Advocacy and Awareness Ambassadors

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is proud to announce our new Advocacy and Awareness Ambassador program, welcoming 20 advocates into the inaugural class.

The Advocacy and Awareness Ambassador program is a training and engagement program for advocates who want to elevate their advocacy and public awareness efforts. This national initiative will train and empower a grassroots network of brain injury advocates. The 2026 class of Ambassadors includes brain injury survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and advocates representing a range of backgrounds, experiences, and regions.

“The 20 inaugural members of our Advocacy and Awareness Ambassador Program exemplify what it means to be a voice for brain injury,” said Rick Willis, President and CEO, BIAA. “From the survivors who use their lived experience to improve awareness and understanding, to the caregivers who advocate on behalf of their loved ones, to the professionals who dedicate their careers to supporting members of the brain injury community, this cohort of passionate, informed individuals inspires us to live our vision of ensuring that everyone in the U.S. who sustains a brain injury is recognized, treated, and accepted.”

Meet the Class of 2026

Jira Banfield
New York

Before becoming an advocate for brain injury, Jira Banfield served as a Congressional Communications Director, where she honed her expertise in strategic messaging, public policy communication, and media engagement.

Jira’s journey took a personal turn after her sister sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Her experience as her sister’s caregiver opened her eyes to the challenges survivors and families face following brain injury. That experience became a defining moment which transformed Jira’s career focus from traditional communications to advocacy and policy change for people with disabilities.

Today, Jira remains the primary caregiver for her sister and looks forward to being a BIAA Advocacy and Awareness Ambassador, where she can use her voice and skills to champion inclusion, accessibility, and empowerment for the entire brain injury community.

Tara Buggie
New Jersey

Tara Buggie is a 28-year survivor of severe TBI sustained while returning home from a TBI benefit in college. After a subsequent year of rigorous physical and cognitive rehabilitation, Tara went on to earn her J.D., and practiced education and insurance defense law before transitioning to brain injury advocacy.

A fundraiser for the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey and leader in its advocacy group, Tara was awarded the Alliance’s Miriam (Mimi) Goldman Positive Achievement Award in 2023. Tara has served as Chair of the New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury’s Survivor Board since 2022. She looks forward to her work in the Advocacy and Awareness Ambassadors Program.

Patty Byrnes
Pennsylvania

A healthcare lobbyist by day, working with Medicaid, LTSS, and individuals with disabilities, Patty Byrnes became more connected to BIAA following her stroke in May 2023. The stroke resulted in a concussion, trauma-induced seizures, and long-term effects, including stability issues, light sensitivity, slow reaction times, and overstimulation. With her background and experience, Patty wants people to understand more about brain injury and the recovery associated with it.

As a member of the Advocacy and Awareness Ambassadors Program, Patty hopes to advocate and provide education so decisionmakers understand the complexities and need for support after a brain injury.

Melissa Carmen
Pennsylvania

Thirty-two years ago, Melissa Carmen was a high school sophomore on her way home when her car crashed into a telephone pole.

Melissa sustained a severe TBI in the crash and needed physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. After being discharged from rehab, Melissa says she experienced emotional volatility, behavioral challenges, sensory overload, cognitive impairments, and vestibular dysfunction. Despite these challenges, she returned to school, where she pushed herself to graduate with honors.

Today, Melissa is a mother to a recent high school graduate, and has become her advocate – her daughter, too, has sustained a brain injury. Melissa knows that road, she says. She’s walked it herself and now she walks it beside her daughter.

Chad Childs
Kansas

In June 2014, Chad Childs sustained a diffuse axonal injury. While he says he has had great jobs and work experience, good health insurance, and a wonderful support system, recovery has been difficult.

Today, Chad is the Prevention Initiatives Manager for the Community Engagement Institute and a member of the Trauma-Informed Systems of Care and Early Childhood Initiatives teams. He is also a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of management and leadership experience in the mental and behavioral healthcare field and the fields of higher education, child welfare, and prevention.

Chad serves on several boards and committees, including the Kansas Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Kansas Mental Health Coalition, and the Kansas Balance of State Continuum of Care (Steering Committee).

Charrisse Coates
Arkansas

Charrisse Coates is a caregiver, writer, advocate, artist, historian, and more. She and her husband, Victor, began their brain injury journey in 2010 when he sustained a TBI. Charrisse admits that since being catapulted on this path, her family has laughed, cried, run – and sometimes hobbled – but are blessed to have not given up.

Charrisse has been a caregiver to survivors of all types of acquired brain injuries and is excited about serving, learning, and contributing to BIAA as a member of the Advocacy and Awareness Ambassadors Program. Brain injury advocacy is important to Charrisse because she believes her and her family’s experience, along with their gifts and talents, are part of how they have been equipped to serve others in the brain injury community.

Lyndee Crawford
Texas

As a speech-language pathologist, Lyndee Crawford has worked diligently to improve her understanding of brain injuries in order to provide quality care to her patients. Two years ago, Lyndee became a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and says the connections she has made and the progress she has witnessed from those affected have been nothing short of a miracle. For professionals like her, who provide services and care to members of the brain injury community, Lyndee believes it is important to gain a better understanding of those affected in order to serve them and provide better outcomes.

Lyndee says she is looking forward to connecting with others who are passionate about brain injury awareness and learning more about what can be done to better serve the brain injury community.

Carrie Ditto
Florida

Carrie Ditto is an advocate for an individual affected by a brain injury, bringing personal insight and experience in supporting a loved one through her recovery. She is committed to advancing awareness, education, and access to resources for the brain injury community. Through involvement with BIAA, Carrie works to promote best practices in care and support, helping individuals and families navigate the challenges associated with brain injury.

Brain injury advocacy and awareness are important to Carrie because they ensure that individuals and families affected by brain injury have access to the resources, support, and understanding they need. She says she is inspired by BIAA’s commitment to empowering individuals and families affected by brain injury, providing support, education, and hope when it’s needed most.

Brinda Dungan, M.Ed., CBIS
Alabama

Brinda Dungan is a clinical rehabilitation counselor-in-training and Certified Brain Injury Specialist with both personal and professional connections to the brain injury community. After sustaining a TBI, Brinda transformed her recovery into a lifelong mission of advocacy, education, and empowerment for survivors and families.

Brinda is a Resource Navigator with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Program, where she helped design and build the state’s Resource Navigation system to improve service coordination and access to care for individuals with neurological injuries. Brinda also serves as the Community Resource Coordinator for the Georgia RSVP Clinic.

Beyond her clinical roles, Brinda contributes her expertise through statewide advisory and leadership positions, including the Alabama Head Injury Task Force and the UAB TBI Model Systems Advisory Board.

Claudia Gonzalez
Texas

Claudia Gonzalez is a recent Ph.D. graduate who earned her degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in August 2025.

Previously, Claudia was an high school athletic trainer, where she observed misconceptions about concussions by athletes, their families, and professionals. She understands the need for athletic trainers and health care professionals to have evidence-based research and resources so that athletes, affected individuals, and their families can have the resources they need when struggling with physical and mental health or other issues stemming from brain injuries. Claudia has also been an ambassador for the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center.

Leili Hashemi
California

In 2020, at the age of 24, Leili Hashemi experienced a stroke. At the time, she had just finished her undergraduate degree and was applying to medical school. For the first two years following her stroke, Leili was fully dedicated to her health and recovery efforts – something she says felt like a full-time job. After that acute and intense phase, Leili began to look outward, seeking ways to support the brain injury community and strengthen her connections to it.

Leili’s personal brain injury journey is her biggest inspiration to support BIAA and its work. “BIAA represents the meaningful work that I aspire to accomplish,” she says. “I believe its work is extremely valuable to help survivors not just survive but thrive.”

Darcy Keith
Indiana

Darcy Keith is an internationally recognized, award-winning professional speaker and expert on brain injury and overcoming adversity. Darcy has a passion for helping other individuals who experience brain injury to live their best lives. In addition to serving on BIAA’s Brain Injury Advisory Council since 2021, she serves on an advisory committee to Ohio State University’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Darcy has appeared on various television and radio venues around the country, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. In addition to working full-time as a Business Analyst for Liberty Mutual Insurance, Darcy is a contributing author to six books and has published several CDs and DVDs.

Sofia Lois Monroe
Nevada

Sofia Lois Monroe is an Emmy-nominated producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate. As the founder of Daymaker Productions, a company merging storytelling and social impact, Sofia creates content and initiatives that educate, uplift, entertain, and empower others.

Sofia’s connection to brain injury is personal – her sister sustained a TBI in a car accident, and her mother experienced head injuries before and after being diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. Sofia became one of her primary caregivers, gaining firsthand insight into the challenges survivors and families face.

Sofia’s own experiences include getting concussions from a snowboarding accident and car accidents, which influenced her understanding of brain injury recovery, PTSD recovery, and mental health. As a result, Sofia wants to share her story, as well as BIAA’s education, resources, and more in the hopes of helping others who have TBIs or loved ones with brain injury.

Carey Moore
Kentucky

Carey Moore is an Orientation and Mobility certified professional who has spent the past nine years working to support individuals affected by brain injury through advocacy, education, and outreach. A year ago, her perspective shifted in a profound and personal way when her husband became a brain injury survivor. Experiencing the realities of brain injury from the inside gave her a new level of empathy and insight.

This experience strengthened her resolve to advocate for survivors and their families with even greater compassion and understanding. Carey has seen firsthand how important it is to have access to resources, community, and hope. She now approaches her work with a dual lens: one shaped by years of professional experience, and one informed by the intimate journey of caregiving and resilience.

Nicole Morrison
Indiana

In April 2012, Nicole Morrison was on her daily run when she was hit by a car. She landed on her head and neck, which resulted in a fractured C1, C2, and C3 vertebrae, as well as a fractured skull which caused a subdural and epidural hemorrhage. As a result, Nicole had to relearn daily tasks such as standing, walking, and talking.

Nicole says she was fortunate to have a medical team that felt like family. As a patient, and in the months and years after, Nicole was invited to brain injury support group meetings, which gave her a chance to spend time with other brain injury survivors. She learned about BIAA and the Brain Injury Association of Indiana, and attended conferences that helped her learn that she was not alone.

“I am not ashamed to admit that I am guilty of misunderstanding what a brain injury and a disability are. If it took something happening to me personally to open my eyes to the importance of brain injury and disability awareness and advocacy, then I will use my talents as a leader and a crusader to get the correct, needed, and vital information shared with the general public,” she says.

Dede Norungolo
South Carolina

As a survivor of a moderate TBI more than 25 years ago, Dede Norungolo’s connection to brain injury has evolved through every stage of recovery. These experiences, paired with her pursuit of a new career as a certified rehabilitation counselor, have shaped her professional identity. Her journey with brain injury has guided her toward becoming a disability specialist and mental health professional dedicated to helping others access resources, identify transferable skills, and discover their own voices as advocates and allies.

As a board member of the Brain Injury Association of South Carolina, Dede has had the opportunity to participate in affiliate conferences and attend the National Brain Injury Conference and Awareness Day for two consecutive years.

Brain injury advocacy and awareness are important to Dede because she understands the gaps in services and systems extended to brain injury survivors, who often face lifetime, chronic mental and physical illnesses post-injury.

Frank Notaro
Pennsylvania

In November 1991, Frank Notaro was in a car accident that resulted in a brain injury and changed his life. At the time, Frank was not aware of BIAA or its state affiliates; he was trying to navigate recovery and life after brain injury on his own, without realizing there were organizations out there to help people like him. In 2014, he discovered the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania (BIAPA) – a discovery he refers to as a game-changer. Through BIAPA, Frank found resources, including support programs, connections, and funding opportunities.

“My mission is to help make sure that information, resources, and understanding about brain injury are accessible everywhere, not just in certain pockets of the country,” Frank says. “By sharing lived experience, promoting collaboration, and pushing for more awareness, I hope to make a real difference in how people think about and respond to brain injury across all levels.”

Derek A. O’Neal
Virginia

Derek A. O’Neal is a brain injury survivor and retired Army veteran. After his military career, he served as a leader in many business organizations in Indiana and Michigan before a car crash in 2004 curtailed his career.

Derek has served as a board member of the Brain Injury Associations of Michigan and Virginia, and now serves on the board of the Virginia Brain Injury Council. In addition, he is a motivational speaker as a member of the Brain Injury Services of Springfield, Virginia, Speaker’s Bureau.

As a survivor, brain injury advocacy and awareness are one of the most important reasons that Derek has continued to participate in and contribute to BIAA initiatives.

Jenna Redington
Illinois

In 2022, Jenna Redington’s life changed when her partner and the father of her then-three-week-old daughter sustained an anoxic brain injury. He is disabled, blind, and has short-term memory issues, and Jenna has been his caregiver ever since.

“If he can wake up every day and try to make a difference, then so can I,” Jenna says. “He inspires me to do better every single day and continues to bring positivity into my life even after such tragedy. Just like BIAA brings hope to survivors across the country.”

Resources for brain injury survivors and their loved ones are scarce in small towns, Jenna says, and as a member of the Advocacy and Awareness Ambassador Program, she aims to create awareness not only for her situation, but the brain injury community’s as a whole.

Regena Young, BSN, RSN
Tennessee

Regena J. Young is a registered nurse, a dedicated community advocate, and a TBI survivor.

As a survivor, Regena is dedicated to serving individuals and their family members affected by traumatic brain injury. She has served as the Outreach and Injury Prevention Coordinator for Erlanger Trauma Services in Chattanooga, Tenn., for the past 11 years, where she works closely with local organizations to promote awareness, education, and resources for various injury prevention efforts.

Regena participates in local, state, and national committees, including the Tennessee Injury Prevention Coalition, the Trauma Center Association of America’s Advocacy Committee, Southeast Regional Healthcare Coalition (Chairperson), and the Hamilton County Regional Healthcare Coalition.