The jury

The jury of the Kein Omni Award jury originally comprised Gerald Kein, Shirley Kein, Hansruedi Wipf and Ralph Benko.  Upon the passing of Gerald Kein, Ina Oostrom, a prominent OMNI hypnotist and the first winner of the Kein Omni Award agreed, by approval by the majority of surviving cofounders to join and become the foreman of the jury.

Gerald Kein

From a very young age Gerald Kein (1939-2017) was fascinated by and active with hypnosis.

He graduated of Rollings College in Winter Park Florida with a degree in education. At a very young age he encountered the work of Dave Elman and became proficient in the Elman Method.

In 1979 he founded the OMNI Hypnosis Training Center, currently one of the most renowned institutes of hypnosis in the world. Gerald Kein trained thousands of hypnotists and hypnotherapists from dozen of countries worldwide. Professionals from all over the world and many disciplines follow his training, including physicians, dentists, psychologists, and therapists. 

Shirley Kein

Shirley Kein, devoted wife of Jerry and mother of their children, was a full partner and executive participant in OMNI Hypnosis Training Center® from its inception.

Shirley made invaluable contributions to the success of OMNI both in its establishment and for its growth, and its leading role in establishing excellence in professional hypnosis training.

Ralph Benko

Ralph Benko, an OMNI graduate, CH, is a member of the NGH Order of Braid, the centerpiece of the NGH Awards System and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication, and service.

He is a long time adjunct faculty member to the NGH annual convention and is a regular contributor to The Journal of Hypnotism and an occasional contributor to Hypno-Gram.  With Wendy Packer, CI, OB, he is the cofounder and co-proprietor of https://hypnoticbeauty.com and https://hypnoticcharisma.com. 

He is a former White House deputy general counsel, is the principal of https://ralphbenko.com, and is a widely published political and economic commentator.  

Hansruedi Wipf

Hansruedi Wipf, BCH, is President of OMNI Hypnosis Training Center International, OMNI lnstructor and CEO of Hypnose.NET GmbH (ISO 9001 certified) in Switzerland. He speaks 5 languages fluently.

He is an international acclaimed presenter and author and organizes international workshops and seminars, works with many professional athletes, runs his own hypnotherapy center   near  Zurich.   His  motto:  “Passion fora Healthy Mind’ .

Author of the book “Hypnose – Gesundheit und Heilung auf natürlichem Weg” (“Hypnosis – Health and Healing in a natural way”), of the book ”Selbsthypnose – Der natürlichem Weg zurSelbstheilung (“Self-Hypnosis – the natural Path to Self-Healing”) and co-author of the book “Endlich schlank durch Selbsthypnose – Die HypnoSlim­ Methode” (“Finally Lean Through Self-Hypnosis – The HypnoSlim Method”). He is also the publisher of the international hypnosis magazine”HypnoMag” as well as organizer of the annual Hypnosis Convention Zurich.

Ina Oostrom

Ina Oostrom was awarded the first Kein OMNI Award for Excellence in Hypnotism. Ina was found worthy of this high distinction on the grounds of the virtuosity and benevolence of her hypnotic skill; the creativity and excellence of her presentations on hypnosis in many international gatherings; her commitment to total quality management, continuously upgrading her practice; her generosity in supporting others, especially hypnosis practitioners, including the sharing of best practices; her exemplary caregiving nature; her dedication to the profession of clinical and non-clinical hypnosis.

In addition, she is widely regarded for her high ethical standards; her organization and efficiency; her creativity, as shown by the creation of a magazine on “What is Hypnosis” now being translated into multiple languages for use throughout Europe; and her signal professionalism in having built a  thriving OMNI hypnosis center from scratch and in making OMNI a recognized brand in the Netherlands.

Ina has since then been recognized with an induction into the NGH Order of Braid. She is the coauthor of Hypnosis the Key to Self-Empowerment: Explanation, Application, and Scientific References of Hypnosis for Adults and Children, Including a View from the Perspective of Quantum Physics , Surgery in hypnosis: Removing a breast tumor with hypnosis as natural anesthesia, a personal report, has published an article in HypnoGram.