SPEAKERS

Soldier’s mom becomes voice  for wounded warriors  - Cynthia Lefever and Rory Dunn

Cynthia Lefever continues to make noise.  And she said she won’t stop trying to get national officials to  improve medical care for returning Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.  

She’s intimately aware of the devastating effects of blast injuries. Her son, Rory Dunn, a 2000 graduate of Liberty High School, was nearly killed four years ago by a roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq. The bomb exploded above his Humvee, killing two of his friends. His forehead was crushed from ear to ear, leaving his brain exposed. Shrapnel destroyed his right eye and his hearing was severely damaged.

He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Baghdad, where doctors worked to save him. Five days later, he was flown to a hospital at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where family had gone on “imminent death orders” to say their goodbyes. 

“Doctors gave him a 2 percent chance of survival,” Lefever said.   Despite the grim prognosis, Dunn did survive. One day after he arrived in Germany, he was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., still in a coma.  “When he arrived at Walter Reed, neurosurgeons said Rory’s injuries were the worst they had ever seen,” Lefever said. The journey for mother and son the past four years has been a study of perseverance — Dunn defying the odds each step of his recovery and Lefever battling the Army to ensure he continued to receive critical care from Reed’s top-notch surgeons. Almost six weeks later, Dunn emerged from his coma.

“Within days of coming out of a coma, Army leadership was at his bedside putting a pen in his hand to start the discharge process with the ultimate goal of getting Rory off the books,” Lefever said. “When we let these wounded warriors languish in bed and presume that all that can be done is to change their diaper and turn them regularly and get them out for fresh air, that’s ridiculous. I just think it’s immoral and unethical.”

Cynthia Lefever is working to educate communities across the state about traumatic brain injury. She said she wants police, firefighters and emergency responders to recognize the signs of traumatic brain injury, so they can respond appropriately in an emergency. She got the Veteran’s Administration to provide medical alert tags for all severely wounded veterans, especially those with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress.

Meanwhile, her son has regained his life, she said.  “He’s walking, talking, hunting and fishing,” she said. “In May, he jumped out of an airplane and he’s preparing to go to college.”

Healing comes slowly   Family members also suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Lefever said she has had nightmares of her 10-month ordeal at Walter Reed Medical Center.

“I’m at Walter Reed coming around a corner, coming face- to-face with a soldier who looks like he’s a 14-year-old, beautiful, baby-faced and his arms and legs are gone. That image will haunt me until the day I die.”

Post-stress trauma is a normal reaction to the abnormal circumstances of war. Soldiers are trained to be killing machines; they’re supposed to be strong, but it comes with a cost, she said. “When you have watched civilians being run over by a tank under orders, I don’t see how anybody can be OK,” Lefever said.  On another occasion, an Iraqi man who was helping the U.S. military was shot, his body blown into two pieces. Dunn and other soldiers were ordered to return the man’s body to his family.

“Rory thinks about the wife and the children that were screaming and crying as he deposited the two halves to the family,” Lefever said.

Families of wounded warriors and the community need to know that traumatic brain injury is a physical injury, not a mental disorder, she said.

Lefever fears history may soon repeat itself.  “Unless our society is educated and informed about traumatic brain injury, we’re going to see our veterans again retreat into the mountains and hills, become homeless, fail at relationships, become unemployed and we’ll have a repeat of what we saw when the soldiers returned from Vietnam,” she said.

Keynote, Saturday afternoon, March 7

James Chesnutt, M.D.,  is the Medical Director of the OHSU Sports Medicine Program and has been an Assistant Professor at OHSU for 14 years. He is full time faculty in the Orthopeadics and Rehabilitation and Family Medicine departments. Jim has been a Team Physician for 15 years and teaches and practices sports medicine full time. Jim grew up in Portland. He attended Stanford for his undergraduate, and went to OHSU Medical School and had his residency with the Air Force. Jim was the President of the Oregon Academy of Family Medicine from 2004-5. He is a member of the OSAA Medical Aspects of Sports Committee, that governs Oregon HS sports. Jim is the co-director of the Oregon Concussion Awareness and Management Program.

Presenters

Rob Bovet, JD, currently serves as the District Attorney for Lincoln County, Oregon. Prior to being elected District Attorney, Rob served as a lawyer for Lincoln County, beginning in 1992, with a primary focus on legislation and public health and safety.  Since 2000, Rob has also served as legal counsel for the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association. Rob is the author of Oregon’s meth lab control laws, and helped author federal laws to control international diversion of meth lab chemicals.  Rob is co-founder and President of the Oregon Alliance for Drug Endangered Children.  Rob created the Lincoln County Meth Initiative, focusing on science-based prevention, enforcement, and treatment.  Rob recently authored a law review article entitled Meth Epidemic Solutions, 82 North Dakota Law Review 1195.  Rob serves as Chair of Oregon’s Meth Task Force, and is a member of other task forces and prevention coalitions.  Rob has provided nearly 400 presentations regarding drug policy, and has appeared on  numerous programs and special reports, such as Good Morning America, National Public Radio, and PBS NewsHour and FRONTLINE. Rob is the recipient of the 2006 Governor’s Gold Award for outstanding public service, and the 2008 NMCI national “Impact” award.  Rob is married and has four children – two in college and one in high school – so Rob is aging a bit faster than normal.

Thomas M. Boyd, Ph.D. ABPP, obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Virginia and a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of New Mexico. He has 28 years of experience in neurological rehabilitation. He has worked at the Oregon Rehabilitation Center of Sacred Heart Medical Center since 1988. He consults at Community Rehabilitation Services of Oregon and at Teaching Research-Eugene. Dr. Boyd serves on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of Oregon and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Samuel R. Browd, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and an attending neurosurgeon at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center. Dr. Browd received his M.D., Ph.D. through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Florida in 2000. He then undertook a seven-year Neurosurgery Residency at the University of Utah, and in 2007-2008 completed his Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship Training at the University of Washington/Seattle Children's Hospital. While at the University of Utah, he also completed a research fellowship focusing on functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Browd's specialties are with children who have hydrocephalus, brain & spinal cord tumors, pediatric cervical spine, spina bifida, chiari malformations, spacticity.

Catriona Buist, PsyD, has been the Clinical Director of the multidisciplinary pain program at Progressive Rehabilitation Associates (Portland, OR) for 3 years. She is a member of the Pain Society of Oregon and has presented to munerous organizations locally and regionally about pain management. Before PRA she did a 2 year post-doc at Duke University Medical Center conducing research on the impact of trauma (PTSD and maltreatment) on children’s brain development. Dr. Buist is a licensed psychologist in Oregon and North Carolina.

David Clarke, MD,  received his B. A. in psychology from Williams College (Phi Beta Kappa), and his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1979. Since then he has successfully cared for thousands of patients with stress illness, often sent to him after other doctors were unable to help them. He has been a visiting professor at several international hospitals, including Oxford. He was also named a Top Doctor in the Portland Monthly magazine physician review in 2005 and 2006.  Dr. Clarke is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine with Oregon Health and Sciences University, a Clinical Instructor at Pacific University, and a member of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and has practiced in Portland, Oregon since 1984. He is a Gastroenterologist at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center, he is Ethics Director at Northwest Permanente, and he is Nutrition Support Team Director at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center.  David Clarke has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care. He developed and presented a monthly seminar on stress illness, and local doctors have given their patients 50,000 copies of his brochure on this topic. He lives in Happy Valley, Oregon, which is near Portland.

Jeri-anne Cohen, JD, is a native Oregonian and an inactive member of the Oregon State Bar Association. She earned her B.S. Degree in Psychology from the University of Oregon in 1971 and her J.D. degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1975. She was a practicing attorney for 27 years until a traumatic brain injury sustained in a 2001 auto accident resulted in the termination of her law practice. She is a current member of the Brain Injury Association of Oregon Board of Directors.

Dr. Mike Colson, PhD, (vettrauma.org) is a former Navy Commander, combat veteran and Senior Special Staff Officer now conducting clinical outreach and advocacy for returning Iraq and Afghanistan military and Department of Defense veterans. He is a National Service Fellow, a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, was awarded the Iraq (and) Afghanistan War on Terrorism Campaign Medals, and is a significantly disabled American veteran. Dr. Colson's academic training includes a BSc. in Education from Eastern Michigan University, a Masters of Arts in Educational Psychology and Counseling from Western Conservative, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Human Services and Sociology from Walden University. He has worked for over 25 years in a variety of challenging military and humanitarian assignments holding positions as a public school teacher and principal, adjunct college professor and Foreign Service Officer. He served for 14 years in war torn Southern Africa assisting with drought relief and refugee programs, started with his wife an orphan support facility that he advocates for today, and continues to travel extensively. He uses his speaking and writing a means of community activism, addressing myriad challenges faced by youth, professional providers, veterans, and those with disabilities. 

Past accomplishments include several books: "The Paradox of Underachievement" from EMI that explores youth and military dissonance in a benefit-laden society; "In Irons" from Bookmasters that is a humorous diatribe on the art of living well; and “We are Mysterious” that looks at the explorer in all of us. He speaks at dozens of events per year, volunteers in schools and with other agencies, assists veterans countrywide using vettrauma.org, is an advocate for HIV/AIDS relief in Africa, and regularly fund-raises for this an other youth concerns. He has been married to Jane, a successful public school principal and educator, for 30 years. They live on  Camano Island in Washington State and the Big Island of Hawaii. They have two sons who are both successful university scholars, athletes, and community servants.

James S. Coon, JD, graduated from Yale University in 1971 and Lewis and Clark Law School in 1977, having served as Editor-in-Chief of the law review. He spent a year as a law clerk to the Hon. Robert C. Belloni in Federal Court before beginning private practice. Jim has devoted his practice since 1978 to representing individuals, labor unions and non-profit public interest groups against government agencies, employers and insurance companies. He has taught at the Lewis and Clark Law School and speaks at conferences for lawyers on social security and the coordination of public and private disability benefits. Jim is a member of the bars of the Oregon Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and United States District Court. He lives in Portland with his wife and two children.

Dorothy Cronin, CBIS, Executive Director, Brain Injury Association of Wyoming, has worked in social services in Wyoming since the early 80’s. She has developed an extensive knowledge of social service programs and supports.

She is currently responsible for project leadership for the Brain Injury Association of Wyoming’s contract with the Wyoming Department of Health, Division of Developmental Disabilities; Project B.R.A.I.N. a contract with the Department of Workforce Development Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; Vice-Chair for the Wyoming State Independent Living Council, and in her spare time Dorothy writes grants, supervises a staff of five, travels extensively, and manages general operations for the Brain Injury Association of Wyoming.

Dorothy was recently married, and honeymooned in the Mexican Riviera where she experienced para-sailing for the first time.  

Rebecca Curtis, MS, State of Oregon Mental Health, Addictions and Mental Health (AMH), works with patients in the state hospital. Rebecca and Mike Moore, who is also part of the older adult psychiatric unit, have been meeting with counties to try to promote collaboration between the Seniors and People with Disabilities and the county mental health departments.

Laurie Ehlhardt, PhD, is an assistant fellow with the Teaching Research Institute-Eugene and a speech-language pathologist with over 20 years experience serving individuals with cognitive disabilities due to acquired brain injury.

Fred Flynn, DO, FAAN, Neurologist, is the medical director of the TBI Program at Madigan Army Medical Center . Dr. Flynn notes that the Army has been dealing with soldiers with TBI for a long time – primarily those who suffer moderate to severe cases. “Anyone would say in hindsight that we could have done better” in responding to the growing numbers, Flynn said. “But we are screening every single soldier who comes back for this specific problem.” The new programs are part of the Army “Medical Action Plan,” which arose after media reports of problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Combat medics early this year received new guidance for how to assess and treat soldiers who might have concussions. At Fort Lewis, soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are now required to complete an online questionnaire designed to find those at risk for mTBI. The 3rd Brigade is the first major unit at Lewis to go through it. Through the end of October, 2,325 of the brigade’s 3,800 soldiers have done so. Of those, 1,000 were found to have likely suffered an mTBI and were recommended for secondary screening at Madigan, which consists of further tests of their cognitive abilities and an appointment to talk with a senior physician or a psychologist. Of those 1,000, so far 205 soldiers have been referred to further treatment because they continue to suffer signs and symptoms. The figures include some of the 204 soldiers who were diagnosed with mTBIs while the brigade was in Iraq, brigade officials said. Flynn said all 3,800 soldiers in the brigade will be screened again in three to six months. Army medical officials acknowledge that their service was slow to recognize and respond to the growing numbers of soldiers at risk for mTBI as insurgent bombs struck with greater power and frequency across Iraq. Research into the “civilian” form of mTBI – generally caused by concussions – shows that most people will fully recover over time with rest and by avoiding additional concussions. But experts aren’t sure that injuries caused by blasts heal the same way. While much is known about the way the brain reacts to concussions caused by car accidents or sports injuries, researchers are only beginning to examine its response to explosions. Recent studies suggest that blasts might slowly kill brain cells over months and years, leading to permanent loss of function. Those whose symptoms don’t go away, and the people close to them, have to learn to live with the condition. ...

Ron Heintz, MD, Medical Director, DHS Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Oregon.

Jeanne M. Hoffman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, specializing in Brain Injury, Psychology, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Her clinical interests are traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, adjustment to disability, and pain management. Her research interests include access to inpatient rehabilitation, and the development and evaluation of interventions to improve quality of life in patients with traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.

Jan Johnson, MS, is a former board member for BIAOR, and served on the advisory committee for 3 years. She is the owner and director of Community Rehabilitation Services of Oregon.

Mary Kelly LTC AN (Ret), is a Masters prepared Registered Nurse is the Transition Assistance Advisor for the Idaho National Guard, and is a direct liaison to the Veterans Administration for returning OIF/OEF soldiers. Mary’s professional years have been spent at the bedside, as a student nurse instructor, Public Health Nursing, in Nursing Administration, and as a nurse in the Idaho Army National Guard. She attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and was Chief Nurse of the Idaho Army National Guard.

Mary W. Lu, M.D. holds an A.B. from Harvard University and an M.D. from Stanford Medical School. She is Board Certified in Psychiatry, having completed her residency in psychiatry at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Dr. Lu's current research and clinical work focus on treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Carol Marusich, OD, MS, FCOVD is board-certified in vision development and therapy. She completed her Masters Degree in Sensory Physiology at Northwestern University and her Doctorate in Optometry at the Illinois College of Optometry.  Dr. Marusich has been in private practice in Eugene, Oregon since 1981.  Dr. Marusich has been recognized as Optometrist of the Year by the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association and the Great Western Council of Optometry and has served as President of both.  A former Lane County Woman of the Year, Dr. Marusich was the 2006 Named Gift Honoree for the American Association of University Women, a recipient of the People First Award, and is a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academies of Practice.  She currently serves on the Health, Disabilities & Social Services Advisory board for Head Start, and is past Chair of the International Examination and Certification Board for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.  Dr. Marusich holds an adjunct faculty position for the Pacific University College of Optometry and lectures internationally on the topics of infant vision, vision and eye health concerns of special populations, learning related vision problems, and  vision rehabilitation following acquired brain injury.

Bruce McLean, MA, CRC, CDMS, CBIS Level I, has worked for the last 25 years as a private vocational rehabilitation counselor in southern Oregon.  He is published in the Journal of Cognitive Rehabilitation (1989).  He is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Level I-Basic.  Most of his practice involves him working with individuals who have been injured on the job and who are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services through the Oregon worker’s compensation system. 

Debra Braunling-McMorrow, Ph.D. is Vice President of ABI Service Diversification for The MENTOR Network, a position that allows her to bring services to more people with brain injury across the United States. She served as Vice President of Quality Assurance for the Mentor ABI Group, as well as lead operations for the Center for Comprehensive Services for 12 years, a member of The MENTOR Network. She has designed and continues to direct the Mentor ABI Group’s outcome and quality measurement systems. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and has her master’s degree in Behavior Analysis and Therapy. Dr. McMorrow is a CARF surveyor for Medical Rehabilitation Programs and has served on the Brain Injury Association of America’s board of executive directors as the Vice-Chair for Program Outcomes. She is the past chair of the American Academy for the Certification of Brain Injury Specialists AACBIS. Additionally, Dr. McMorrow has served on several national committees and editorial boards as well as on a number of Peer Review Panels including for the U.S. Department of Education NIDRR and the Department of Health and Human Services HRSA. Dr. McMorrow has published in numerous journals and books and has presented extensively in the field of brain injury rehabilitation.

Senator Bill Morrisette is the former mayor of Springfield (1989-1999). He taught Social Studies at Springfield High School for 28 years until retiring in 1990. He earned a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science from Carroll College in Helena, Mont. and a master's degree in Education from the University of Oregon. Sen. Morrisette and his wife, Janice, have eight children, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. In addition to being mayor of Springfield, Sen. Morrisette has served on the Springfield City Council and the Lane County Council of Governments. He has also sat on the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority, the Metropolitan Waste Water Commission and the Metropolitan Policy Committee. He also worked as a Municipal Prosecutor and an Assistant District Attorney.  His governmental experience includes the Oregon House of Representatives; Eugene Police Commission; Oregon Law Commission; University of Oregon Student Conduct Hearings Officer; Precinct Committeeperson; BLM Timber Sale Advisory Board.  Sen. Morrisette currently serves as chair of the Senate Human Services Committee and also serves on the Senate Health Policy and Education Committees, as well as the Joint Ways & Means Subcommittee on General Government. He chaired the Senate Education Committee in the 2003 session, and was a member of the House Education Committee in the 2001 session, and sponsored numerous education-improvement bills in all three sessions.

Among other bills, he sponsored one in the 2003 session and again in the current session to require schools to phase out sales of junk food to kids in school. In the 2003 session he was one of the leaders in a successful effort to establish health education standards for Oregon, and he is backing a current bill to set minimum requirements for physical education in elementary and middle schools. In February of 2005, he was one of three Oregon citizens and the only legislator to be named a School Health Champion by the Healthy Kids Learn Better Coalition.  Sen. Morrisette has been the recipient of numerous other awards and honors. He was Springfield Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1997, Oregon Mayor of the Year in 1994 and Lane County Elected Official of the Year in 1992.  In 2007 he was named as the President of the Northwest Territories on the television series Jericho.

Adam Nelson, PhD, received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California, in 2005, and completed a two-year post-doctoral residency in Neuropsychology at the VA Northern California Health Care System in Martinez. He is a staff member of the Neuropsychology Service at the Portland VA Medical Center, and has been focusing the majority of his time on evaluating the neuropsychological functioning of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He has been actively involved in coordinating Mental Health services for brain injured veterans at the PVAMC, and will continue to be involved in clinical and research efforts relating to rehabilitation services for veterans with TBI.

Y. Michelle Peterson, BFA, MS, is a medical illustrator who has worked with surgeons and therapists at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital to develop educational illustrations and interactive animations that assist surgeons, physicians, therapists and students in studying/understanding a wide range of medical subjects: cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, obstetrics, ophthamology, anatomy, histology, pathology, dentistry, and physical and occupational therapies. Michelle worked with medical illustration department at Barrow Neurological Institute and pediatric neurosurgeons to develop an animation demonstrating occluding hydrocephalus in infants. Michelle worked with Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, and Emory University: School of Medicine to create an animation used to educate families with children who need bone marrow transplants, and children that are donors for the procedure. She represents MediVisuals, Inc., a medical visuals firm by exhibiting and lecturing at numerous legal/medical conferences throughout the United States. Liaison between experts/attorney clients and in house medical illustrators during the process and production of creating demonstrative evidence.

Larry Sherman, PhD, is Senior Scientist in the Division of Neuroscience and an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and in the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the OHSU School of Medicine. He received a B.A. in 1986 and an M.A. in 1987, both in Biology from Reed College, then went on to receive a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Anatomy from OHSU in 1993. He conducted post-doctoral research at the Institut für Genetik at the Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe, Germany, then became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in 1998. He joined the center in 2002. He serves on a number of national grant review boards, is on the editorial board of the journal GLIA, and is the President of the Oregon Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Key Publications

Back, S., Tuohy, T., Chen, H., Wallingford, N., Craig, A., Struve, J., Luo, N., Banine, F., Liu, Y., Chang, A., Trapp, B., Bebo, B., Rao, M. and Sherman, L. (2005). Hyaluronan accumulates in demyelinated lesions and inhibits oligodendrocyte progenitor maturation. Nature Med.11:966-972.

Matsumoto, S., Banine, F., Struve, J., Adams, C., Liu, Y., Metzger, D., Chambon, P., Rao, M. and Sherman, L. (2006). Brg1 is required for murine neural stem cell differentiation and gliogenesis. Dev. Biol. 289:372-383.

Su, W., Xing, R., Guha, A., Gutmann, D. and Sherman, L.(2007). Mice with GFAP-targeted loss of neurofibromin demonstrate increased axonal MET expression with aging. Glia. 55:723-733.

Back, S. and Sherman, L.(2008). A GAG reflex prevents repair of the damaged CNS. Trends in Neurosci.31:44-52.

Russell C. Spearman M.Ed. is the Project Director for Idaho's Traumatic Brain Injury Partnership Implementation grant from the Health Resources Services Administration, Maternal and Children's Health Bureau. Since August 2000 Russ has been employed by the Institute of Rural Health at Idaho State University- Boise. Prior to this Russ was responsible for developing and implementing all aspects related to Idaho's 1915 C Medicaid Home and Community Based Services Waiver for adults with a traumatic brain injury. He is the former Executive Director for Idaho's Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities. He is the lead author of "The Use of Medicaid Waivers and Their Impact on Services". Russ was instrumental in developing and transitioning Idaho's nationally recognized Home of Your Own Initiative, a single family secondary mortgage program, that today has assisted over 75 people with disabilities realize their dream of home ownership and received national recognition for his vision and leadership in this area in 1997. Russ received his undergraduate degree from Manhattan College and his Master's degree from the College of Idaho. He is married with two children, one who experienced a traumatic brain injury in 1993. Russ was recognized by the National Association of Social Workers - Idaho Chapter in 2002 as the public citizen of the year for his work with people with disabilities. For the past twenty two years Russ along with his wife Terry, have served as adult family home providers to a gentleman with a developmental disability who is competitively employed.

Patricia Sublette, PhD, is the Oregon TBI Education Coordinator. Formerly, she worked as a regular, special education and consulting teacher and school psychologist. Pat has been instrumental in writing the content for the website www.TBIED.org and is the co-author of book chapters in the Handbook of School Neuropsychology and the Handbook of School Psychology on identification, eligibility and interventions when working with students with brain injury.

Mark Tilson, PhD, is a neuropsychologist and rehabilitation specialist with Legacy Rehabilitation Services and the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon in Portland. He specializes in working with traumatic brain injury survivors and their families. He has special interests in mild traumatic brain injury, post-concussive syndrome, and psychopharmacological treatment of brain disorders.

Paul van Donkelaar, Ph.D., is a Assistant Professor, Department of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon. Paul van Donkelaar's research focuses on the neural control of human movement. He has approached this issue using behavioral, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in healthy humans and in patients suffering from a number of different neurological syndromes including stroke, concussion, and cerebral palsy. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the processes by which sensory and motor systems interact with the hope that this knowledge can be used to develop better rehabilitative therapies for patients with a variety of motor deficits. Dr. van Donkelaar received a Ph.D. in clinical neuroscience from the University of Calgary in Canada in 1994. He spent the following year as an NSERC post-doctoral fellow at the Universite de Provence in Marseille, France. Prior to coming to the University of Oregon, he held a position as post-doctoral research scientist from 1995 to 1997 in the Department of Physiology at the University of Oxford in England.

Paul van Donkelaar is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Motor Behavior and is a reviewer for many different journals including the Journal of Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex, Brain, Journal of Neurophysiology, Journal of Physiology, and NeuroImage. He is also a panelist on the Motor Function, Speech, and Rehabilitation NIH Study Section. He has published over 50 research articles that have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Neuroscience, Brain, Cerebral Cortex, Journal of Neurophysiology, and Experimental Brain Research. He has also given invited presentations at a variety of universities and research institutes including INSERM, France; University of Wales; Simon Fraser University, Canada; University of Queensland, Australia; Queen’s University, Canada; University of Maryland; University of British Columbia, Canada; and University of Bern, Switzerland;. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control, and the NIH.

Bruce R. Wojciechowski, O.D, FCOVD, received his Doctor of Optometry in 1981 and has practiced in the Portland area since completing his education. He is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (FCOVD) and is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), Optometric Extension Program (OEP), and the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA). Dr Bruce serves as an executive board member for the Brain Injury Association of Oregon and is an adjunct professor for the College of Optometry at Pacific University. Dr. Bruce has lectured nationally to professionals involved in the treatment of head injured patients. He also lectures to non-professionals groups, such as stroke support groups and other community organizations.