About

Debbie Bohnett

Debbie Bohnett is the Executive Vice President of Private Health Management. As a patient advocate and someone who has experienced migraine herself, she understands the need for researched, relevant and engaging information on migraine. Debbie has over 20 years of experience in upper-level management in several industries, including non-profit, internet, entertainment, retail and restaurant. Her non-profit experience includes serving as President of the Board of Trustees for Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times and membership on the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California.

Paula Dumas

Paula Dumas is the Founder and Managing Editor of Migraine Again, LLC. and Migraine Health Ventures. As a migraine sufferer, she’s lost a decade of days, more than $500,000 in medical expenses, and significant quality of life due to migraine. Through the American Migraine Foundation, she hopes to reach and engage more people, make patient education more relevant and accessible, and shift perceptions around the migraine brand. While ultimately she hopes a cure for migraine is found, in the meantime she wants to empower patients to care for themselves by giving hope and encouragement, and reminding them they’re not alone. She uses her online communities and marketing and leadership skills to advance the fight against migraine and help raise money for research.

Peter J. Goadsby

Dr. Peter Goadsby is the Director of the NIHR-Wellcome Trust King’s Clinical Research Facility, and a professor of Neurology at King’s College London. Previously, he was a professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Deborah Hensheid Lorenz

Deborah Henscheid Lorenz is an intellectual property lawyer at Lorenz & Kop, LLP, and also a long-time migraine sufferer. As a board member with the American Migraine Foundation she serves as a patient advocate, and sees the board as a place where voices like hers can collectively educate the public that migraine is a painful disease and not just a headache. Through advocacy, she hopes migraine will be recognized as a legitimate disease worthy of significant research funds. Her ultimate goal is to help advocate for advanced treatment options that prevent migraines from occurring, without objectionable side effects.

Rachel Irwin Koh

Rachel Irwin Koh is a proven IT professional with more than 20 years of project and program management experience in change initiatives. During her career, Rachel has acquired deep experience navigating politics, leading initiatives and implementing innovative solutions across the complexities of large organizations. Rachel has lived with migraine for 25 years, and it is her personal and professional goal to focus her business, communication, and emotional intelligence skills on patient-focused care initiatives and organizations making a difference in the field of migraine. It is her hope that these goals are met through increased government and private funding, removal of stigmas, and acceptance of migraine as a disability.

Kimberly Partain McNamara

Kimberly Partain McNamara, M.S. is a patient advocate who works at Utah Department of Health at the Center for Health Data and Informatics. As a Sr. Research Consultant, she writes, collects, analyzes and reports on a state-wide survey of resident’s health status. Outside of work, she enjoys relaxing with her family, reading and donating her time to the local community as a scout troop leader. Kimberly comes from a long line of family members affected by migraine, and has experience in both supporting a family member and living with the disease herself. With a background in environmental psychology and over 20 years of experience as a research consultant and analyst of health data, Kimberly looks forward to assisting the American Migraine Foundation in its goals to improve the lives of those living with the daily uncertainty of the debilitating effects of this invisible disease.

Todd Schwedt

Ken Shubin Stein

Dr. Shubin Stein is the founder of Spencer Capital Management, LLC. In 2000 he founded Kenshu, LLC, the predecessor to the Spencer Capital Opportunity Fund, LP, which was formed in 2003. From 2001 to 2003 Dr. Shubin Stein managed Kenshu, LLC while also working as a portfolio manager for Promethean Investment Group, LLC. He joined Promethean after completing his internship in orthopedic medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Before his internship, he co-founded and managed Compo Asset Management, LLC, a U.S. based value investment partnership which was merged into Promethean. Prior to founding Compo, Dr. Shubin Stein was a medical technology analyst for The Abernathy Group in New York, an investment management firm specializing in the medical and technology sectors. Dr. Shubin Stein is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he completed a 5-year medical and research program with a focus on molecular genetics. He graduated with a B.A. degree from Columbia College in 1991 with dual concentrations in Premedical Studies and Political Science. In 2018, he graduated with a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He also holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The National Board of Public Health Examiners has recognized Dr. Shubin Stein as Certified in Public Health (CPH). Dr. Shubin Stein is an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Dr. Shubin Stein holds the CFA designation. Dr. Shubin Stein’s commitment to charitable endeavors includes a focus on public health issues and helping homeless/ low-income women and children. He is the co-founder of Crutches 4 Kids, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing crutches and other mobility devices to children in need around the world. He is also co-founder of the International Concussion Society. He serves on the board of HelpUSA and is the leader of the organization’s young professionals group, HelpNYC.

Jon Summer

Jon Summer is a migraine patient and the founder of Cyber Group. He brings expertise in strategy, marketing and business growth to the American Migraine Foundation board with the aim to help raise awareness and funding for migraine education and research. He also hopes to provide a patient perspective to discussion surrounding migraine advocacy and treatment in order to find better solutions to stop the suffering for millions of people worldwide. He hopes the next 10 years are full of progress, providing relief that doesn’t carry negative side effects, and more specialists who can provide better and quicker care for those in need.

Stewart Tepper

Stewart J. Tepper, MD, is a Professor of Neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He is Director of the Dartmouth Headache Center in the Department of Neurology of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire. Dr. Tepper received his undergraduate degree in the study of the nervous system/psychobiology from Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut, and attended Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He completed his Neurology residency at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and has been board certified in Headache Medicine since 2006.

Dr. Tepper has been Director of the Scottsdale Headache Symposium CME course of the American Headache Society from 2008 to the present. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Headache Currents and Associate Editor for the journal Headache. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts, editorials, and books on Headache Medicine. Dr. Tepper serves on the Board of Directors and is the current Corporate Liaison of the American Headache Society.

Richard Wastcoat

Richard Wastcoat is a patient advocate who has worked in the international financial markets for over 35 years. Outside of work, Wastcoat is active on the board of a school and a non-profit in the financial services industry. Wastcoat is based in London and he was drawn to the American Migraine Foundation because he has a family history of migraine and lives with migraine himself. As a member of the AMF board, Wastcoat hopes to use his professional knowledge to link AMF to markets outside the U.S. and to contribute his patient perspective to help others understand and cope with the condition.

Thomas Berk, MD

Thomas Berk, MD, is a neurologist and headache specialist at NYU Langone Health. He focuses on the treatment of headache disorders and is involved in clinical trials for the next generation of migraine therapies. He has a passion for migraine advocacy as well and was recently recognized as an “Emerging Leader” of the American Headache Society.

Chia-Chun Chiang, MD

Chia-Chun Chiang, MD, is a Senior Associate Consultant, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She graduated from Neurology Residency and Headache Fellowship at Mayo Clinic Arizona. Additionally, she also completed a Vascular Neurology fellowship at University of California, San Diego. She received her medical degree from National Yang Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Chiang’s clinical and research interest is the relationship between cerebrovascular disorders and headache. Dr. Chiang has received many awards including the Frontiers in Headache Research Scholarship Award by the American Headache Society, and the Manfred D. Muenter Award for excellence in clinical neurology during residency at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Chiang has conducted multiple research projects in headache medicine and vascular neurology, and has published in reputed journals including Cephalalgia, Headache, and The Lancet Neurology. She currently serves as an assistant editor for the Headache Journal, and a reviewer for journals including Cephalalgia, Headache, Cephalalgia Reports, and The Neurologist.

A. Laine Green, MD, FAHS

A. Laine Green, MD, FAHS, is from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. He completed an undergraduate and graduate degree in synthetic organic chemistry prior to medical school. He completed his Medical School and Neurology residency training at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He completed his headache medicine fellowship with Dr. David Dodick at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. His first year of fellowship was on the University of Arizona Campus in Tucson in the lab of Dr. Frank Porreca completing a preclinical project in medication overuse and cortical spreading depression. His second year of fellowship was the clinical based year with Dr. Dodick in Scottsdale. After fellowship Laine returned to Halifax and was an Assistant Professor with the Division of Neurology at Dalhousie University for 5 years. He joined Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Department of Neurology in November 2019. He primarily practices in the Headache Center.

Rashmi Halker Singh, MD, FAHS

Rashmi Halker Singh, MD, FAHS, is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic. She completed her neurology residency and headache medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic before joining faculty. Her academic interests include migraine and other primary headache disorders. Dr. Halker Singh is the headache fellowship program director at Mayo Clinic, and the co-director of the Mayo Clinic Headache Symposium. She is also very involved with the American Headache Society, where she is the immediate past Chair of the Women’s Health Special Interest Group, is a member of the annual Scottsdale Headache Symposium planning committee, the Electronic Media Committee, the Emerging Leaders Program Committee, and is a co-director of the AHS REACH program. She is also the Online and Social Media Editor of the Headache Journal, the official publication of the American Headache Society, and is also an Editorial Board Member of the American Migraine Foundation. She is also interested in utilizing virtual platforms to build professional communities, and is a moderator of the Women Neurologists Group and an admin of the Migraine Mavens social media network. Dr. Halker Singh is a Fellow of both the American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology.

Joshua Lai, MD

Joshua Lai, MD, completed his medical degree, Neurology residency, and additional headache training at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation, the Canadian Headache Society, and the American Headache Society. He has presented at international headache conferences including the International Headache Academy, iHEAD meeting, and International Headache Society meeting. His current research in collaboration with the Stroke Prevention Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital focuses on patients with persistent headaches after stroke. Dr. Lai works with patients with headache and general neurological disorders in private practice and at Vancouver General Hospital.

Teshamae Monteith, MD, FAHS

Teshamae Monteith, MD, FAHS, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology. After graduating with a medical degree at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, she completed Neurology residency at New York University and then pursued two fellowships in headache medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and University of California, San Francisco. She is currently the chief of the Headache Division, director of the headache fellowship, and chair of both the wellness and diversity committees within the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Monteith is a co-recipient of the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Award, and fellow of the AAN and the American Headache Society. She serves as an editorial advisor for the Brain and Life Magazine and is a senior contributor for the Neurology Podcast/Neurology Minute. She is also a recent fellow recipient of the OpEd project.

She has served on several advisory boards for migraine therapeutics and conducts several clinical trials in headache. She has been previously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) supplements to promote diversity in health-related research and work in migraine, stroke, and imaging biomarkers. She has published in a number of prominent journals in headache medicine and neurology and has lectured nationally on topics such as headache disorders and migraine.

Claire Sandoe, MD, MSc

Claire Sandoe, MD, MSc, is a neurologist at the Women’s College Hospital Centre for Headache in Toronto, Canada. She completed her medical degree and a Masters of Neuroscience at McGill University, her neurology residency at the University of Toronto, and a fellowship in Headache Medicine at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Christine Lay. She is also the co-director of the University of Toronto Neurology Residency Program Early Mentorship Group. Her main areas of interest include medical education, hormones and headache, the health effects of adverse childhood experiences, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias.

Juliana VanderPluym, MD, FAHS

Juliana VanderPluym, MD, FAHS, is an Assistant Professor and Consultant in the Department of Neurology within the Division of Headache at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. She received her Doctor of Medicine with Special training in Research from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and also completed her residency training in Pediatric Neurology at the University of Alberta. She is a fellow of the American Headache Society. She has been elected to her second term as Chair of the New Investigator and Trainee Special Interest Group of the American Headache Society.

Angeliki Vgontzas, MD

Angeliki Vgontzas, MD, received her medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, PA. She completed her Neurology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York, where she was also mentored by the headache specialists at the Montefiore Headache Center. She completed her headache fellowship at the John R. Graham Headache Center, part of Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School (BWH/HMS), where she is currently an Instructor in the department of Neurology and also serves as the clinical director for outpatient general neurology.

She has spent dedicated time in the research of migraine and pain since 2005. She was awarded an NIH intramural research training award and spent two years studying migraine in the Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD. While at NIH, she helped develop a research tool to assess sleep patterns and problems in patients with migraine. She continues to research sleep, migraine and genetics while at BWH/HMS and her work is reflected in numerous peer-reviewed publications on sleep and migraine.

She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Headache Society and International Headache Society.