Authors

Janelle Breese Biagioni

An author, international speaker and long-standing advocate for families and survivors of brain injury, Janelle Breese Biagioni knows first hand the stress and challenges of trying to be a parent to two children while simultaneously being a wife and primary caregiver to a husband with significant cognitive, behavioral and emotional challenges following a traumatic brain injury. Her personal experience led her to earn a Certificate in Death and Grief Studies at the Center for Loss and Life Transition in conjunction with Colorado State University. She speaks and writes frequently on bereavement and coping strategies for families affected by catastrophic injury with workshops and presentations on grief and loss at conferences and on television and radio.

Shy DeGrace, B.S.

Ms DeGrace is a research specialist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in psychology, she has more than 5 years of community-based research and pharmaceutical experience. She relocated in 2006 to pursue graduate study in the field of Rehabilitation Counseling. Since 2006, she has also served as research coordinator for government funded trials of methods to improve functional status and quality for people with brain injury.

Roberta DePompei, Ph.D.

She is Department Chairman, a Professor and Clinical Supervisor at the Speech and Hearing Center at the University of Akron in Ohio.

An advocate of the needs of youths with brain injuries and their families, she is on numerous national task forces and committees. Widely published and a national and international presenter, Dr. DePompei specializes in the impact of brain injury upon speech, language and communication. She is especially interested in developing transitional opportunities for youth as they progress through school and prepare for adulthood.

Rick Franklin

Though he appears normal, Rick Franklin's brain injury has made his life anything but. Teaming up with veteran documentary maker and friend Lyell Davies, Rick explores the impact that brain injury has had on himself and on other brain injury survivors. As they visit with survivors, the filmmakers reveal the wide range of deficits survivors must face, both physically and mentally, and we learn that no two brain injuries are alike.

Ann Glang, Ph.D.

An Associate Research Professor at Teaching Research, a division of Western Oregon University, and a research scientist at Oregon Center for Applied Sciences, Inc. (ORCAS), Dr. Glang has worked as a special education teacher and as an educational and behavioral consultant in a rehabilitation unit specializing in treating adolescents and adults with traumatic brain injury.

Tami Guerrier, B.S.

Ms Guerrier’s career experience includes providing services for individuals with brain injuries in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, as well as in the community, and in educational and vocational settings. She is currently the Coordinator and Principal Investigator for Project STAR at Carolinas Rehabilitation in Charlotte, NC. This program develops opportunities for individuals affected by brain injury in the community, assists individuals and families with accessing community resources, provides training for agencies on traumatic brain injury, develops brain injury prevention programs, and collects data on needs and service utilization. Ms Guerrier frequently presents at local, state, and national conferences on brain injury related topics.

Flora Hammond, M.D.

She Chairs the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Indiana University School of Medicine. Previously she was the Research Director and Brain Injury Program Director at Carolinas Rehabilitation in Charlotte, NC where she was Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Carolinas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System. Much of her research on traumatic brain injury has focused on outcome prediction, post-traumatic irritability, depression, relationships, and motor and cognitive recovery over time.

Don Hood, B.A.

He has worked as a teacher, trainer, and behavioral and educational researcher for the past 25 years. The extensive use of focus groups to refine scripts, videos, pamphlets and manuals has helped Mr. Hood incorporate the “end user’s” perspective in new products. He combines this perspective with a strong belief in person-centered-planning for individuals with disabilities in his work. Mr. Hood is currently an Assistant Fellow at the Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University.

Harvey E. Jacobs, Ph.D.

Dr. Jacobs has special expertise in behavioral rehabilitation for individuals with neurological, psychiatric, medical and developmental disorders. He is a national leader and expert in the treatment of behavior disorders following brain injury. His innovative programs have addressed community integration, social support networks, vocational rehabilitation, behavioral rehabilitation, and psychiatric rehabilitation.

Stephanie Kolakowsky-Hayner, Ph.D.

She is the Director of Rehabilitation Research at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA and the Project Co-Director of the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) funded Northern California Traumatic Brain Injury Model System of Care. Dr. Kolakowsky-Hayner is also the Project Co-Director of a NIDRR Field Initiated Grant entitled, A New Measure of Subjective Fatigue in Persons with TBI.

Her main interests include ethnicity and cultural issues, return to work, family and caregiver needs, and substance use after injury. She continues as a reviewer for NeuroRehabilitation and Brain Injury, and is an Associate Editor on the Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, Ph.D., ABPP (RP)

He is a Professor with appointments in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Campus in Richmond. Board certified in rehabilitation psychology, he has more than two decades of clinical experience as a brain injury rehabilitation specialist.

Since 1987, Dr. Kreutzer has served as the Director of Virginia’s federally-designated Traumatic Brain Injury Model System. Dr. Kreutzer has co-authored more than 130 publications, most in the area of traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation.

Marilyn Lash, M.S.W.

She is a Founding Partner at Lash and Associates Publishing/Training, Inc. in Wake Forest, NC. Author of many publications on the psychosocial impact of brain injury, her writing and training emphasize coping strategies for families and practical interventions by professionals and educators in hospitals, rehabilitation, schools and community programs. Ms. Lash is on various national task forces on brain injury and editorial boards of rehabilitation journals. She is the Past Chair of the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina and current Chair of the North Carolina Statewide Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury.

Barbara A. Messenger, M.Ed.

As a Behavior Rehabilitation Therapist at the Center for Comprehensive Services (CCS), MENTOR Network, with survivors of traumatic brain injury, Ms Messenger is a certified disability analyst and certified rehabilitation counselor. Her experience includes individual, group and marital counseling as well as vocational rehabilitation counseling and case management.

Janet P. Niemeier, Ph.D., ABPP (RP)

Dr. Niemeier is a Board Certified Rehabilitation Psychologist with an additional specialty in neuropsychology. Dr. Niemeier is an Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Psychiatry and Director of Inpatient Brain Injury Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in the School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia.

Dr. Niemeier has over 20 years experience assessing and treating patients in all phases of recovery from traumatic brain injury. She has held positions in inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings throughout her clinical rehabilitation career. In addition to her current work with patients on the Brain Injury Unit, and their families, she conducts funded research related to innovative treatment interventions.

Dr. Niemeier is senior or contributing author on multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals including Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Psychology, Disability and Rehabilitation, and Brain Injury as well as books about early education and rehabilitation following brain injury.

Carolyn Rocchio

As a spokesperson for families of survivors of brain injury and founder and past President of the Brain Injury Association of Florida, Carolyn Rocchio is internationally recognized for her compassion and expertise. Ms. Rocchio has written many articles for families and professionals on the consequences of brain injury and finding meaning in life after brain injury. Her list of achievements, honors and publications is lengthy. She is the voice of a mother who knows first hand about the compassion, endurance, hope and determination needed to move forward after brain injury.

Judy Sullivan,B.A.

With over 25 years experience in the area of mental health, for the past 8 years Judy Sullivan has combined that knowledge and expertise to help those experiencing brain injury. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts.

Bonnie Todis, Ph.D.

An Associate Research Professor at Teaching Research, a division of Western Oregon University, and University of Oregon, Dr. Todis has used qualitative methodology to explore a number of issues in special education, including assistive technology, resilience factors for youth with disabilities in incarcerated settings, and self-determination for adolescents with disabilities. Her current work focuses on studying effective supports for individuals with brain injuries in schools and other service delivery organizations.

Niki Ziarnek, M.S., S.L.P./L.

As a speech-language pathologist in the Personal Intervention Program at the Center for Comprehensive Services, Ms Ziarnek provides clinical treatment in a residential brain injury rehabilitation facility as part of the MENTOR Acquired Brain Injury Group. She has many years of experience in the NeuroBehavioral Program as a direct care staff, rehabilitation therapist, case manager, and as a speech-language pathologist.