, and I want to stay in clinical practice forever doing what I love.”
Following the presentation of the Dr. Beatrice B. Hagen Award during Logan’s Symposium 2026, Dr. Howard will deliver a presentation titled, “SHIFT. Elevating Practice Through Intentional Change.” You can register for Symposium 2026 here.