Faces Of Tbi

Kara Christy is an occupational therapist and certified brain injury specialist with eight years of experience working with individuals who have sustained a brain injury at Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center. She practices in the specialty areas of cognitive perceptual motor retraining and vision therapy, along with traditional occupational therapy practice areas of ADL and IADL retraining. Kara is also a certified fieldwork educator and enjoys teaching on these topics with university graduate programs, with fieldwork students, and at various conferences. Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center is a non-profit organization located in Lansing, Michigan. Origami provides comprehensive rehabilitation care for survivors of brain injuries and their families. Through their compassionate and innovative service, Origami creates opportunities and transforms lives.

Mariah Moncada graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Movement Science and then received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Central Michigan University in 2016. She is an APTA Certified Clinical Instructor, a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, a PWR!Moves Certified Therapist, and has received advanced training in craniosacral therapy and vestibular rehabilitation. She works at Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center and treats clients with various neurologic and orthopedic conditions. Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center is a non-profit organization located in Lansing, Michigan. Origami provides comprehensive rehabilitation care for survivors of brain injuries and their families. Through their compassionate and innovative service, Origami creates opportunities and transforms lives.

Natasha Huffine is an occupational therapist and Certified Brain Injury Specialist with eleven years of experience working with people who have sustained traumatic brain injuries at Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center.  At Origami she specializes in Vision Therapy, Cognitive Perceptual Motor Retraining, and Driving Rehabilitation.  Natasha is also a surveyor for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for the brain injury specialty programs.  Currently, Natasha is a panelist assisting to form medical guidelines for treatment of those with moderate to severe brain injuries through the Brain Injury Association of America. Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center is a non-profit organization located in Lansing, Michigan. Origami provides comprehensive rehabilitation care for survivors of brain injuries and their families. Through their compassionate and innovative service, Origami creates opportunities and transforms lives.

Brady Kramer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kramer received a full athletic scholarship to play hockey at Providence college he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens out of high school. His athletic career includes induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame for The Haverford School, playing for the U.S. World Junior National Hockey Team, captain of Providence College Hockey Team, and participation in the U.S. Olympic Hockey Festival. Kramer signed with the Montreal Canadiens in 1995. After playing 18 minor league games he retired as the result of anxiety and depression. Concussions were a major part of his athletic career, receiving as many as 7 diagnosed and undiagnosed injuries. Kramer is the owner of BCTK, a company that manages the operations and logistics of corporate incentive and business travel programs.

Roni L. Robinson, MSN, CRNP is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She works with the Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Sports Medicine and Performance Center and the Trauma Program. Roni completed her undergraduate studies at The University of Delaware, Newark, DE, where she received her BSN in nursing. She completed her graduate studies at The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, where she received her MSN in the Pediatric and Acute/Chronic Nurse Practitioner Program. Roni's research and clinic interests are in pediatric and adolescent concussion. She has published material in peer reviewed journals and has lectured extensively about concussion in children and adolescents and helped develop the program Concussion Care for Kids: Minds Matter at CHOP. Helpful links: www.chop.edu/concussion www.brainsteps.net  Episode sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology

Dr. Ronald Murray s a Phyiscal Therapist ,Traditional Naturopathy, and holds a Doctorate in Integrative Medicine.He is the director of the of The Asclepeion Center of Body Mind Therapy in Silver Spring M.D He has been on faculty of The Capitol University of Integrative Medicine for 10 years where he taught the Colloid Fluid Model  approach to CranioSacral Therapy . His mentors include Dr. John Upledger who , among others taught him advanced forms of body-mind work.Maria Gabrielle and Dr.Bradford has mentored him Darkfield Microscopy. He has taken extensive from  Dr. Konrad Werthmann ,Dr.Thomas Rau , Dr.Kirk Slegel. He also attended the Paracelsus Biological Medicine Network two-year curriculum. His passion is synthesizing the conceptual framework of energetic and and biological medicine and there influences on the autonomic nervous system.  Episode sponsored by: Midwest Functional Neurology 

TED W. BAXTER was born and grew up on Long Island in New York. He got his bachelor of business administration in three years at Hofstra University in 1984 where he majored in public accountancy. He took a job working for Price Waterhouse as an auditor and he passed all four parts of the CPA exam on the first shot. He then became a management consultant soon thereafter, focusing on financial industry clients. While he was working as a senior manager, he attended the Executive Masters Business Administration program at Wharton on the weekends, where he got his MBA, concentrating on finance and strategy. After spending twenty-two years in the financial industry, he retired as a global finance executive with expertise such as international banks and securities, risk management, financial products, controllership, team-building, change management, strategic planning, and information technology systems. Ted experienced a massive ischemic stroke in April 2005. Ted now volunteers his time at two hospitals in Oran

Dr. Robert Stern is Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Anatomy and Neurobiology at Boston University (BU) School of Medicine, where he is also Director of the Clinical Core of the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Center. He is also Director of Clinical Research for the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center.  A major focus of Dr. Stern’s research involves the long-term effects of repetitive brain trauma in athletes, including the neurodegenerative disease, CTE. He has been funded from NIH and the Department of Defense for his work on developing methods of detecting and diagnosing CTE during life, as well as examining potential genetic and other risk factors for this disease. He is the lead principal investigator for the 7-year, multi-center DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. His other major areas of funded research include the assessment and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the cognitive effects of chemotherapy in the elderly, thyroid

Maggie Fauver joined Canna Care Docs in January 2015 as a member of the company’s mid-Atlantic expansion team. She worked closely with Delaware’s Office of Medical Marijuana during the implementation of the state’s medical marijuana program, forming strong relationships with state regulators and administrators. Promoted to mid-Atlantic operations manager in January 2016, Fauver oversaw Canna Care Docs’ April 2016 opening of its first office in Maryland, in Takoma Park. She has since continued the Maryland expansion and has opened Canna Care Docs offices in Cockeysville, Columbia and Baltimore, Maryland.  Informed by her perspective as the victim of a serious car crash, Fauver was inspired to pursue a career in health care advocacy. In January 2012 she enrolled in Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Washington, to pursue a degree in health information and informatics management. She graduated with high honors as a registered health information technician (RHIT). She also holds a degree in business

Alison Epperson received her Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies from Centre College in Danville, KY and received her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, OH. In 2013 and 2014, Alison spent time working for the Honorable Tom Harkin in his Washington, D.C. Senate office, focusing for awhile on disability issues, and spent the summer of 2016 interning at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Alison was then a summer associate at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe’s New York office and will start as a full-time associate in September 2018. During her last semester of law school, Alison externed at the U.S. State Department. She was also named Law Student of the Year in 2018 by 'The National Jurist.' Alison was Zac Easter’s long-time girlfriend and first became connected and knowledgeable of CTE through him. She was involved in the founding of CTE Hope and currently serves as its Chief Communications Officer, while also ass

Brian Eder is the founder of Birdies 4 Brains, a 501c3 organization that raises money to benefit Minnesotans affected by brain injury.  Brian’s passion for this cause stems from him personal connection in that his sister suffered an AVM as a 21 year-old college student.  It’s that experience which led to Birdies 4 Brains.  Birdies 4 Brains will host its seventh annual event where golfers play 100 holes of golf in one day to raise money and awareness.  In the prior 6 years Birdies4Brains has raised over $325,000 and has a goal to raise $125,000 in 2018.  In Brian’s spare time… he’s also the founder of Eder & Associates, a wealth management firm located in Lake Elmo, MN.  He’s married to Gretta and they have 1 daughter Beatrice (5) and they’re expecting their second daughter in early June.  They reside in Lake Elmo, MN.  Episode sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology

Michael V. Kaplen is a senior partner in the New York personal injury law firm, De Caro & Kaplen, LLP.  His practice focuses on personal injury and medical malpractice with an emphasis on representing individuals who have sustained a traumatic or acquired brain injury and other catastrophic injuries. Michael is a Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School where he teaches the only course in the nation devoted to traumatic brain injury law.  He is board certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is board certified in Medical Malpractice, and a member of the board of governors of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys.   Michael serves on the executive board of the Interstate Bus Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice and is a member of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council. He was an invited by President Obama to be a participant in the 2014, White House Healthy Kids

In 2003 Ryan Boyle was dragged by a truck causing him immediately to go into a coma. After emergency brain surgery, where they removed a portion of his brain, it seemed like all hope was gone. Proof that miracles do happen, not only did he wake from the coma, but soon started a rigorous battle to learn how to stand, walk, eat, and everything else, all over again. Through patience, hard work and lots of love and support, not only did Ryan defeat the odds, but he thrived through the recovery process and paved his way to become the youngest member of the USA Paralympic Road Cycling Team, winning a silver medal in the Rio 2016 games. Now, in between his Paralympic training schedule (he resides at the Olympic Training Village in Colorado), going to school and finishing his second book, Ryan is devoted to helping others by sharing his story and offering advice to those experiencing hardships. He recently graduated from Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell. When Ryan wrote his book When The Lights Go Out: A Boy

Lisa Rocks is a certified speech-language pathologist who has been practicing for over 8 years. Her experience is in a variety of settings, including primarily acute care and acute rehab. She recently has been in the school and early intervention settings, working with children 3-5 years of age. She has worked with both adults and children in the areas of swallowing and language needs. Her specialty is brain injury with a focus on cognition. Molly Brightbill is a certified speech- language pathologist working primarily in the acute inpatient rehab setting at Good Shepherd Penn Partners with 6 years’ experience. She is a certified brain injury specialist, providing evaluation and treatment for speech, language, cognition and swallowing goals in the adult population.  

Edward Egros is a television sports reporter and anchor with Fox 4 in Dallas, TX and a sports analytics enthusiast. While his work in television has always involved telling meaningful stories about athletes and teams, his "Inside Sports Analytics" podcast and website also enhance this same mission but through a different approach: by incorporating sports analytics into journalism.  He earned his undergraduate degrees in journalism and economics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas (where he is based). He also earned his Master's degree in predictive analytics from Northwestern University. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys traveling, a good adventure and a delicious iced coffee. Episode sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology 

After almost four decades of practice as a pediatric surgeon and nearly a decade of practicing holistic medicine, Dr. Ivan Figueroa-Otero now heals people through the guiding principles and empowering words of his Amazon best-selling series of self-improvement books. Bilingual in English and Spanish, he was a member of the Puerto Rico Medical Association, American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, American Pediatric Surgical Association, and Fellow American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. He is currently engaged in his private practice and continues in his role as an educator, trying to achieve full integration of traditional Chinese acupuncture courses in the curriculum of medical schools. He resides in Puerto Rico. Find Dr. Figueroa-Otero's book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2H8cyQs Episode sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology 

Join host Amy Zellmer as she speaks with Dr. Alison Alford. I was born and raised in Lancaster, PA.  I attended undergraduate at University of Miami obtaining a BS in Psychobiology.  I then attend Jefferson Medical College back in Philadelphia, PA.  Once I graduated, I did my residency and fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2012 I became a board-certified Child Neurologist.  I had a strong interest in headaches and studied to obtain my second board in Headache Medicine in 2013.  I have become the only board-certified Pediatric Headache Medicine Specialist in Virginia.  I would see a fair amount of post-concussion syndromes for their headache management.  However, in 2016 one of our concussion clinics lost their primary physician.  I, personally was not a fan of the way other clinics were run, so I decided to start managing more of the concussion symptoms myself.  I pride myself and my clinic on bringing the relationship back into medicine and I felt that needed to happen with concussion/TBI

Join host Amy Zellmer as she speaks with author Berit Brogaard. “Brit” is a Professor of Philosophy with joint appointments in the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Miami as well as the Network for Sensory Research at the University of Toronto. Her educational background includes a medical degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in philosophy. Her areas of research include perception, synesthesia, blindsight, consciousness, neuro-psychiatry and emotions. Brit has written over 75 peer-reviewed articles, some three hundred popular articles on neuroscience and health issues and two books: Transient Truths (Oxford) and On Romantic Love (Oxford). She is currently finishing a third book with Oxford entitled Seeing and Saying as well as working on another book for popular press. Her work has been featured in various public media, including Nightline, ABC News, the Huffington Post, Fox News, MSNBC, Daily Mail, Modesto Bee, and Mumbai Mirror. She is also an editor of the international pee

Join host Amy Zellmer as she speaks with Pat Stanford. Pat Stanford was born in Philadelphia, but moved to Florida with her farming family when she was one. She has poetry published in several anthologies, and won second place in the 2004 Seven Hills Contest with her short story, Divorce Sale. Fixing Boo Boo, a slightly fictionalized account of what happens when a brain-injured sibling comes to live with a sister who doesn’t know what that means, is her first novel length work. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and a quirky cat, and is currently working on a new novel as well as ghostwriting a book for a CEO of a corporation. Purchase Pat's book on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2FmHMSD Sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology, DC

Join host Amy Zellmer as she speaks with Tiffany B. Cobb, Ph.D. Dr. Tiffany Cobb is a pediatric neuropsychologist at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL in 2010, and completed her internship training and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Dr. Cobb is a licensed psychologist in Minnesota. She joined Gillette Children’s in 2012. Dr. Cobb evaluates children with complex medical conditions, including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. Sponsored by: Minnesota Functional Neurology, DC