Allied Team Training for Parkinson's Faculty Biographies

Elaine Book, MSW, RSW

Elaine Book has worked in the field of social work for more than 30 years in a variety of community and hospital settings with an interest in the geriatric population. She has worked with individuals, families and as a support group leader. She is the Center Coordinator and Clinic Social Worker for the Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre, a Center of Excellence, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is a leader in the PD community, serving as a speaker at support groups, a presenter at neurology meetings, a faculty member and an ATTP coordinator, mentor with the Parkinson Foundation, planning committee member of the World Parkinson Congress (2016,2019) and a member of the Parkinson Canada Medical Advisory Council. Elaine also coordinates a blog designed for

neurological social workers and has a special interest in raising awareness and developing resources for people with PD and their children/teens. She earned her BSW from the University of Manitoba and her MSW from the University of British Columbia. She has continued to expand her training throughout her career, including cognitive behavioral therapy, advance care planning and social work instruction.

Heather Cianci, PT, MS, GCS

Heather Cianci is the Outpatient Neurological Team Leader and founding therapist of the Dan Aaron Parkinson's Rehabilitation Center (Penn Therapy & Fitness) at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA - part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Heather received her Bachelor's in Physical Therapy from the University of Scranton and her Master's in Gerontology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She has been a physical therapist since 1994 and has dedicated her career to patients with Parkinson’s and Atypical Parkinsonisms. Heather is a LSVT® BIG certified clinician, a PWR! certified clinician, a graduate of the Rock Steady Boxing program for PD and certified in Music and

Memory®. She serves as an LSVT® BIG Faculty Instructor for LSVT Global, Inc., and co-coordinator and PT Faculty for ATTP. Heather has authored book chapters about PD and the Parkinson's Foundation "Fitness Counts" book. She has also lectured about Parkinson's. Her research includes movement strategies for bed mobility, falls, freezing of gait, and functional

ATTP ® Co-Coordinators

movement disorders. She teaches about rehabilitation and PD at Thomas Jefferson University’s in Philadelphia, PA and Neumann University's PT departments in Aston, PA. Heather is a former Board member of CurePSP® and team member of the Comprehensive Outpatient Atypical Parkinson ism Evaluation program at Pennsylvania Hospital's Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorder Center. Edie Simpson, RN, CNRN

Edie Simpson worked as a Research Assistant in the Neuromuscular physiology lab at the University of Virginia. She then attended nursing school at the University of Virginia Sch ool of Nursing and worked in the surgical ICU, then as the Head Nurse at UVA's regional Burn Center. Moving to San Francisco in the early 1980's, Edie was motivated to return to her research roots, working in a variety of disciplines related to AIDS. She then moved to Phoenix, where she was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with her two sons. She later returned to work in clinical research, again in HIV/AIDS, until she found movement disorders. She was a research nurse for the Muhammad Ali Movement

Disorder Center, a Center of Excellence, from 2009 through 2017. Over the last few years her role expanded to include clinical support and education. Recently retired, she continues to participate in educational activities in the PD community, mainly as an ATTP co -coordinator. Edie graduated from Mary Washington College with a degree in biology. Elizabeth Pollard, MA

Eli Pollard designs and oversees Parkinson's Foundation Professional Education and online programs. She recognizes that the best way to ensure people with Parkinson's receive quality care is to ensure that health professionals better understand Parkinson's. She leads Foundation efforts to make training and educating healthcare providers a top priority from early on in their professional training. She started working in the Parkinson's field in 2004, when she began overseeing the creation of the World Parkinson Congress. She splits her

time between the Foundation and the World Parkinson Coalition. She is passionate about social justice issues, including access to information and education, which she feels can eliminate inequities and help people with Parkinson's live better lives. This

ATTP Core Faculty

Parkinson’s Foundation Staff

includes ensuring people with Parkinson's understand the disease, have access to treatment options and qualified healthcare professionals. Eli holds an M.A. from the School for International Training in Vermont, a B.A. in Education from Michigan State University and a certificate of African Studies from the University of Zimbabwe. After earning her degree, she spent almost 10 years living in Zimbabwe, Switzerland and Japan. Nina Browner, MD

Nina Browner is a Bryson Distinguished Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of the Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence at the University of North Carolina. She also serves as Vice Chair for Education for the Department of Neurology and Program Director for Neurology Residency at the University of North Carolina. After graduating from the Moscow Medical Academy in Moscow, Russia, Dr. Browner received prestigious Research Presidential Scholarship of the Russian Federation and spent two years at Johns Hopkins University as a post - doctoral fellow doing research in functional MRI and Parkinson’s disease. She then completed neurology

residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio and her fellowship in Movement Disorders with Dr. Stanley Fahn at the Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York. She divides her time between patient care and clinical research. Her research interests include innovative care models for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, gait abnormalities in patients with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive changes on different stages of Parkinson’s disease. In addition to her dual roles of clinician and researcher, Nina mentors medical students and neurology residents. She had been awarded Collin Hall Award in Teaching Excellence from the Department of Neurology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill as well as 2020 A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology. Jennifer G. Goldman, MD, MS, FAAN, FANA

Jennifer G. Goldman is the Section Chief for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Movement Disorders at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) and Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Goldman is a Movement Disorders neurologist with board certification in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry. She graduated from Princeton University magna cum laude and completed her MD at Northwestern University Medical School, Neurology residency at Washington University in St. Louis, and Movement Disorder fellowship and Master of Science in Clinical

Physicians

Research at Rush University in Chicago. Dr. Goldman is a clinician-researcher who has been a pioneer in the cognitive and behavioral aspects of PD and movement disorders and a longstanding champion and leader in interdisciplinary care. As a clinician, she treats patients with PD, atypical parkinsonian disorders, dementia with Lewy bodies, dystonia, Huntington’s disease, and other movement-related conditions. She has implemented novel interdisciplinary, comprehensive care models for PD and movement disorders in both neurology and rehabilitation settings. Her research focuses on advancing our understanding of the non-motor and motor features of PD and movement disorders, using neuroimaging and biomarkers, and on developing pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to improve or prevent these symptoms. Dr. Goldman has been funded by NIH, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parkinson’s Foundation, among others and has published over 85 research articles and book chapters. As a clinician, Dr. Goldman is passionate about offering a holistic, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary team-based approach for people with PD and movement disorders and their care partners. Dr. Goldman is the fellowship director for the first-ever PD and Movement Disorders Neurorehabilitation fellowship at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Dr. Goldman is a core faculty member for the Allied Team Training for PD course offered by the Parkinson’s Foundation and serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation Scientific Advisory and Center of Excellence Boards. She is currently the Chair of American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Movement Disorders Section and the Lewy Body Dementia Association Scientific Advisory Committee, past chair of the international Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Pan-American Section Education Committee (2015-2019), and Secretary-Elect for the MDS Pan-American Section. She also serves on the MDS Study Groups for PD-MCI Validation and Neuroimaging, MDS and MDS-PAS Congress Planning Committees, and Task Forces on Leadership and Interdisciplinary and Integrated care; the AAN Women in Leadership Committee; and Editorial boards of the Movement Disorders journal and Journal of Clinical Movement Disorders and as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Neuroscience Neurorehabilitation journal. Irene Litvan, MD, FAAN, FANA

Irene Litvan is the Tasch Endowed Chair of Parkinson Disease Research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), Professor of Neurosciences and Director of their Parkinson and Other Movement Disorder Center (MDC). She is a fellow of the American Neurological Association and American Academy of Neurology (AAN), past Chair of the AAN Movement Disorder Section and serves or has severed on many boards and committees. She is a movement disorder specialist, behavioral neurologist and neuroepidemiologist who developed two MDC, one at the University of Louisville and the other at UCSD, a Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence. The UCSD MDC is also a CurePSP Center of Care

and Research Center of Excellence in Lewy Body Dementia. She led or participated in international studies to evaluate, develop and improve clinical and neuropathologic diagnostic criteria of parkinsonian and dementia disorders (PSP, CBD, MSA, DLB, PD, PD-MCI and PDD). Dr. Litvan is Chief Editor of Frontiers in Neurology, published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and is senior editor of four books. She received the 2018 AAN Movement

Disorders Research Award. Irene A. Malaty, MD, FANA

Irene A. Malaty studied microbiology and psychology at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. She attended Indiana University School of Medicine on the Notre Dame campus and in Indianapolis, IN. After completing a transitional year of medicine at St. Vincent's hospital in Indianapolis, she moved to Gainesville for neurology residency and served as chief resident. She completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Florida Gainesville and joined the faculty thereafter. She cares for patients with a variety of movement disorders but has a specialty interest in Tourette syndrome and runs the interdisciplinary clinic for Tourette and tic disorders. Additionally, Irene is the Pl for the Parkinson’s Foundation

Center of Excellence at the University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration. She serves on the executive board of the Florida Society of Neurology and on the executive committee of the American Academy of Neurology Neuroendocrinology Section, as the Movement Disorder Subsection Chair. Dr. Malaty is committed to providing quality, state-of-the-art care for all movement disorders, but has specific interests in the non-motor aspects of Parkinson's disease, and in compulsivity as it applies to Tourette's syndrome and other movement disorders. John Morgan, MD

John Morgan has been in practice as a movement disorders specialist for approximately 14 years and is a Professor and Director of the NPF Center of Excellence at Augusta University. He has served on the faculty of ATTP for over 10 years. He earned his MD-PhD from the Medical College of Georgia and did a medicine internship and neurology residency at the University of Virginia. He is fellowship trained in movement disorders and routinely cares for many patients with PD and other disorders. He has extensive experience in clinical trials for PD, RLS, Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders. He has published numerous

peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and served on the NIH NET-PD FS-ZONE Steering Committee. He is currently a co-investigator on a VA Merit Review Grant studying the effects of niacin in PD. On a personal note, he grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and his wife is a dysphagia-expert speech pathologist and his ex-wife is a physical therapist. He has four children ages 17, 14, 7, and 6. He really enjoys tennis, hiking, playing the stock market, movies and family.

Sotirios Parashos, MD, PhD

Sotirios Parashos is a neurologist, Clinical Research Lead at the Struthers Parkinson's Center, Park Nicollet Clinic, and Adjunct Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. He completed his medical training and a PhD in Experimental Neurophysiology at the Aristotle University in Greece; a fellowship in Neuropharmacol ogy at the National Institutes of Health; a Neurology residency at the University of Minnesota; and a fellowship in Movement Disorders at the Mayo Clinic. His research focuses on non-dopa-responsive symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as falls and cognitive dysfunction; the natural progression of Parkinson's disease; and the multidisciplinary care of Parkinson's disease. He has co-authored many

articles published in scientific journals, a book on Navigating Life with Parkinson Disease, and has given numerous lectures on Parkinson disease to professional and lay audiences. He serves on the Community Advisory Board of the Struthers Parkinson's Center, on the Work Group for Parkinson's disease Physician Performance Measure Development of the American Academy of Neurology, and on the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project of the Parkinson's Foundation. Joan Miravite, DNP, MSN, BSN, RN, FNP-BC

Joan Miravite is a practicing Family Nurse Practitioner with over 19 years of clinical experience working in Neurology. Joan holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Biology and Nursing. She received her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing from Columbia University, School of Nursing. She completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice at New York University, Rory Meyers School of Nursing. She was appointed Assistant Professor of Neurology for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and is now the Director of Interdisciplinary Clinical Care for Movement Disorders at Mount Sinai. Joan currently serves as Director of the

Greater New York City Chapter of the AANN and is a Tri-Board Mentee of the AANN. She has extensive experience in the evaluation and programming of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia. She has been the Clinical Coordinator of the Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai Beth Israel since 2009. Joan is an invited member of the Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence Advisory Group, Aware in Care Advisory Committee and the PD Nurse Fellowship Committee. Her responsibilities also include coordinating a Multidisciplinary Movement Disorders Clinic and coordinating patient support groups and classes for Parkinson’s disease, Dystonia, Essential Tremor and

Nurse Practitioners

DBS. She has lectured at local, regional and national conferences, to educate both patients and clinicians. Currently, she is involved with clinical research trials for both Parkinson’s disease and dystonia. She was co-lead author of a an Evidence-Based Review for American Academy of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN) Clinical Practice Guideline Series on the topic of Movement Disorders and Deep Brain Stimulation. Joan was awarded the 2019 Nurse Practitioner of the Year by the Long Island Nurse Practitioner Association. She was also awarded the 2017 Excellence in Advance Practice Nursing Award from the AANN and the 2017 Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) Patient Advocacy Award.

Christine Hunter, BSN, RN, CCRC

Christine Huntermis a registered nurse and has worked in ICU and CCU, charge nurse on the step-down cardiac unit, and in Quality Management for the Memorial Hospital System. She joined Baylor College of Medicine Parkinson Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic (PDCMDC) in 1996. She has been an active member of the Parkinson Study Group (PSG) as well as Huntington Study Group (HSG) during this time and has served in several different

capacities within these groups, such as the Coordinator representative on the Executive committee, serves on the steering committee for HD trial, served on the credentialing committee, and budget committee. She has extensive experience in Clinical Trials for all Movement Disorders. She has been the Parkinson Foundation Center Coordinator at Baylor College of Medicine since 1996 and an active member of the Task Force for the PF Mentoring and Networking Program. Most recently served as the Host Site Coordinator for the Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program. Edie Simpson, RN, CNRN (ATTP Co-Coordinator, bio noted above) Jenna lseringhausen, BSN, RN

Jenna lseringhausen is the Faculty Group Practice Nurse and PF Center of Excellence Coordinator at the NYU Langone Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at The Ohio State University. Jenna has previous experience as the DBS Nurse Clinical Coordinator at Mount Sinai where she was first introduced to the PD community. She immediately found her passion in caring for those with movement disorders and the importance of

Nurses

a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to care. Jenna integrates her passion into the day-to-day approach to care with patients and caregivers. She leads a psychoeducational support group for patients and caregivers, organizes monthly interdisciplinary rounds discussing patient cases, as well as arranges educational seminars for physicians, administrators and supportive staff. She is involved in current studies within the Fresco Institute and helps continue the education and advancement to the division to allow for compassionate, safe and efficient patient care. Jenna is returning for her second ATTP program as a nursing faculty. Rachel Pins, MOT, OTR/L

Rachel Pins has been with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City, Iowa as an occupational therapist since 2015. Her focus is on neurorehabilitation. Rachel is the lead OT for several of UIHC's interdisciplinary team clinics; Neuromovement Disorders Clinic, Charcot Marie Tooth Clinic, and Myotonic Dystrophy Clinic. A majority of her current caseload is patients with Parkinson's and other neurological & neurodegenerative diseases. Rachel graduated from Wartburg College with her Bachelor's in Psychology with Leadership and received her Master's in Occupational Therapy from St. Ambrose University. Rachel has completed internships from Tuality Health in Portland, Oregon & the Mayo Cline in Phoenix, Arizona for upper extremity rehabilitation. During

her time at UIHC she's also had several years of experience in upper extremity rehabilitation & orthoses fabrication. Julia Wood, MOT, ORTL

Julia Wood completed a clinical internship in inpatient neurological rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Mary's Campus in Rochester, MN. Julia specializes in treating neurological movement disorders and neurodegenerative conditions at the Dan Aaron Parkinson's Rehabilitation Center at the University of Pennsylvania Parkinson's disease and Movement Disorder Center of Excellence at Pennsylvania Hospital. She also serves in interdisciplinary clinics for patients with atypical Parkinsonism, Huntington's disease, ALS and those considering deep brain stimulation. Julia serves as occupational therapy faculty for the Parkinson Foundation ATTP program and as training and certification faculty for the LSVT BIG program. Julia acts

as an ambassador for the Davis Phinney Foundation and serves as a facilitator for PD SELF, educating newly diagnosed people with PD in self-efficacy to promote quality of life. She holds certifications in Allied Team Training for Parkinson's, LSVT BIG, Parkinson's Wellness & Recovery (PWR!), GYRO TO NIC ®, GYRO KIN ESIS ® and Pilates. She received her BS in Exercise Science and Wellness from Ball State University and a in occupational therapy from the

Occupational Therapists

University of Minnesota. Heather Cianci, DPT (ATTP Co-Coordinator, bio noted above) Joellyn Fox, DPT

Joellyn Fox began her career as a practicing clinician with the University of Penn Health System and in 2008 joined the team at the Dan Aaron Parkinson's Rehabilitation Clinic at Penn Therapy and Fitness where she is now the lead therapist. Joellyn is certified in the LSVT BIG program, Parkinson's Wellness and Recovery and Rock Steady Boxing. For the last 10 years she has been active as a speaker in local support groups benefitting those with Parkinson's as well as for the MSA Coalition (New Jersey branch) and CurePSP foundation. Joellyn also teaches at Widener University, Drexel University and Rutgers University in the Physical Therapy

Department about Parkinson's disease and neurological disorders. Joellyn earned her BS in biology and psychology from Lehigh University and her doctorate Temple University. Meredith Bartlett, MA, CCC- SLP

Meredith A. Bartlett is a speech-language pathologist at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute. She is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) in Speech-Language Pathology through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Meredith is a member of the Legacy Care Clinic at Barrow Neurological, where she serves patients in need of palliative care. Meredith's expertise includes the evaluation and treatment of individuals with neurological diagnoses, including Parkinson's disease. Meredith is certified in Lee Silverman Voice

Treatment (LSVT LOUD), LSVT e-LOUD, Loud for Life, SpeakOut! and SpeechVive. Meredith has a special interest in providing classes and treatment via telepractice.

Physical Therapists

Speech-Language Pathologists

Darla Freeman, MA, CCC-SLP

Darla Freeman is a licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologist at the Florida Center for Voice and Swallowing where she specializes in the evaluation and treatment of voice and swallowing disorders. She received her BA from the University of Pittsburgh and MA in Speech-Language Pathology from the Ohio State University. Darla is Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT-LOUD) certified, trained in the use of the Speechvive device and trained in the Speak Out program for Parkinson's. From 2001-2016 she served as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida,

where she initiated collaboration with the Movement Disorders Center for Excellence by providing speech, voice and swallowing screenings, training and education for patients with Parkinson's and their caregivers. Darla is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association including their special interest division group for voice and airway disorders. Darla serves on the executive board for the Tampa Bay Medical Speech Pathology Association and founded the Tremble Clefs choir of Tampa, FL. Darla is currently pursuing her clinical doctorate in speech-language pathology at Northwestern University.

Elaine Book, MSW, RSW (ATTP Co-Coordinator, bio noted above)

Joan Hlas, MSW, LISW

Joan Hlas is a social worker who has worked at Struthers Parkinson’s Center, a Center of Excellence of the Parkinson’s Foundation, for almost 15 years. She is currently the supervisor of the CREATE Program, which encompasses the support and wellness programs at Struthers, while still serving clients in the clinic and facilitating support groups. Joan has presented at numerous patient/family and professional conferences helping to provide education and awareness of Parkinson’s. Joan has also contributed to the Parkinson’s community by serving on the Parkinson’s Foundation- MN- Mission & Outreach Committee, Moving Day Committee, Women and PD Initiative national & regional Committees as well as

submitted posters at two World Parkinson’s Congresses. Joan recently joined the national training team for the Allied Team Training Program and is looking forward to educating social workers and other professionals on the importance of team care for those living with Parkinson’s.

Social Workers

Gila Bronner, MPH, MSW, CST (Sex Therapist)

Gila Bronner is a certified sex therapist and the director of the Sex Therapy Service, Sheba Medical Center, Israel (since 2004). She is the Director of the sex therapy training program, designed for physicians and psychotherapists. At the Movement Disorders Institute (Neurology) of Sheba Medical Center, Gila is an active as a sex therapist, researcher, and counselor for the inter-professional team. Gila has published scientific articles, chapters in scientific books, sex education books for children, adolescents and elders and articles in the media. For many years Gila has been training physicians and health professionals in coping with issues of sexual rehabilitation and sex education.

In the neurologic department, she specialized in treating patients with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and post stroke. In the geriatric and psycho-geriatric departments she assisted staff members and families to cope with dementia related inappropriate sexual behavior. International work includes lectures and workshops for health care professionals, for PwPD and their partners in Europe, USA, Canada, Asia and Australia. Gila's volunteer work involves counseling and leading the Israeli Family Planning Association (1985-2000), chairperson and board member at the Israeli association of sex therapists (2002-2017), and a member of the scientific committees of the World Congress of Sexology 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2013.

Denise Kornegay, MSW (Team Specialist)

Denise Kornegay has more than 25 years of experience in health workforce development programming and implementation. She has served as the Executive Director for the Statewide AHEC since 1992, where she works to create an appropriately trained, diversified and geographically distributed health workforce in the state. Denise holds faculty appointments as an Associate Dean in the MCG at Augusta University, and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Science at the Mercer University School of Medicine. Her areas of expertise include rural health and outreach, community-based coalition building, legislative

advocacy, health workforce development (including recruitment and retention initiatives). Previously, Denise has served as a Special Assistant to the President for Health Policy at MCG; Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation and Associate Director, Office of Health Policy at Mercer University School of Medicine and Consultant to the Governor's Task Force on Rural Hospitals in Georgia for the State Health Planning Agency.

Specialties

Erin Mundy, MPA (Team Specialist)

Erin Mundy has more than 15 years of experience in community-based education training for health professional students and currently serves as the Director of Community Based Training Programs for the Georgia Statewide AHEC Network. Erin holds a faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. She is responsible for working with the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and six regional AHEC centers to identify, recruit, and maintain community-based education sites within the state of Georgia for numerous disciplines within the medical school. While her position is specific to the School of Medicine, her role

within the Statewide AHEC Network also provides her with a platform to work as a liaison in clinical placement to numerous other health profession programs. Erin is the AHEC Program Office lead for the Georgia Primary Care Summit and coordinates all functions of the AHEC Primary Care Workgroup. She is a member of the Georgia lnterprofessional Curriculum Advisory Network for the Georgia AHEC Scholars Program and serves as a trainer for the Train the Trainer Program.

Concetta M. Tomaino, DA, LCAT, MT, BC (Music Therapy)

Concetta Tomaino is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and was Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at Center Light Health System (formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services), where she worked from 1980 to 2016. In 2017, she and the IMNF relocated to the campus of Wartburg, a senior residential and healthcare facility, in Mt. Vernon, NY. Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilit at ion. She lectures on music therapy throughout the world. Her work has been featured in national programs and publications. Dr. Oliver Sacks book Musicophilia is dedicated to her. Dr. Tomaino is Past-President of the American Association for Music Therapy (AMTA) and Vice President and

founding board member for the International Association for Music and Medicine. She has received numerous awards including the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AMTA. She is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Lehman College CUNY.