Welcome from William Keep, Dean Tammy Dieterich, TCNJ School of Business.

Keynote: Kati Daffan, Assistant Director, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Marketing Practices       

Session 1: FTC Rulemaking Process

Erin, John & Maddy discuss the Federal Trade Commission’s rulemaking process, rule proposals that may affect multilevel marketing conduct, and how rules can shape the conduct of consumers and businesses.

Erin Witte, Consumer Federation of America

John Breyault, National Consumer League

Maddy Gitomer, Democracy Forward

Session 2: Opportunity Costs: Deceptive MLM Earnings Claims

Bonnie Patten, TINA.org 

Session 3: Recent Academic Publications

Presenters share recently published MLM-related research in the fields of psychology, marketing, media studies and sociology

Lucas Dixon, PhD, The University of Queensland

William Keep, PhD, The College of New Jersey, Emeritus 

Mara Einstein, PhD, City University of New York

Jessica Pearce, PhD, University of Louisiana, Lafayette 

Session 4: Words: Industry word use and misuse

Presenters discuss striking and disturbing examples of how MLMs manipulate consumers via language

Máire O Sullivan, PhD, Munster Technological University

Marco Moukhaiber, Social Media Activist

Gina Marie Longo, PhD and Frankie Mastrangelo, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University

Jane Marie, award-winning journalist and author

Session 5: Recent Cases Against MLM Companies

Presenters cover successful cases in the US and Poland, public and private

Dariusz Lomowski, Director at Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Gdansk, Poland

Jonathan Ware, Federal Trade Commission

Jason Jones, Assistant Attorney General 

Session 6: Neora Decision

An idiosyncratic court position inconsistent with the core of pyramid scheme case law.

Peter Vander Nat, PhD, Senior Economist, FTC, retired 

Session 7: How Vietnam gutted its own regulations to create an MLM-friendly environment

Presenter will show regulatory changes in Vietnam and their immediate aftermath. 

William Keep, PhD  

Session 8: The Roles that Coercive Control and Undue Influence Play in Multi-Level Marketing

Kat Garcia-Benson, RDN, CSSD, Social Media Activist

Julie Anderson, Social Media Activist

Kalika Kanitkar, Social Media Activist

Alanda Carter, Social Media Activist

Brandie Hadfield, Social Media Activist

Gladys, AKA MLM Exit, Social Media Activist

Melissa Henry, Social Media Activist

Megan Williams, Social Media Activist

Chris Shelton, Social Media Activist

With Support From: Roberta Blevins and Michelle Carpenter, Social Media Activists

Q and A and Final Remarks