BIOS

Chair

Lawrence C. Newman, MD, FAHS

Dr. Lawrence Newman is the Director of the Headache Division at NYU Langone Medical Center, where he also treats patients at the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men’s Health. As someone who has experienced chronic migraine himself, he knows what his patients are going through. As Chair of the American Migraine Foundation, he works to eliminate the stigma of migraine, improve patient care, and advocate for people living with migraine. Dr. Newman believes proper diagnosis, treatment, and education make up the cornerstone of migraine therapy, but thinks current therapies are lacking. He hopes to help with advocacy and education not just of patients, but also the general public, to eliminate stigma and ultimately increase funding and find a cure for what is a highly prevalent, disabling disease.

Vice-Chair

Christine Lay, MD, FAHS

Dr. Christine Lay is a professor of neurology at the University of Toronto where she holds the Deborah Ivey Christiani Brill Chair in Neurology and she is the founding director of the Centre for Headache at Women’s College Hospital. As someone who has had migraine most of her life, Dr. Lay understands firsthand the disability of this common brain disorder. Not only does she advocate for her patients, but she also educates trainees and colleagues to better understand and treat migraine. In her position as a board member of the American Headache Society and the Canadian Headache Society, she works tirelessly on a clinical and research level to improve patient care and lessen migraine stigma. She is excited to be part of the American Migraine Foundation and work with AMF leaders to move against migraine.

Immediate Past Chair

David W. Dodick, FRCP (C), FACP, FAHS

Dr. David Dodick is a Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and a consultant in neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as the Past-President of the American Headache Society. He is the Program Director of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Residency Program and Headache Medicine Fellowship Program, and the Director of the Headache Program and the Sports Neurology and Concussion Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor and International Chair of Headache in the Department of Neurosciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Dr. Dodick is the Immediate Past Chair of the American Migraine Foundation.

Treasurer

Ken Shubin Stein, MD, MPH, MS, CPH, CFA

Dr. Shubin Stein is the founder and chairman of Cortex Group, LLC. He 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, Dr. Shubin Stein graduated with a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. In 2016, he graduated with a Master in Public Health 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). He graduated with a certificate from the Owner/President Management Program (OPM) at Harvard Business School in 2018. Dr. Shubin Stein is an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Dr. Shubin Stein holds the CFA designation. He is also a Senior Advisor at Osmosis. He is on the Executive Committee for the American Migraine Foundation and serves as Treasurer. He is a member of the Concussion Initiative Centers for Excellence Committee for the Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS).

Dr. Shubin Stein’s commitment to charitable endeavors includes a focus on public health issues, including child mobility and concussion. 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, and he is the co-founder of the International Concussion Society.

Secretary

Deborah Henscheid Lorenz

Deborah Henscheid Lorenz is an intellectual property lawyer at Lorenz & Kopf, LLP, and also a long-time migraineur. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Bioengineering, a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and a Juris Doctorate degree. As an executive committee member with both the American Migraine Foundation and the International Headache Society Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (IHS|GPAC) she serves as a patient advocate, and sees these organizations as avenues 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 and employer accommodation. Her ultimate goal is to help advocate for advanced treatment options that prevent migraine from occurring, without objectionable side effects.

American Headache Society President

Andrew Charles, MD, FAHS

Andrew Charles is the president of the American Headache Society. He is a Professor of Neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he holds the Meyer and Renee Luskin Chair in Migraine and Headache Studies. He is Director of the UCLA Goldberg Migraine Program, a multidisciplinary team that does basic and clinical research, education, and care of patients with headache disorders.

Board Member at Large

Lisa Jacobson

Lisa Jacobson, founder of TheDailyMigraine.com and inventor of The Migraine Hat, is a stalwart member of the migraine community with a track record of generating support and advocacy. She previously founded Inspirica, a test preparation and academic tutoring company, and split her time between that and The Daily Migraine. Lisa has decades of work in connecting those living with migraine to one another, providing care and support to the community and raising awareness for the disease.

Board Member at Large

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts is an American journalist and author working for ABC News, and current co-anchor for the network’s late night news program, Nightline. Until March 2013, he served as a chief national correspondent for The CBS Evening News and contributed regularly to 60 Minutes. Mr. Pitts is a person living with cluster headache.

Rochelle Weitzner

Rochelle Weitzner, founder & CEO of Pause Well-Aging is a seasoned C-suite executive and beauty industry veteran. She was the CEO of Erno Laszlo, CFO of Laura Mercier & Revive Skincare and spent the 19 years before that with International Paper in various SVP finance roles for $1+ billion businesses within IP. Rochelle graduated from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business with a BSM in business and a dual major in finance and accounting. She earned her MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Business.

Royce Warrick

Royce Warrick is Sr. VP, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Solenis. She is responsible for the multinational’s legal, IP, data privacy, compliance, governance affairs and EHS/product regulatory/quality functions. Warrick is a member of Solenis’ Executive Committee and Global Leadership Team. Prior to joining Solenis in 2014, Warrick served as Assistant General Counsel and Global Corporate Legal Director overseeing legal affairs of strategic business units at The Dow Chemical Company and Rohm and Haas Company. Beginning her legal career as a litigation attorney, she later expanded her experience to include business law, ethics and compliance, M&A, antitrust, employment law, IT and corporate secretarial/governance. Warrick holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Warrick is on the Advisory Council of Villanova University’s Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership, and is a member of the Forum of Executive Women, the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance Advisory Board, the Duke University Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee and the GA Tech Parents Board. She is executive sponsor of the Women’s International Network of Solenis, a founding leader of her church’s College Prep Ministry, and a founder and trustee of the Roy Blair Paige Foundation, a non-profit organization, the mission of which is to enrich the development of servant-leader youth committed to community-uplift. Warrick is a former board member of the STEM-focused Invent Now Kids® organization, a subsidiary of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation commissioned by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Warrick is a member of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware bars. She is married and has three daughters.

Board Member at Large

Jon Summer

Jon Summer is the Founder of Cyber Group, a patient advocate and longtime entrepreneur that is affected both professionally and personally by migraine.

“I am optimistic we can help the public recognize the severity of the problem and provide a better future for all affected,” says Summer.

Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business | Patient Advocate

Rachel Irwin Koh

Rachel has an MBA from Babson College, and is an active Executive Committee member with the International Headache Society – Global Patient Advocacy Coalition. She was previously a moderator in the AMF Move Against Migraine Face Book Support group, and retains her position as an Administrator in that group. She has provided patient testimonials with the US Pain Foundation, National Headache Foundation, MigraineAgain.com, and others, which have been published in the last 2 years. She is a regular participant in the annual Headache on the Hill event to lobby US Congress. She gave testimony to ICER for guidelines on CGRP medications, and was a patient voice for Amgen marketing research before its release of a CGRP medication. She has been a contributing author on industry papers, including Integrating New Migraine Treatments into Clinical Practice: Principles of Acute and Preventive Management.

Prior to Headache Patient Advocacy, Rachel was a proven IT professional with more than 20 years of success, acquiring deep experience navigating politics, leading initiatives, and implementing solutions across the complexities of large organizations.

American Headache Society Research Chair

Todd Schwedt, MD, FAHS

Todd Schwedt, MD, MSCI is a Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic. He is a headache specialist who divides his time between caring for patients within the Headache Clinic and leading an active headache research portfolio. He is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic Arizona, principal investigator of the migraine and headache research team, and Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Arizona Clinical Studies Unit. Dr. Schwedt is President-Elect and Chair of the Research Committee for the American Headache Society.

His headache research has been continuously funded for over 15 years via grants and contracts from the United States Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, American Migraine Foundation, Mayo Clinic, Arizona State University, Henry Jackson Foundation, and other foundations and companies. He has received honors for his research including winning the Mayo Clinic Arizona Investigator of the Year award in 2021 and being the recipient of the 2015 and the 2021 Harold G. Wolff Award from the American Headache Society, an award presented annually to a research group who has most significantly contributed to the understanding of headache. Dr. Schwedt is a frequent lecturer at national and international meetings and has authored approximately 170 peer-reviewed journal articles.

American Headache Society Corporate Liaison

Stewart Tepper, MD, FAHS

Stewart J. Tepper, MD, is a Professor of Neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and is Director of the Dartmouth Headache Center. Dr Tepper was Director of the American Headache Society Scottsdale Headache Symposium from 2008 to 2020. Dr. Tepper serves on the Executive Board of Directors and is the Corporate Liaison for the American Headache Society. He also serves on the Governance Committee and Board of Directors of the American Migraine Foundation. He has published more than 430 peer-reviewed manuscripts, editorials, and books on Headache Medicine.

American Migraine Foundation Executive Director

Amy Wickstrom

Amy began her work in the nonprofit sector 16 years ago upon the passing of her mom, Linda, to cancer. It was in those very early days that Amy became intimately acquainted with the fragility of the human experience, and all days since, she has worked to build a meaningful life for herself and others.

“For me, one of the most important things I do to cultivate a joyful life is to be in the company of helpers – and in the nonprofit space, I get to work with the best of the best. My goal is to make life better for people – plain and simple – and to support the vision of my Board of Directors through the most cost-effective, person-centered strategic initiatives available. The 39 million people living with migraine in the United States deserve to live a beautiful life – and that’s what we’re on a mission to achieve.”

American Migraine Foundation Director, Programs and Advocacy

Heather Phillips, MEd

Heather brings a diversified background in the corporate, education and healthcare sectors spanning over 15 years. Early in her career she was responsible for event marketing and hospitality management, managing conferences and exhibitions with large pharmaceutical and entertainment corporations capitalizing on her attention to detail, strong communication and negotiation skills. With a Master’s in Education and Health Promotion, she merged her professional experience working in private practice to managing community health and clinically based health prevention programs for one of the nation’s top integrated health care delivery networks.

Heather has held many leadership roles within her local region and state, developing projects from conception to implementation for clinical programs and events. She serves on the executive board of prominent cancer foundation along with other local and regional committees leveraging her experience in strategic planning, and board and committee management. As someone who lives with migraine, Heather is committed to the mission of AMF to help improve the lives of those living with migraine and incapacitating effects of this invisible disease.

American Migraine Foundation Consultant

Linda McGillicuddy

Linda McGillicuddy is the former CEO of the American Headache Society (AHS) and has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles. In her time at AHS, McGillicuddy helped raise funding and support for educational programs. McGillicuddy helped develop and implement headache centers across the United States. These centers continue to improve access to care for patients in need.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be working for a foundation that is doing so much for those living with migraine,” says McGillicuddy. “I’m really looking forward to helping AMF as it continues to elevate the voices of the migraine community and strive for better migraine education, resources and advocacy.”

The New England Institute for Neurology and Headache

Steven M. Baskin, PhD

Steven M. Baskin, PhD, is co-director of behavioral medicine services at The New England Institute for Neurology and Headache in Stamford, CT and is an attending psychologist at Greenwich Hospital of Yale-New Haven Health. He also has a private practice in clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology.  He is a medical psychologist (prescribing psychologist) at Crescent City Headache and Neurology in New Orleans.  He is a current member of the board of directors of the Headache Cooperative of New England (HCNE) and is the educational director for the annual HCNE Scientific Meeting at Stowe.  He is a past board member of the American Headache Society and a past Associate Editor of the journal Headache®. He is a past president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). He lectures frequently at national and international meetings and has published extensively on primary headache disorders, most recently on comorbid psychiatric factors that may chronify migraine and complicate treatment.

Mayo Clinic

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 is a headache specialist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University

Kaitlin Greene, MD

Kaitlin Greene, MD, is a pediatric neurologist specializing in caring for children and adolescents with headache. She is the director of the Child and Adolescent Headache Program at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR, where she is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She is an active member of the American Headache Society.

Mayo Clinic

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.

Vancouver General Hospital

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.

University of Miami

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.

Alberta Children’s Hospital

Serena Orr, MD, FAHS

Serena Orr, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FAHS, is a pediatric neurologist with a subspecialty in headache medicine and the director of the pediatric headache program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She has a strong interest in clinical research and is particularly interested in the acute treatment of migraine and the relationship between internalizing symptoms and migraine in children and adolescents.

Women's College Hospital Centre for Headache

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.

Mount Sinai Hospital

Alison Thaler, MD

Dr. Alison Thaler is a neurologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She completed her residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and both her Headache and Stroke fellowships at NYU Langone Hospital. Dr. Thaler’s interests are in stroke and headache clinical care and specifically in those disorders in which stroke and headache co-exist. She is also passionate about medical education and has recently published her first book, The Only Neurology Book You’ll Ever Need, which is aimed at medical students, neurology residents, and anyone interested and involved in the care of patients with neurologic illness.

Ira Turner, MD

Ira Turner, MD, is a board certified neurologist whose main areas of expertise include migraine and headache. With over 50 years of experience in the medical field, he is dedicated to sharing his extensive knowledge as a speaker for physician conferences, teleconferences and patient events. In addition to the American Migraine Foundation, he is also involved in the American Academy of Neurology, American Headache Society, International Headache Society, American Council for Headache Education and National Headache Foundation.

Mayo Clinic

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.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School (BWH/HMS)

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.