Will Grove is the Helpline Director for the Brain Injury Association of Arizona. In his role, Will assists survivors of brain injury as well as families and caregivers with getting connected to resources in their community, while also hosting multiple support groups and programs in Arizona. He also travels the state promoting BIAAZ and assisting with public policy initiatives. Prior to working at the Brain Injury Association of Arizona, Will spent a decade working in the area of youth behavioral health. Originally from Pennsylvania, Will has been living in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona for the last 15 years.

Find Will at: https://biaaz.org/

Helpline phone: 888-500-9165

Email: outreach@biaaz.org

Facebook: @BIAarizona

Instagram: @biaarizona

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biaarizona/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

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Dr. Daniel Avesar, PhD is a brain injury survivor and advocate dedicated to raising awareness and promoting understanding of brain injury. When he was 18 years old (10/11/1999), during the third week of his undergraduate studies, Daniel sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that required a craniotomy of the right side of his skull. That marked the beginning of a seven-year journey to rebuild cognition, regain his inner self, and address vision challenges, plus dealing with other problems like derealization and hyperacusis. Those experiences led him to study neuroscience, seeking to understand the profound changes he had undergone due to his TBI. Daniel earned a PhD in neurophysiology from Dartmouth College in 2013 and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Oregon in 2017. Since then has been interviewing brain injury survivors as well as researchers and clinicians to create free online content aimed at dispelling misconceptions and increasing public understanding about brain injury both from the “internal” and “external” perspectives. Dr. Avesar has two projects online, the Experiencing My Brain podcast which includes one on one discussion with brain injured people about their invisible problems, and the Building Brain Awareness talk series on YouTube, presentations from clinicians, researchers and brain injury services on what they are studying and working on for brain injury.

Find Daniel at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574995580688

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingbrainawarness2139

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-avesar-phd-54704730/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/experiencing-my-brain/id1596998070,

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Jessie Rain Anne Smith is a Qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher, trained through the University of California San Diego's Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute. She has also completed Dr. David Treleaven’s Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness training, and was one of a select few chosen by Dr. Treleaven for mentorship in 2022. Following a car accident and brain injury in 2013, Jessie was advised by a concussion rehab center in Vancouver to take up mindfulness to help manage symptoms such as cognitive fatigue and nervous system dysregulation. Mindfulness was a huge help, but it was also a horrific hindrance. Some practices were too cognitive and others sent her into panic and dissociation. In time, Jessie learned to modify mindfulness to meet the unique needs of brain injury survivors. She went on to found Mindful Concussion, an initiative dedicated to sharing her lessons with others. Her Mindful Concussion course, additional educational offerings, and her forthcoming book,The Power and the Perils of Mindfulness for Brain Injury, provide practical strategies survivors and teachers alike can implement to modify mindfulness for brain injury.

Find Jessie at: https://mindfulconcussion.ca/

Email: jessie@mindfulconcussion.ca

Facebook: https://facebook.com/mindfulconcusion

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-smith-527a48207/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp