Meet the Interviewers
Our 2024 Hosts & Interviewers
From left to right:
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- Paula K. Dumas
- Carl Cincinnato
- Elizabeth DeStefano
- Kellie Pokrikfa
- Amy Mowbray
- Dean Barclay
- Lisa Kotara Horwitz
Paula K Dumas
Executive Producer & Co-Host
Paula lives with daily chronic pain and counts herself blessed to write, produce, and advocate for others. After a third concussion unleashed chronic migraine, she struggled for two decades to continue working in a Fortune 500 marketing career and raise two sons. Today, she is the President of the World Health Education Foundation, Former CEO of MigraineAgain.com, and an Editor at Large for Everyday Health. She serves on the Board of the International Headache Society GPAC and is a past board member of the American Migraine Foundation, CHAMP, and OM USA. She’s the author of two online courses and a forthcoming novel to inspire and empower people in pain.
Carl Cincinnato
Founder, Executive Producer & Co-Host
Carl stopped taking his health for granted at an early age due to migraine. He has had migraine for 30 years. Over this time health has become central throughout his life and work. This includes working with some of the biggest health companies in the world.
Today, he works with several charities, foundations, and organizations, including Migraine & Headache Australia, the Brain Foundation, the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients, and the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition. He is a member of the International Headache Society and co-host for the Migraine World Summit. Carl is a public and passionate patient advocate for migraine who has spoken nationally and internationally about migraine.
Elizabeth DeStefano
Director of Operations, Interviewer
Elizabeth has lived with migraine since childhood. After decades trying to better understand and manage the disease, she jumped into migraine advocacy and editorial work. Outside of migraine, she has worked in clinical roles in organ donation, nonprofit leadership, and professional education following an early role with a pharmaceutical company.She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from George Washington University and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees from Washington & Lee University.
Kellie Pokrifka
Social Media Team Lead & Interviewer
Kellie Pokrifka has lived with chronic intractable migraine for the last decade after sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury. Her advocacy work includes content management for Migraine at Work and the World Health Education Foundation; conducting interviews and social media management for the Migraine World Summit; and advisory council roles for the Brain Injury Association of America. Kellie’s primary goals are patient education and enabling those living with chronic illness to easily access digestible information on treatment options and coping mechanisms.
Amy Mowbray
Social Media Manager & Interviewer
Amy is a passionate migraine advocate who runs The Migraine Life Instagram and blog. After waking up with head pain at the start of 2015 that never went away, she was thrown straight into the deep end of chronic migraine. She has always believed in better days not only for herself but for others too and has worked relentlessly towards this recovery goal. Her advocacy work has led her to speak on several podcasts such as Heads up for National Migraine Centre and the 20/20 podcast. She has also been featured in articles by Pharma Times magazine and My Chronic Brain and writes regularly for Bezzy Migraine. She co-created the #mightywithmigraine campaign which brought hundreds of people living with migraine together to share their stories of resilience and hope. She is passionate about not only raising awareness for migraine and reducing the stigma around this misunderstood disease but also helping those living with migraine feel less alone. She has volunteered for the MWS social media team for the last few years and is responsible for the video content you see across our social channels.
Dean Barclay
Benefits Consultant, Migraine At Work
Dean Barclay has a professional career spanning over 25 years in sales and management experience working for large multi-national organizations. As a young man Dean suffered with debilitating ulcers that sparked his passion for health and wellness and developed an empathy for those who suffered with chronic illness.
Having spent a significant portion of his professional career in the employee benefit space. Dean noticed there were many resources that addressed chronic metabolic diseases like diabetes, mental health, and others but there were no programs or services that addressed migraine in the workplace. As a benefits consultant at Migraine At Work, he is passionate about seeing workplaces learn how better to support people living with migraine. He helps educate management and HR via Migraine At Work programs and tools to reduce the migraine stigma in the workplace.
Lisa Kotara Horwitz
Community Support Ambassador & Interviewer
Lisa Kotara Horwitz is no stranger to migraine, having experienced her first attacks at just 8 years old. She has lived with migraine for the majority of her life and after a severely debilitating period, turned her energy toward migraine education.
Lisa began volunteering with Migraine World Summit to give back to the community that helped her improve her quality of life. In addition to being a migraine advocate, Lisa cohosts The Pete McMurray Radio Show which airs in Chicago on WLS-890AM and in numerous other cities around the country. She is also a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus performing multiple works a year with this world-renowned organization. In her spare time, she loves to read, practice yoga, and spend time with her family.
Lisa’s current migraine mission is to remove the stigma from migraine and inform patients, family, and coworkers about this debilitating disease. She wants everyone to know that migraine is not your fault and you are not alone.
